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Ezekiel 11

Ezekiel 11 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Ezekiel 11 confronts the leaders in Jerusalem for evil planning and false security. It also gives hope to the exiles: God promises to gather his scattered people, cleanse them, and give them a new heart so they can walk in his ways.

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What happens in Ezekiel 11?

The Spirit carries Ezekiel to Jerusalem, where he sees leaders giving corrupt counsel and trusting a city they think will protect them. God exposes their thinking, announces judgment, and says they will be removed, scattered, and judged to the borders of Israel. When Pelatiah dies, Ezekiel fears the end of Israel, but God answers with hope for the exiles. The Lord promises to be a sanctuary to them in foreign lands, to gather them back, and to give them a single heart and a new spirit. The chapter closes with God's glory leaving the city.

This chapter follows Ezekiel's earlier vision of God's glory in the temple and continues the prophet's message to a rebellious nation. It contrasts the corruption in Jerusalem with the hope given to the exiles in Babylon. Ezekiel 11 marks a major turning point in the book by showing both the certainty of judgment and the promise of future renewal.

Themes to notice

  • Judgment on leadersGod exposes the false confidence and corruption of Jerusalem's rulers and declares accountability for their choices.
  • Hope for exilesEven in scattered places, God promises to be with his people and to bring them home in his time.
  • New heartRestoration includes inward change, with God giving his people a heart and spirit that can follow him.

Questions for Ezekiel 11

  • What does this chapter show about the difference between human security and God's judgment?
  • How does God's promise to be a sanctuary for the exiles change the way we think about being far from home?
  • What does it mean for God to give a new heart and a single purpose to his people?

Read the full text of Ezekiel 11 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Ezekiel 11

Evil in High Places

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.2And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city.3They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man!”

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 multiplied those you killed in this city and filled its streets with the dead.

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.8You fear the sword, so I will bring the sword against you, declares the Lord GOD.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 fall by the sword, and I will judge you even to the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.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.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.”

A Promise of Restoration

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 the word of the LORD came to me, saying,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.’

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.’

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.’

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 remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,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 whose hearts pursue detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

God’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem

22Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.23And the glory of the LORD rose up from within the city and stood over the mountain east of the city.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,25I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.

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