The people of Jerusalem will become prisoners in Babylon
1The Lord talked to me and He said: 2‘Son of man, you live among rebellious people. They have eyes to see, but they do not want to see. They have ears to hear, but they do not want to listen, because they are rebellious people.
3Son of man, you must take everything that you would take if you were a prisoner and were taken away to live in another land. You must leave your house today and go to another place. Everyone must see you doing it. They do not listen to Me but maybe they will understand. 4They must see you bringing out everything you want to take with you. It must be in daytime. And when evening comes, you must leave your house. They must see you doing it. Go away like someone who is going to live in another land. 5Make a hole in the wall of the city while they are looking at you, and go through the hole. 6Put everything you have with you on your shoulders and go away into the dark while they are looking at you. You must cover your face and not look back at the land. I will use you to be a sign for the Israelites.’
7I did what the Lord told me to do. In the daytime, I took out everything that I would take with me if I went to live in another land, and in the evening I made a hole in the wall with my hands. I put everything I had with me on my shoulders while they were looking at me.
8The next morning the Lord talked to me and He said: 9‘Son of man, these rebellious people, the Israelites, have asked you what you are doing. 10You must tell them that I, the Lord their God, say: “This is what the Lord your God says about the king in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who live there.” 11Tell them that you are a sign to them. The enemies will do the same with them as you have done. They will become prisoners and they will have to go and live in another land, in Babylon.
12The king among them will take his things and put them on his shoulders and go away into the dark. The people will break a hole in the wall to get him out of the city and he will cover his face so that he will not be able to see the land that he leaves. 13I will throw my net over him and catch him in my trap. I will send him to Babylon, to the land of Babylon, but he will not see that land. He will die on his way there. 14And I will chase away everyone who is with him, his helpers and his soldiers, and I will chase them with my sword.
15They will know that I am the Lord when I chase them all over the world to other nations to go and live with other people. 16But I will save a few of them. They will not be killed in the war or from famine or disease, so that they can go and tell the other people everything that they have done wrong. The people should know that I hate those things and that I am the Lord.’
The sign of Ezekiel trembling
17The Lord talked to me and He said: 18‘Son of man, you must tremble when you eat your food and you must be worried and upset when you drink water, 19then you must say to the people of the land_of_Israel: “This is what the Lord God says about the people who live in Jerusalem, the people in the land_of_Israel: You will be worried when you eat food and you will be afraid when you drink water. 20The cities where people live now will become heaps of stones and no one will live in the land. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’
The things that God said will happen now
21The Lord talked to me and He said: 22‘Son of man, what is it that the Israelites always say? They say: “The Lord has given visions to the prophets, but a long time has gone by and nothing that the Lord has shown them has happened.”
23That is why you must tell them: “The Lord God says: I will make them stop saying that. No one in the nation of Israel will ever say that again.” Tell them that the time is coming when everything will happen as the Lord showed his prophets a long time ago. 24There will be no more false_visions or magicians giving messages that people like to hear. 25When I, the Lord, say that something will happen, it will happen. You will not have to wait long before you see it. Rebellious people, what I tell you now will happen and I will do it before you die.’ This is what the Lord God said.
26The Lord talked to me and He said: 27‘Son of man, listen to what the Israelites say. They say: “It will take a long time before the things happen that the Lord has shown the prophets. The prophets talk about things that will not happen soon.”
28That is why you must tell them: “The Lord God says: The things that I said will not happen later. I will make them happen now.” ’ This is what the Lord God said.
