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The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 11

Ezekiel 11: the caldron and the flesh, Pelatiah's death and the glory on the east mountain

General context

The spirit brings the prophet to the east gate, where twenty-five men stand, among them "Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people." He is told these men "devise mischief" and say, "It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh." He is told to prophesy; the Spirit of the Lord falls on him and he speaks: the Lord knows their thoughts; they have filled the streets with slain; those slain are the flesh and the city the caldron, but they themselves will be brought out, handed to strangers and judged "in the border of Israel," and "ye shall know that I am the Lord." As he prophesies, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah dies, and the prophet falls on his face crying, "wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?" The word of the Lord replies about his brethren and "all the house of Israel wholly," to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem say, "Get you far from the Lord: unto us is this land given." The Lord says he will be "a little sanctuary" to the scattered, will gather them and give them the land of Israel; they will remove its detestable things, receive "one heart" and "a new spirit," a heart of flesh for a stony heart, and "they shall be my people, and I will be their God," while those who follow detestable things are repaid. The cherubims lift their wings; the glory goes up from the city and stands "upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." The spirit carries the prophet "in a vision" back to Chaldea, the vision goes up from him, and he tells the captives all he was shown.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 11:1, Ezekiel 11:2, Ezekiel 11:3, Ezekiel 11:5, Ezekiel 11:6, Ezekiel 11:7, Ezekiel 11:9, Ezekiel 11:10, Ezekiel 11:13, Ezekiel 11:15, Ezekiel 11:16, Ezekiel 11:17, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 11:20, Ezekiel 11:21, Ezekiel 11:23, Ezekiel 11:24, Ezekiel 11:25

Ezekiel 11 (KJV)

1Moreover 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.

2Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:

3Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.

4Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.

5And 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.

6Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.

7Therefore 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.

8Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God.

9And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

10Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

11This 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:

12And 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.

13And 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?

14Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

15Son 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.

16Therefore 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.

17Therefore 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.

18And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

19And 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:

20That 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.

21But 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.

22Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

23And 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.

24Afterwards 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.

25Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me.

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Historical context

Two named men appear: "Jaazaniah the son of Azur" and "Pelatiah the son of Benaiah," called "princes of the people." This Jaazaniah is the son of Azur, a different man from "Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan" who stood among the seventy elders in 8:11; the text gives them different fathers and different scenes. Pelatiah's death is narrated as happening "when I prophesied" within the vision, and the text does not say how he died. The twenty-five men here are at the east gate; 8:16 had "about five and twenty men" between the porch and altar, and the text does not say whether they are the same group. The caldron saying is quoted as the men's own words and then turned against them by the Lord. The verses 14 to 21 distinguish two groups: the inhabitants of Jerusalem who claim the land, and the prophet's "brethren" and "all the house of Israel wholly" of whom the Lord says "I have cast them far off among the heathen"; the promise of gathering, one heart and a new spirit is addressed to the scattered, and the pronouns shift between "them" and "you" within the same verses. The chapter ends the vision that began in 8:1: the return to Chaldea is "in a vision by the Spirit of God," and the prophet then reports it "unto them of the captivity," so the elders of 8:1 are presumably still his audience, though the text does not restate that. The mountain on the east side of the city is not named.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 11:1, Ezekiel 11:13, Ezekiel 11:15, Ezekiel 11:16, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 11:24, Ezekiel 11:23

Literary context

The chapter has three parts and then a close. First, a judgment oracle built on the men's own image: they call the city a caldron and themselves the flesh, and the Lord replies that the slain are the flesh and the living will be taken out of the pot to be judged "in the border of Israel," repeated twice, with the caldron denied to them, "This city shall not be your caldron." Second, a death and a cry, the same "Ah Lord God!" as in 9:8, and again the question is about a "full end" of the remnant. Third, the answer is not to the men at the gate but about the exiles, and it reverses the Jerusalemites' taunt "Get you far from the Lord" with the Lord's own "a little sanctuary" for those far off. The promise verses use body language, a stony heart taken out, a heart of flesh given, set against the earlier "flesh" in the pot. The glory's departure is completed here in one verse, from the city to the mountain on the east, without comment. The last two verses shift from vision to report: the vision "went up from me," and the prophet's speech to the captives is summarized in one line rather than quoted, so the reader has heard what the captives heard.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 11:11, Ezekiel 11:8, Ezekiel 11:13, Ezekiel 11:15, Ezekiel 11:16, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 11:22, Ezekiel 11:24

Key moments

  1. Twenty-five men at the east gate (Ezekiel 11:1). The prophet sees Jaazaniah the son of Azur and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah among the princes.
  2. The caldron and the flesh (Ezekiel 11:3). The men say the city is the caldron and they are the flesh.
  3. Judged in the border of Israel (Ezekiel 11:10). The Lord says they will fall by the sword outside the city and know him.
  4. Pelatiah dies (Ezekiel 11:13). Pelatiah dies as the prophet prophesies, and the prophet cries out to the Lord.
  5. A little sanctuary (Ezekiel 11:16). The Lord promises to be a sanctuary to the scattered in the countries.
  6. A heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19). The Lord promises one heart, a new spirit and a heart of flesh.
  7. Glory on the east mountain (Ezekiel 11:23). The glory of the Lord leaves the city and stands on the mountain to the east.

For reflection

The people in Jerusalem tell the exiles, "Get you far from the Lord," and the Lord answers that he will be "a little sanctuary" to those far off. What does the chapter suggest about where nearness to God is to be found?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here:

  • Benaiah
  • Pelatiah
  • Azzur
  • Jaazaniah