World English Bible · Babylon and the exile
Ezekiel 13
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
1 word came to me, saying, ", against of Israel who , and say to those who out of their own , 'Hear word: says, "Woe to the foolish , who follow their own , and have seen nothing! Israel, your have been like foxes in the waste places. You have not gone up into the gaps or built up the wall for the , to stand in the battle in day. They have seen falsehood and lying , who say, ' says;' but has not sent them. They have made men to that the word would be confirmed. Haven't you seen a false , and haven't you spoken a lying , in that you say, ' says;' but I have not spoken?" "'Therefore says: "Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you," . "My hand will be against who see false and who utter lying divinations. They will not be in of my people, neither will they be written in the writing of the , neither will they enter into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am ." "'Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, "Peace;" and there is no peace. When one builds up a wall, behold, they plaster it with whitewash. Tell those who plaster it with whitewash that it will fall. There will be an overflowing shower; and you, great hailstones, will fall. A stormy wind will tear it. Behold, when the wall has fallen, won't it be said to you, "Where is the plaster with which you have plastered it?" "'Therefore says: "I will even tear it with a stormy wind in my . There will be an overflowing shower in my , and great hailstones in to consume it. So I will break down the wall that you have plastered with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered. It will fall, and you will be consumed in the middle of it. Then you will know that I am . Thus I will accomplish my on the wall, and on those who have plastered it with whitewash. I will tell you, 'The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it— to wit, of Israel who concerning , and who see of peace for her, and there is no peace,'" .'" You, , set your against the daughters of your people, who out of their own ; and against them, and say, " says: 'Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all elbows and make veils for the head of persons of every stature to hunt ! Will you hunt the of my people and alive for yourselves? You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the who should not and to the alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.' "Therefore says: 'Behold, I am against your magic bands, with which you hunt the to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms. I will let the fly free, even the whom you ensnare like birds. I will also tear your veils and my people out of your hand; and they will no longer be in your hand to be ensnared. Then you will know that I am . Because with lies you have grieved of , whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of , that he should not return from his way, and be alive. Therefore you shall no more see false nor practice . I will my people out of your hand. Then you will know that I am .'"
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