1 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.
2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.
5 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.
6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain.
7 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.
8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God.
9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
11 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:
12 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.
13 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?
14 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
15 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.
16 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.
17 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.
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.
19 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:
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
23 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.
24 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.
25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shewed me.
<html><b>and behold at the entrance of the gate [twenty-five men]</b> They are the very same ones that he mentioned above (ad loc.): “their backs to the Temple of the Lord” except that he did not explain there who they were, and here he delineates the names of two of them.</html>
<html><b>Who say, ‘It is not near’</b> that the words of the prophets will come upon us. <b>build houses</b> We need not be concerned with them; rather build houses in which to dwell, for we shall not be exiled from this city until we die. <b>it is the pot, and we are the meat</b> Just as the meat is not taken out of the pot until it has been completely cooked, neither shall we leave it until we die.</html>
<html><b>So have you said</b> I know that you have said this, that Jerusalem is the pot and you are the meat, but I say to you that for the slain whom you have laid in it, it becomes a pot, for they are finished in it; but for you, it will not become a pot to retain you until the day of death, for you I shall take out of it. <b>and what enters your mind</b> [lit. what goes up in your spirit.] What goes up on your thoughts, votre talant in Old French, your mind [intentions].</html>
<html><b>take out</b> Heb. הוֹצִיא, like לְהוֹצִיא to take out. In vain have you built the houses, for you will go into exile, both the fathers and the sons, and no one will inherit the houses.</html>
<html><b>You feared the sword</b> when you turned for aid to the king of Egypt, as it is said regarding Zedekiah (17:15): “And he rebelled against him (the king of Babylon) by sending his emissaries to Egypt.”</html>
<html><b>by the border of Israel</b> At the end of the boundary; that is Riblah, the land of Hamath, which is Antioch. There Zedekiah was judged by Nebuchadnezzar, as is stated in the Book of (II) Kings (25: 6f.). There he slaughtered his sons, there he put out his eyes. And it is the end of the boundary, as is said concerning the spies and in many places (Num. 13:21): “until…coming to Hamath.”</html>
<html><b>It will not become a pot for you</b> [A pot,] which retains its pieces until they are completely cooked. <b>but you will become in its midst as meat</b> for you will be melted in its midst, and you will be broken in its midst as meat in a pot and in a cauldron. <b>by the border of Israel I will judge you</b> and not in its midst will you die.</html>
<html><b>Your brethren, your brethren</b> The exile of Samaria and the exile of Jeconiah. <b>and the entire house of Israel</b> who have gone into exile. <b>to whom…said</b> About whom theythe dwellers of Jerusalem who have not been exiled with Jeconiah, over whom Nebuchadnezzar enthroned Zedekiahsaid. Now they ridicule their brethren who have been exiled, and say about them, “They have distanced themselves from the Lord.”</html>
<html><b>a minor sanctuary</b> Synagogues, which are in a position second to the Temple.</html>
<html><b>a heart of flesh</b> A heart that is soft and easily submissive.</html>
<html><b>But to the heart of their detestations, etc.</b> And as for those whose hearts go to every detestation and abomination, who remained in Jerusalem, who were not exiled, and who go astray after idolatry and detestations. <b>I have placed their way upon their heads</b> for I will draw the sword upon them, and [place them in] captivity, and they will go into exile.</html>
<html><b>Then the cherubim lifted</b> After He finished His words to me, He left.</html>
<html><b>on the mountain that was on the east of the city</b> That is the Mount of Olives, which is east of the city, and this is the third stage [of the Shechinah’s departure].</html>
<html><b>in the vision, with the spirit of God</b> It seemed to me as though He now was taking me back from Jerusalem to Babylon.</html>