Episode 202: Woe to the women who sew pillows

Ezekiel 11-13

These are the men that devise mischief

11 ¹ The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of God's house, where I saw 25 men. Among them were Jaazaniah and Pelatiah, who were officials of the people.

² God said to me,

These men devise mischief and give bad advice to the people of Jerusalem.

³ They say things like,

It's about time to build houses.

The city is a cooking pot, and we are the flesh.

⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, Oh son of man.

⁵ Then the spirit of God fell on me and said,

Say this is what the Lord says:

⁶ You've killed many people in Jerusalem and left their bodies on the streets.

⁷ The dead bodies are flesh and this city is a cooking pot, but I'll bring you out of it.

⁸ You feared the sword, and I'll kill you with the sword. ¹⁰ Then you’ll know that I’m God.

God kills Pelatiah

¹³ When I prophesied, Pelatiah died.

Then I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice and said, "OMG, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?"

The spirit carries Ezekiel to Babylon

²² Then the cherubim lifted their wings, with the wheels beside them. And the glory of the Lord stood on the mountain on the east side of the city.

²⁴ Then the spirit carried me in a vision to Babylon where I visited with the captives.

²⁵ I told them everything God had told me.

Bring out your stuff

12 ¹ The word of God came to me, saying,

² Son of man, you live among rebellious people, who have eyes but don't see and ears but don't hear.

^3-4 So remove all your stuff while they watch.

⁵ Dig a hole through the wall while they're watching and carry it out through the hole.

⁶ While you're doing this, cover your face so you can't see the ground.

⁷ So that's what I did. I dug through the wall with my hand and carried my stuff through the hole while they watched.

⁸ In the morning the word of God came to me, saying,

^9-10 Son of man, if the people of Israel say to you, “What are you doing?”, say to them, This is what God says:

¹¹ I'm your sign. You'll do like I have done. You'll remove your stuff and go into captivity.

¹² The prince will dig through the wall, while covering his face without seeing the ground.

¹³ He'll be caught in my trap, and I'll bring him to Babylon, where he will die.

¹⁴ And I'll scatter the people and chase them with a sword.

¹⁵ Then they'll know that I'm God.

Shake when your eat and drink

¹⁷ The word of God came to me again and said,

¹⁸ Son of man, eat your bread while shaking, and drink water while trembling.

¹⁹ And say to the people, This is what God says:

You will eat bread carefully and drink water with astonishment.

²⁰ The cities will be destroyed. And you'll know that I am God.

It's no longer a proverb

²¹ The word of God came to me again and said,

²² Son of man, you know that proverb in Israel that says, "Time goes on and every vision fails."

²³ Say this to the people of Israel: That will no longer be a proverb in Israel.

The new one will be: "The time is here, and every vision will come true."

²⁴ There will be no more false visions in Israel.

²⁵ Because I'm God. I'll speak and make things happen right away. You won't have to wait any longer.

I will break down the wall

13 ¹ The word of God came to me and said,

² Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say to them, Hear the word of God.

Woe to the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!

⁴ Oh Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the desert.

⁶ They say, "This is what God says." But I haven't sent them.

¹⁰ They say, "Peace" when there was no peace. One builds a wall; others smear whitewash on it.

¹⁴ So I'll break down the wall, and you'll be killed when it falls. Then you'll know that I am God.

¹⁵ This way I'll satisfy my wrath on the wall, and on those who have smeared it with whitewash.

Behold, I am against your pillows

¹⁷ God said,

Also son of man, prophesy against the women prophets, and say,

¹⁸ This is what God says: Woe to the women who sew pillows and kerchiefs to hunt souls!

²⁰ I am against your pillows, with which you hunt souls to make them fly. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go.

²¹ I'll also tear your kerchiefs and save the people that you have hunted. And you'll know that I am God.