Ezekiel 11:1-25

The Doom of the Leaders of Jerusalem's wickedness. Comfort for the Exiles

The slaughter in Ezekiel 9 was only the visionary rehearsal of a judgment still in the future. The vision now takes another turn, and shows the wicked inhabitants still alive. Ezekiel is brought to the outer eastern gate of the Temple where he finds a group of the leaders of Jerusalem's sinful policy, two of whom are mentioned by name (Ezekiel 11:1). A proverb by which they express their light-hearted security is turned into a parable of the doom that awaits them (Ezekiel 11:3). The warning is ratified by the sudden death of one of the leaders (Ezekiel 11:13), after which a comforting message is spoken to the exiles whom the people of Jerusalem despised (Ezekiel 11:14). The glorious symbol of God's presence then forsakes Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:22). The vision ends, and Ezekiel finds himself again in Babylonia, where he describes to the exiles all that he has seen (Ezekiel 11:24).