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Ezekiel 11

God judges Jerusalem’s corrupt leaders while promising to be a sanctuary for the exiles and to change their hearts.

The Spirit brings Ezekiel to the east gate of YHWH’s house, where twenty-five men stand, including leaders accused of wicked counsel. God commands Ezekiel to announce judgment against them. When Pelatiah dies during the prophecy, Ezekiel cries out for Israel’s remnant. God then promises the scattered exiles his presence, a return to their land, and changed hearts. The vision closes with YHWH’s glory leaving the city and Ezekiel reporting what he has seen to the captives in Chaldea.

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1Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’s house, which looks eastward. Behold, twenty-five men were at the door of the gate; and I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
2He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city;
3who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’
4Therefore prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”
5The LORD’s Spirit fell on me, and he said to me, “Speak, ‘The LORD says: “Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.
6You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.”
7“‘Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Your slain whom you have laid in the middle of it, they are the meat, and this is the cauldron; but you will be brought out of the middle of it.
8You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you,” says the Lord GOD.
9“I will bring you out of the middle of it, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
10You will fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
11This will not be your cauldron, neither will you be the meat in the middle of it. I will judge you in the border of Israel.
12You will know that I am the LORD, for you have not walked in my statutes. You have not executed my ordinances, but have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you.”’”
13When I prophesied, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”
15“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, the men of your relatives, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are the ones to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far away from the LORD. This land has been given to us for a possession.’
16“Therefore say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they have come.”’
17“Therefore say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”
18“‘They will come there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there.
19I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh,
20that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
21But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads,’ says the Lord GOD.”
22Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels were beside them. The glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
23The LORD’s glory went up from the middle of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
24The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the captives. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
25Then I spoke to the captives all the things that the LORD had shown me.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ezekiel 11:19God promises to change his people from within, replacing their stony hearts with hearts responsive to him.
Ezekiel 11:20The promised change of heart leads to obedience and renewed belonging between God and his people.
Ezekiel 11:16God promises his presence among the scattered exiles whom Jerusalem’s inhabitants have treated as far from him.
Where this chapter reaches

Jeremiah shares the promise of a changed heart and a renewed bond between God and his people, while Deuteronomy also speaks of gathering those scattered among the nations. The contrast between stone and flesh appears in 2 Corinthians, where God’s Spirit writes on human hearts.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about God’s promise to be a sanctuary while his glory leaves Jerusalem?

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How does the promised heart of flesh shape your understanding of obedience to God?

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Questions people ask about Ezekiel 11

What does the heart of flesh mean in Ezekiel 11:19?

The heart of flesh contrasts with the stony heart God promises to remove. It pictures a heart responsive to God. The next verse explains its purpose: the people will keep God’s commands and belong to him. This change begins with God’s gift of one heart and a new spirit.

What does it mean that God will be a sanctuary in Ezekiel 11:16?

Jerusalem’s inhabitants claim the land for themselves and tell the exiles to go far from YHWH. God answers that he will be a sanctuary for those scattered among the countries. His presence remains available to them away from Jerusalem, even as the vision shows his glory leaving the city.

What does the cauldron mean in Ezekiel 11?

The leaders compare Jerusalem to a cooking pot and themselves to its meat. Their precise intent is debated, though the image seems to express confidence in their place within the city. God overturns it: the slain are the meat, and the leaders will be taken out and judged beyond the city.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).