World English Bible · Babylon and the exile
Ezekiel 12
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1 word also came to me, saying, ", you in the middle of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and don't see, who have ears to hear, and don't hear; for they are a rebellious house. "Therefore, you , prepare your baggage for moving, and move by day in their sight. You shall move from your place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house. You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for moving. You shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as when men go out into . Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your baggage out that way. In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your , so that you don't see the land, for I have set you for a sign to the ." I did so as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for moving, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought it out in the dark, and bore it on my shoulder in their sight. 8In the morning, word came to me, saying, ", hasn't the , the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?' "Say to them, ' says: "This burden concerns the prince in , and all the among whom they are."' "Say, 'I am your sign. As I have done, so will it be done to them. They will go into , into . "'The prince who is among them will bear his baggage on his shoulder in the dark, and will go out. They will dig through the wall to carry things out that way. He will cover , because he will not see the land with his eyes. I will also spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to to the land of the ; yet he will not see it, though he will there. I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his bands. I will draw out after them. "'They will know that I am when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries. But I will leave men of them from , from the , and from the pestilence, that they may declare all their among the nations where they come. Then they will know that I am .'" 17Moreover word came to me, saying, ", eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with fearfulness. Tell the people of the land, ' says concerning the inhabitants of and the land of Israel: "They will eat their bread with fearfulness and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and all that is therein, because of the of all those who therein. The cities that are inhabited will be laid waste, and the land will be a desolation. Then you will know that I am ."'" 21 word came to me, saying, ", what is this that you have in the land of Israel, saying, 'The days are prolonged, and every fails'? Tell them therefore, ' says: "I will make this to cease, and they will no more use it as a in Israel;"' but tell them, '"The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every . For there will be no more any false nor flattering within the . For I am . I will speak, and the word that I speak will be performed. It will be no more deferred; for in your days, rebellious house, I will speak the word and will perform it," .'" 26Again word came to me, saying, ", behold, they of the say, 'The that he sees is for many , and he prophesies of times that are far off.' "Therefore tell them, ' says: "None of my words will be deferred any more, but the word which I speak will be performed," .'"
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Babylon and the exile, 612 BC to 539 BC ›
Babylon replaces Assyria, Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed in 586 BC, and the leadership of Judah lives in Mesopotamia without a king, a temple, or a country.
- Babylon
- Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilds the city on a scale meant to be seen from a distance: the Ishtar Gate in glazed blue brick, the processional way, the ziggurat, and gardens later counted among the wonders of the world. Babylonian tablets record rations issued to the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah by name, which is one of the tidier points of contact between the Bible and the archives.
- Egypt
- Briefly resurgent. Pharaoh Neco marches north, kills King Josiah at Megiddo, and installs and deposes kings in Jerusalem, until Babylon beats him decisively at Carchemish in 605 BC. Jeremiah spends his career saying that betting on Egypt is suicide, and is proved right.
- Judah
- Deported in stages, then destroyed. The temple is burned, the walls broken, and the leadership marched to Mesopotamia. What happens next is one of the strangest survivals in history: a people keeps its identity without land, king, or sanctuary, and comes out of it with its scriptures more central than before.
- Further afield
- An extraordinary century for ideas everywhere at once. Thales and the first Greek philosophers, Solon's reforms at Athens, the Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao Tzu in China, and Zoroaster in Persia all fall within a few generations of the exile.
All of Ezekiel