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Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD'S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD.
And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel:
And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.
Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had showed me.

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

11:1 the spirit lifted me up. See notes on Ezekiel 3:14 and 8:3.


11:1 princes of the people. These “leaders of the people” were ignoring the divine command given through the prophet Jeremiah to surrender to the Chaldeans, telling them instead to continue to build their houses and go about business as usual.


11:3 the caldron. The ungodly leaders were telling the people that they were as secure behind their walls as meat in a cooking pot.


11:13 Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. The death of their chief leader (note Ezekiel 11:1) should have alerted the people to the fact that his counsel was not from God. Rather, it was a precursive fulfillment of God’s warning that the whole city would die.


11:16 as a little sanctuary. God graciously promised the believing remnant that, even though their great temple sanctuary was about to be destroyed, He Himself would be their “temple” wherever they might be in their dispersion.


11:17 scattered. Even in wrath, God remembers mercy, promising the ultimate restoration of His chosen people to their promised land.


11:19 new spirit. This gracious promise, to be fulfilled in the last days, repeats in effect the prophecy of the “new covenant” promised through Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34).


11:23 the mountain. This passage probably refers to the Mount of Olives, which is very significant in prophecy (e.g., Matthew 24:3; Acts 1:10-12; Zechariah 14:4). The glory of God had finally left the temple and the city, indicating His abandonment thereof, leaving it to destruction by the wicked Babylonians. With the glory of God departed, the invaders were unhindered in their vengeance on the people and temple of God. The Spirit then carried Ezekiel back to Chaldea (Ezekiel 11:24), and the captives there by the Chebar River, ending this particular vision.


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