Chapter 11: Prophecy Against Evil Counsel and Promise of Renewal
- The Twenty-Five Men at the Eastern Gate
Yechezkel is lifted by a wind to the eastern gate of the House of G‑d, where he sees twenty-five men, including Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, princes of the people. G‑d identifies them as those who plot iniquity and give evil counsel, saying: “It is not near; build houses; the city is the pot, and we are the meat.”
- G‑d’s Judgment on the Leaders
The spirit of G‑d falls upon Yechezkel, commanding him to prophesy:
- The slain in the city are the meat, and the city is the pot—but these men will be taken out.
- They feared the sword, and the sword will come upon them.
- They will be judged at the border of Israel, delivered into foreign hands.
- They did not follow G‑d’s statutes but lived like the nations around them.
- Pelatiah Dies and Yechezkel Pleads
As Yechezkel prophesies, Pelatiah dies. Yechezkel falls on his face and cries:
“Alas, O Lord G‑d! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”
- Comfort for the Exiles
G‑d responds:
- The exiles, though scattered, are still His people.
- He has been for them a small sanctuary in the lands where they dwell.
- He will gather them, bring them back to the land of Israel, and they will remove all abominations.
- G‑d will give them one heart and a new spirit, replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh, so they will walk in His statutes.
- Those who cling to abominations will bear their own punishment.
- The Glory Departs
- The cherubim lift their wings, the wheels accompany them, and the Glory of the G‑d of Israel rises from the city and stands on the mountain east of Jerusalem.
- Yechezkel is then transported back to the exiles in Babylon, where he recounts all the words of G‑d.
