| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then the Spirit lifted me and brought me to the east gateway of the LORD’s Temple, where I saw twenty-five prominent men of the city. Among them were Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders among the people. | 1Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. And there at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, who were leaders of the people. |
| 2The Spirit said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. | 2And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city. |
| 3They say to the people, ‘Is it not a good time to build houses? This city is like an iron pot. We are safe inside it like meat in a pot. ’ | 3They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’ |
| 4Therefore, son of man, prophesy against them loudly and clearly.” | 4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!” |
| 5Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say, “This is what the LORD says to the people of Israel: I know what you are saying, for I know every thought that comes into your minds. | 5And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me and told me to declare that this is what the LORD says: “That is what you are thinking, O house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your minds. |
| 6You have murdered many in this city and filled its streets with the dead. | 6You have multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead. |
| 7“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: This city is an iron pot all right, but the pieces of meat are the victims of your injustice. As for you, I will soon drag you from this pot. | 7Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it. |
| 8I will bring on you the sword of war you so greatly fear, says the Sovereign LORD. | 8You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD. |
| 9I will drive you out of Jerusalem and hand you over to foreigners, who will carry out my judgments against you. | 9I will bring you out of the city and deliver you into the hands of foreigners, and I will execute judgments against you. |
| 10You will be slaughtered all the way to the borders of Israel. I will execute judgment on you, and you will know that I am the LORD. | 10You will fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD. |
| 11No, this city will not be an iron pot for you, and you will not be like meat safe inside it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel, | 11The city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat within it. I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. |
| 12and you will know that I am the LORD. For you have refused to obey my decrees and regulations; instead, you have copied the standards of the nations around you.” | 12Then you will know that I am the LORD. For you have neither followed My statutes nor practiced My ordinances, but you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.” |
| 13While I was still prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah suddenly died. Then I fell face down on the ground and cried out, “O Sovereign LORD, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?” Hope for Exiled Israel | 13Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, Lord GOD, will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?” |
| 14Then this message came to me from the LORD: | 14Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 15“Son of man, the people still left in Jerusalem are talking about you and your relatives and all the people of Israel who are in exile. They are saying, ‘Those people are far away from the LORD, so now he has given their land to us!’ | 15“Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ |
| 16“Therefore, tell the exiles, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I have scattered you in the countries of the world, I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile. | 16Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’ |
| 17I, the Sovereign LORD, will gather you back from the nations where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel once again.’ | 17Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries to which you have been scattered, and I will give back to you the land of Israel.’ |
| 18“When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols. | 18When they return to it, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations. |
| 19And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, | 19And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, |
| 20so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God. | 20so that they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God. |
| 21But as for those who long for vile images and detestable idols, I will repay them fully for their sins. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!” The LORD’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem | 21But as for those whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.” |
| 22Then the cherubim lifted their wings and rose into the air with their wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. | 22Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. |
| 23Then the glory of the LORD went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east. | 23And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city. |
| 24Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia, to the people in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem. | 24And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me, |
| 25And I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me. | 25I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me. |
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