וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר

The word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם בְּתוֹךְ בֵּית־הַמֶּרִי אַתָּה יֹשֵׁב אֲשֶׁר עֵינַיִם לָהֶם לִרְאוֹת וְלֹא רָאוּ אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם לִשְׁמֹעַ וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ כִּי בֵּית מְרִי הֵם

Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the house of defiance, the exiles among whom you dwell defy God, who have eyes to see but they have not seen, who have ears to hear but they have not heard. The people in Babylonia refuse to accept rebuke, as they are a house of defiance. They refuse to believe that a lengthy exile has been decreed upon them and that Jerusalem will be destroyed. Because this is their character and conduct, you must cause them to see and hear the truth.

וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם עֲשֵׂה לְךָ כְּלֵי גוֹלָה וּגְלֵה יוֹמָם לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְגָלִיתָ מִמְּקוֹמְךָ אֶל־מָקוֹם אַחֵר לְעֵינֵיהֶם אוּלַי יִרְאוּ כִּי בֵּית מְרִי הֵמָּה

Ezekiel must cause the people to see and listen. You, Son of man, prepare for you tools of exile, simple clothing and equipment that are appropriate for the long journey into exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. Exile yourself from your place to another place before their eyes. They shall see you wander from your house. In this manner you will demonstrate to them that the punishment of exile has been decreed upon the people, and that it will be even more severe than what is presently perceived. Perhaps, through your perplexing behavior, they will perceive and contemplate the matter, as they are a house of defiance, and words alone will not suffice to move them.

וְהוֹצֵאתָ כֵלֶיךָ כּכְלֵי גוֹלָה יוֹמָם לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְאַתָּה תֵּצֵא בָעֶרֶב לְעֵינֵיהֶם כְּמוֹצָאֵי גּוֹלָה

You shall take out your tools as one would prepare supplies before a journey, like tools of exile by day, so that your preparations will be before their eyes, and you shall go out with these tools in the evening before their eyes like the departure of exile, in the manner of one going into exile.

לְעֵינֵיהֶם חֲתָר לְךָ בַקִּיר וְהוֹצֵאתָ בּוֹ

Before their eyes, burrow for yourself through the wall until there is a large hole, and take out your tools through it, the hole.

לְעֵינֵיהֶם עַל־כָּתֵף תִּשָּׂא בָּעֲלָטָה תוֹצִיא פָּנֶיךָ תְכַסֶּה וְלֹא תִרְאֶה אֶת־הָאָרֶץ כִּי־מוֹפֵת נְתַתִּיךָ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל

Before their eyes, on the shoulder you shall carry, and in the darkness of the evening you shall take out your tools with you; you shall cover your face, as one who is ashamed or afraid to be seen, and you shall not see the ground due to your limited vision, for I have designated you as an example to the house of Israel. Your actions will demonstrate for them their unknown future.

וָאַעַשׂ כֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר צֻוֵּיתִי כֵּלַי הוֹצֵאתִי כִּכְלֵי גוֹלָה יוֹמָם וּבָעֶרֶב חָתַרְתִּי־לִי בַקִּיר בְּיָד בָּעֲלָטָה הוֹצֵאתִי עַל־כָּתֵף נָשָׂאתִי לְעֵינֵיהֶם

Ezekiel asked no questions; he carried out his orders even when they were uncomfortable for him: So I did, as I was commanded: I took out my tools like tools of exile by day, and in the evening I burrowed through the wall by hand, silently and without tools or the assistance of others, like a man fleeing for his life. In the darkness I took out, on the shoulder I carried, before their eyes.

וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי בַּבֹּקֶר לֵאמֹר׃

The word of the Lord was with me in the following morning, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם הֲלֹא אָמְרוּ אֵלֶיךָ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּית הַמֶּרִי מָה אַתָּה עֹשֶׂה

Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, the house of defiance, said to you: What are you doing? Despite their defiant nature, they are curious to understand Ezekiel’s behavior. Alternatively, this was a rhetorical question.

