The Lord’s Judgment of Jerusalem Is Certain
1Then the Spirit of the Lord lifted me up. He brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s house. There were 25 men at the entrance of the gate. I saw Jaazaniah and Pelatiah among them. They were leaders of the people. Jaazaniah is the son of Azzur. Pelatiah is the son of Benaiah. 2The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these men are making evil plans. They are giving bad advice to the city. 3They say, ‘Haven’t our houses just been built again? The city is like a pot used for cooking. And we are the meat in it.’ 4So prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”
5Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me. He told me to tell them, “The Lord says, ‘You leaders in Israel, that is what you are saying. But I know what you are thinking. 6You have killed many people in this city. In fact, you have filled its streets with dead bodies.’
7“So the Lord and King says, ‘The bodies you have thrown there are the meat. And the city is the cooking pot. But I will drive you out of it. 8You are afraid of the swords of war. But I will bring them against you,’ announces the Lord and King. 9‘I will drive you out of the city. I will hand you over to outsiders. And I will punish you. 10You will be killed by swords. I will judge you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11This city will not be a pot for you. And you will not be the meat in it. I will judge you at the borders of Israel. 12Then you will know that I am the Lord. You have not obeyed my rules. You have not kept my laws. Instead, you have lived by the standards of the nations around you.’ ”
13Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died as I was prophesying. Then I fell with my face toward the ground. I cried out in a loud voice. I said, “Lord and King, will you destroy all the Israelites who are still left alive?”
The Lord Will Bring His People Back Home
14A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 15“Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have spoken about you. They have spoken about the others the Babylonians have taken away. They have also spoken about all the other people of Israel. The people of Jerusalem have said, ‘Those people are far away from the Lord. This land was given to us. And it belongs to us.’
16“So tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I sent some of my people far away among the nations. I scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have been their temple in the countries where they have gone.” ’
17“Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I will gather you from the nations. I will bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered. I will give you back the land of Israel.” ’
18“They will return to it. They will remove all its statues of evil gods. I hate those gods. 19I will give my people hearts that are completely committed to me. I will give them a new spirit that is faithful to me. I will remove their stubborn hearts from them. And I will give them hearts that obey me. 20Then they will follow my rules. They will be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people. And I will be their God. 21But some people have hearts that are committed to worshiping the statues of their evil gods. I hate those gods. Anything that happens to those people will be their own fault,” announces the Lord and King.
22Then the cherubim spread their wings. The wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23The glory of the Lord went up from the city. It stopped above the Mount of Olives east of the city. 24The Spirit of God lifted me up. He took me to those who had been brought to Babylon as prisoners. These are the things that happened in the visions the Spirit gave me.
Then the visions I had seen were gone. 25I told my people everything the Lord had shown me.
Dommen over Jerusalems ledere
1Synet fortsatte, og Ånden løftede mig op og bar mig over til templets østport. Der så jeg 25 mænd, som var ledere blandt folket, deriblandt Ja’azanja, Azzurs søn, og Pelatja, Benajas søn.
2„Det er de mænd, som sidder og trækker i trådene,” sagde Ånden. „Det er dem, som er ansvarlige for den voksende lovløshed i byen. 3De siger: ‚Det er ikke tiden nu at bygge huse. Jerusalem er som en gryde over ilden, og vi sidder her som kødet.’ 4Fordi de siger sådan, skal du profetere imod dem.”
5Da kom Herrens Ånd over mig, og jeg modtog følgende budskab: „Israels folk, hør, hvad Herren siger: Jeg ved, hvad I tænker. 6I har dræbt eller undertrykt utallige mennesker i denne by. 7Derfor siger jeg, Herren: Ja, byen er som en gryde, men det er dem, I har dræbt, der er kødet i gryden. I, derimod, vil blive drevet ud af byen! 8I er bange for at blive hugget ned med sværdet, men det er det, der vil ske med jer, siger Gud Herren. 9Jeg vil slæbe jer ud af byen og overgive jer til fremmede, som vil udføre min dom over jer. 10I vil blive forfulgt lige til landets grænse, og mange vil falde for sværdet. Da vil I indse, at jeg er Herren. 11Det er ikke jer, der bliver som kødet i Jerusalems gryde, for jeg vil forfølge jer til Israels grænse. 12Da vil I indse, at jeg er Herren, hvis love og bud I ikke har adlydt. I stedet har I overtaget nabolandenes afguder.”
13Mens jeg profeterede, faldt Pelatja død om. Da kastede jeg mig i mit syn med ansigtet mod jorden og råbte: „Åh, Herre, min Gud, er du så vred, at du vil udslette hele Israels folk?”
Guds løfte til eksiljøderne
14Derpå sagde Herren til mig: 15„De, som blev tilbage i Jerusalem, siger om dig og dine medfanger i eksilet: ‚De er langt væk fra Herren og hans helligdom, for Herren bor i det land, han har givet os.’ 16Derfor skal du sige til judæerne i eksilet: Jeg fordrev jer fra min helligdom og spredte jer mellem verdens nationer. Men jeg vil selv være jeres helligdom, mens I er i eksil. 17Jeg vil samle jer sammen fra de nationer, jeg fordrev jer til, føre jer tilbage til Israels land og lade jer bo i landet igen. 18Når I kommer tilbage, skal I fjerne ethvert spor af den afskyelige afgudsdyrkelse. 19Jeg giver jer et nyt hjerte og en ny ånd. Jeg tager jeres stenhårde hjerte ud og giver jer i stedet et føjeligt og lydigt hjerte, 20så I får lyst til at adlyde mine befalinger og gøre, hvad jeg siger. Så skal I være mit folk, og jeg vil være jeres Gud. 21Men dem, som holder fast ved deres afskyelige afguder, vil jeg straffe, siger Herren!”
22Derefter løftede keruberne deres vinger og steg op i luften sammen med hjulene, mens Israels Guds herlighed svævede over dem. 23Så flyttede Herrens herlighed sig væk fra templet og stillede sig på bjerget øst for byen.
24Derefter løftede Guds Ånd mig op og førte mig i mit syn tilbage til eksilet i Babylon. Så var synet forbi, 25og jeg fortalte de forsamlede judæiske ledere alt, hvad Herren havde vist mig.
