1 The Spirit lifted me and took me to the east gate of Jehovah’s Temple. It is the gate that faces east. Twenty-five men were at the entrance of the gate. I saw among them Azzur's son Jaazaniah and Benaiah's son Pelatiah. They were leaders of the people.

2 Jehovah said to me: »Son of man, these are the men who plan evil and give bad advice in this city Jerusalem.

3 »They say: ‘It is almost time to rebuild houses. This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.’

4 »So prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.«

5 Jehovah’s Spirit came to me and told me to say: »This is what Jehovah says: ‘You are saying these things, nation of Israel. But I know what is going through your mind.

6 ‘»You have killed many people in this city and have filled its streets with corpses.« ’

7 »I, the Lord Jehovah, say to you: ‘This city is a cooking pot all right, but what is the meat? The corpses of those you have killed! You will not be here. I will throw you out of the city!’«

8 ‘»Are you afraid of swords? I will bring soldiers with swords to attack you,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

9 ‘I will take you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments against you.

10 ‘»You will be killed in battle in your own country. I will judge you on the border of Israel. Then everyone will know that I am Jehovah.

11 ‘»This city will not protect you the way a cooking pot protects the meat in it. I will punish you wherever you may be in the land of Israel.

12 ‘»You will know that I am Jehovah! While you were keeping the laws of the neighboring nations, you were breaking my laws and disobeying my commands.’«

13 »It happened while I prophesied, that Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said: Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Will you bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?«

14 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, He said:

15 »Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said: ‘Go far from Jehovah. This land has been given us as a possession.’

16 »Therefore say: ‘Thus says the Lord Jehovah: »Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary holy placeshelterprotection for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.« ’

17 »Therefore say, ‘The Lord Jehovah says: »I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered. I will give you the land of Israel.

18 ‘»When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it.

19 ‘»I will give them one united heart, and put a new spirit within them. I will take the heart of stone unkind attitude out of them and give them a heart of flesh loving disposition.

20 ‘»In this way they may walk in my statutes and obey my ordinances. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

21 ‘»Concerning those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down on their heads, declares the Lord Jehovah.’«

22 Then the cherubim angels lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.

23 The glory of Jehovah went up from within the city and stood over the mountain that is east of the city.

24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen left me.

25 Then I told the exiles all the things that Jehovah had shown me.