אֱמֹר אֲלֵיהֶם כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הַנָּשִׂיא הַמַּשָּׂא הַזֶּה בִּירוּשָׁלִַם וכָל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־הֵמָּה בְתוֹכָם

Say to them: So said the Lord God: This prophecy [massa] of Jerusalem concerns the prince, the king, presumably Tzidkiyahu king of Judah, and concerning the entire house of Israel who are in their midst. The word massa literally means a burden borne on the shoulders, and by extension means prophecy, which is a burden borne on the prophet’s shoulders. Ezekiel was commanded to inform the onlookers that what they were witnessing was in fact a prophecy.

אֱמֹר אֲנִי מוֹפֶתְכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לָהֶם בַּגּוֹלָה בַשְּׁבִי יֵלֵכוּ

Say: I am your example, and a sign that the prophecy will come to pass: As I have done, so will be done to them, the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Into exile, into captivity, they will go.

וְהַנָּשִׂיא אֲשֶׁר־בְּתוֹכָם אֶל כָּתֵף יִשָּׂא בָּעֲלָטָה וְיֵצֵא בַּקִּיר יַחְתְּרוּ לְהוֹצִיא בוֹ פָּנָיו יְכַסֶּה יַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִרְאֶה לָעַיִן הוּא אֶת־הָאָרֶץ

The prince who is in their midst will carry on the shoulder in the darkness and will go out. In general, a king would not flee with a burden upon his shoulder. In this case, however, the king will be compelled to flee the city discreetly among all those fleeing. They will burrow through the wall for him to take out his belongings through it. He will cover his face so that he will not see the land with the eye. Although the king will cover his face primarily to avoid being seen, he will also do so to avoid eye contact due to the shame.

וּפָרַשְׂתִּי אֶת־רִשְׁתִּי עָלָיו וְנִתְפַּשׂ בִּמְצוּדָתִי וְהֵבֵאתִי אֹתוֹ בָבֶלָה אֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים וְאוֹתָהּ לֹא־יִרְאֶה וְשָׁם יָמוּת

Furthermore, I will spread My net over him, the king, and he will be caught in My snare. Although he may slip away under the cover of night and evade his enemies who pursue him, he will nevertheless be caught in My trap, from which he will be unable to escape. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and he will die there.

וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתָיו עֶזְרֹה וְכָל־אֲגַפָּיו אֱזָרֶה לְכָל־רוּחַ וְחֶרֶב אָרִיק אַחֲרֵיהֶם

All who surround him, who aid him, and all his troops, or all the arms of his rule, I will scatter in every direction, all of Tzidkiyahu’s troops and aides will flee, and I will draw a sword after them.

וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה' בַּהֲפִיצִי אוֹתָם בַּגּוֹיִם וְזֵרִיתִי אוֹתָם בָּאֲרָצוֹת

They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the lands.

וְהוֹתַרְתִּי מֵהֶם אַנְשֵׁי מִסְפָּר מֵחֶרֶב מֵרָעָב וּמִדָּבֶר לְמַעַן יְסַפְּרוּ אֶת־כָּל־תּוֹעֲבוֹתֵיהֶם בַּגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר־בָּאוּ שָׁם וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

I will leave of them men few in number, as the rest shall die from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence; those who survive will remain so that they will relate all their abominations and their resultant punishments among the nations where they came, and they will all know that I am the Lord.

וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃

Another prophecy accompanied by a demonstrative act: The word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם לַחְמְךָ בְּרַעַשׁ תֹּאכֵל וּמֵימֶיךָ בְּרָגְזָה וּבִדְאָגָה תִּשְׁתֶּה

Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with anxiety. Again, Ezekiel is instructed to dramatize his prophecy: He is to eat and drink under duress.

וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל־עַם הָאָרֶץ כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים לְיֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם אֶל אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל לַחְמָם בִּדְאָגָה יֹאכֵלוּ וּמֵימֵיהֶם בְּשִׁמָּמוֹן יִשְׁתּוּ לְמַעַן תֵּשַׁם אַרְצָהּ מִמְּלֹאָהּ מחֲמַס כָּל־הַיּשְׁבִים בָּהּ

Say to the people of the land: So said the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the soil of Israel: Their bread they will eat with anxiety, and their water they will drink in desolation, so that its land will be desolate from its fullness because of the corruption of all those who inhabit it.

וְהֶעָרִים הַנּוֹשָׁבוֹת תֶּחֱרַבְנָה וְהָאָרֶץ שְׁמָמָה תִהְיֶה וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי ה'

The inhabited cities will be destroyed, and the land will be desolate. And because these punishments will befall you according to My decree, when they come to pass, you will know that I am the Lord.

וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃

The word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם מָה־הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה לָכֶם עַל־אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר יַאַרְכוּ הַיָּמִים וְאָבַד כָּל־חָזוֹן

Son of man, what is this proverb of yours upon the soil of Israel, saying: The days will lengthen and time will pass, and the prophecies will have yet been fulfilled and every vision will be void? When the people observed that the tragedies predicted by the earlier prophets had not yet materialized and Jerusalem remained intact, they did not claim that the prophecies were false. Instead they interpreted the prophecies, including those that apparently addressed the immediate future, as referring to the distant future, preventing those prophecies from affecting their lives.

לָכֵן אֱמֹר אֲלֵיהֶם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הִשְׁבַּתִּי אֶת־הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה וְלֹא־יִמְשְׁלוּ אֹתוֹ עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי אִם־דַּבֵּר אֲלֵיהֶם קָרְבוּ הַיָּמִים ודְבַר כָּל־חָזוֹן

Therefore, say to them: So said the Lord God: I will eliminate this proverb, and they shall no longer cite it in Israel. Rather, speak to them and tell them a converse proverb: The days are approaching, and with them the matter of every vision. The visions will indeed be fulfilled shortly.

כִּי לֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד כָּל־חֲזוֹן שָׁוְא וּמִקְסַם חָלָק בְּתוֹךְ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל

For then, when the visions are fulfilled, there will no longer be any vain vision or smooth divination, the flattery and reassurance of diviners, within the house of Israel. The prophetic visions will not be void as declared in the original proverb; rather, the vain, optimistic visions of the future will be proven false.

כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֲדַבֵּר אֵת אֲשֶׁר אֲדַבֵּר דָּבָר וְיֵעָשֶׂה לֹא תִמָּשֵׁךְ עוֹד כִּי בִימֵיכֶם בֵּית הַמֶּרִי אֲדַבֵּר דָּבָר וַעֲשִׂיתִיו נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

For I am the Lord; I will speak only that matter of which I will speak, and it will be performed. My entire statement will come to pass; it will be delayed no longer. For in your days, house of defiance, I will speak of a matter and perform it – the utterance of the Lord God.

וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃

The word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם הִנֵּה בֵית־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֹמְרִים הֶחָזוֹן אֲשֶׁר־הוּא חֹזֶה לְיָמִים רַבִּים וּלְעִתִּים רְחוֹקוֹת הוּא נִבָּא

Son of man, behold, the house of Israel are saying: The vision that he, Ezekiel, envisions is for many days in the future, and for distant times he prophesies. Therefore, we may continue living pleasant, tranquil lives.

לָכֵן אֱמֹר אֲלֵיהֶם כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים לֹא־תִמָּשֵׁךְ עוֹד כָּל־דְּבָרָי אֲשֶׁר אֲדַבֵּר דָּבָר וְיֵעָשֶׂה נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

Therefore, say to them: So said the Lord God: No longer will the fulfillment of any of My words be delayed, as I will speak of a matter and it will be performed – the utterance of the Lord God. The prophecies that you heard from Me are about to materialize. Their truth will be rapidly revealed, and consequently the status of the prophet among the people will also change. He will be transformed from one whose credibility is suspect to one recognized as a true prophet.