Ezekiel 11

1 Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at the door of the gate; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

2 He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city;

3 who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’

4 Therefore prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”

5 The LORD’s Spirit fell on me, and he said to me, “Speak, ‘The LORD says: “Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

6 You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.”

7 “‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Your slain whom you have laid in the middle of it, they are the meat, and this is the cauldron; but you will be brought out of the middle of it.

8 You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you,” says the Lord GOD.

9 “I will bring you out of the middle of it, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

10 You will fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

11 This will not be your cauldron, neither will you be the meat in the middle of it. I will judge you in the border of Israel.

12 You will know that I am the LORD, for you have not walked in my statutes. You have not executed my ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you.”’”

13 When I prophesied, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

14 The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

15 “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, the men of your relatives, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are the ones to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far away from the LORD. This land has been given to us for a possession.’

16 “Therefore say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they have come.”’

17 “Therefore say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”

18 “‘They will come there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.

19 I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh,

20 that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

21 But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads,’ says the Lord GOD.”

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

23 The LORD’s glory went up from the middle of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

24 The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the captives. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

25 Then I spoke to the captives all the things that the LORD had shown me.

Around Ezekiel 11

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Ezekiel as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

By a canal in Babylonia, among the first exiles, a priest looks up. “the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” The book opens with an overwhelming vision of God’s glory, and Ezekiel, a priest taken to Babylon with the first exiles, falls before it. In the first half he announces, in words and in acted signs, that Jerusalem will fall, and he sees the glory of God leave the temple.

After the city falls, the message turns to hope: a new heart and a new spirit. In a valley of dry bones God asks him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel answers, “Lord GOD, you know.” The bones are brought to life, and the book ends with a final vision of a new temple to which God’s glory returns.

Background

Ezekiel’s visions are dated between 593 and 571 before Christ. He lived among exiles by a canal in Babylonia, far from the temple he had served. The book’s imagery influenced later Jewish writing and the book of Revelation.

How Christians read it

Christians differ most over the temple vision of chapters 40 to 48. Some expect a literal temple in the future. Others read it as a picture of God living with his people, fulfilled in Christ, in the church and finally in the new creation described at the end of Revelation. The promise of a new heart in chapter 36 is widely linked with the work of the Holy Spirit.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 20 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes