
TORAH
NEVI'IM
KETUVIM
Chapter 11
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1Then a spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the House of Hashem, which faces eastward; and there, at the entrance of the gate, were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
אוַתִּשָּׂא אֹתִי רוּחַ וַתָּבֵא אֹתִי אֶל־שַׁעַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה הַקַּדְמוֹנִי הַפּוֹנֶה קָדִימָה וְהִנֵּה בְּפֶתַח הַשַּׁעַר עֶשְׂרִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה אִישׁ וָאֶרְאֶה בְתוֹכָם אֶת־יַאֲזַנְיָה בֶן־עַזֻּר וְאֶת־פְּלַטְיָהוּ בֶן־בְּנָיָהוּ שָׂרֵי הָעָם׃
2[Hashem] said to me, “O mortal, these are the men who plan iniquity and plot wickedness in this city,
בוַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָי בֶּן־אָדָם אֵלֶּה הָאֲנָשִׁים הַחֹשְׁבִים אָוֶן וְהַיֹּעֲצִים עֲצַת־רָע בָּעִיר הַזֹּאת׃
3who say: ‘There is no need now to build houses; this [city] is the pot, and we are the meat.'
גהָאֹמְרִים לֹא בְקָרוֹב בְּנוֹת בָּתִּים הִיא הַסִּיר וַאֲנַחְנוּ הַבָּשָׂר׃
4I adjure you, prophesy against them; prophesy, O mortal!”
דלָכֵן הִנָּבֵא עֲלֵיהֶם הִנָּבֵא בֶּן־אָדָם׃
5Thereupon the spirit of Hashem fell upon me, and He said to me, “Speak: Thus said Hashem: Such are your thoughts, O House of Yisrael; I know what comes into your mind.
הוַתִּפֹּל עָלַי רוּחַ יְהֹוָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי אֱמֹר כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה כֵּן אֲמַרְתֶּם בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמַעֲלוֹת רוּחֲכֶם אֲנִי יְדַעְתִּיהָ׃
6Many have you slain in this city; you have filled its streets with corpses.
והִרְבֵּיתֶם חַלְלֵיכֶם בָּעִיר הַזֹּאת וּמִלֵּאתֶם חוּצֹתֶיהָ חָלָל׃
7Assuredly, thus says Hashem: The corpses that you have piled up in it are the meat for which it is the pot; but you shall be taken out of it.
זלָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה חַלְלֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתֶּם בְּתוֹכָהּ הֵמָּה הַבָּשָׂר וְהִיא הַסִּיר וְאֶתְכֶם הוֹצִיא מִתּוֹכָהּ׃
8You feared the sword, and the sword I will bring upon you—declares Hashem.
חחֶרֶב יְרֵאתֶם וְחֶרֶב אָבִיא עֲלֵיכֶם נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה׃
9I will take you out of it and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and I will execute judgments upon you.
טוְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתּוֹכָהּ וְנָתַתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּיַד־זָרִים וְעָשִׂיתִי בָכֶם שְׁפָטִים׃
10You shall fall by the sword; I will punish you at the border of Yisrael. And you shall know that I am Hashem.
יבַּחֶרֶב תִּפֹּלוּ עַל־גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶשְׁפּוֹט אֶתְכֶם וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה׃
11This [city] shall not be a pot for you, nor you the meat in it; I will punish you at the border of Yisrael.
יאהִיא לֹא־תִהְיֶה לָכֶם לְסִיר וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ בְתוֹכָהּ לְבָשָׂר אֶל־גְּבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶשְׁפֹּט אֶתְכֶם׃
12Then you shall know that I am Hashem, whose laws you did not follow and whose rules you did not obey, acting instead according to the rules of the nations around you.”
יבוִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר בְּחֻקַּי לֹא הֲלַכְתֶּם וּמִשְׁפָּטַי לֹא עֲשִׂיתֶם וּכְמִשְׁפְּטֵי הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתֵיכֶם עֲשִׂיתֶם׃
13Now, as I prophesied, Pelatiah son of Benaiah dropped dead. I threw myself upon my face and cried out aloud, “Ah, Hashem! You are wiping out the remnant of Yisrael!”
יגוַיְהִי כְּהִנָּבְאִי וּפְלַטְיָהוּ בֶן־בְּנָיָה מֵת וָאֶפֹּל עַל־פָּנַי וָאֶזְעַק קוֹל־גָּדוֹל וָאֹמַר אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה כָּלָה אַתָּה עֹשֶׂה אֵת שְׁאֵרִית יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
14Then the word of Hashem came to me:
ידוַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃
15“O mortal, [I will save] your brothers, your brothers, the men of your kindred, all of that very House of Yisrael to whom the inhabitants of Yerushalayim say, ‘Keep far from Hashem; the land has been given as a heritage to us.'
טובֶּן־אָדָם אַחֶיךָ אַחֶיךָ אַנְשֵׁי גְאֻלָּתֶךָ וְכָל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כֻּלֹּה אֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ לָהֶם יֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלַ ִם רַחֲקוּ מֵעַל יְהֹוָה לָנוּ הִיא נִתְּנָה הָאָרֶץ לְמוֹרָשָׁה׃
16Say then: Thus said Hashem: I have indeed removed them far among the nations and have scattered them among the countries, and I have become to them a diminished sanctity in the countries whither they have gone.
טזלָכֵן אֱמֹר כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה כִּי הִרְחַקְתִּים בַּגּוֹיִם וְכִי הֲפִיצוֹתִים בָּאֲרָצוֹת וָאֱהִי לָהֶם לְמִקְדָּשׁ מְעַט בָּאֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר־בָּאוּ שָׁם׃
17Yet say: Thus said Hashem: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the Land of Yisrael.
יזלָכֵן אֱמֹר כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה וְקִבַּצְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מִן־הָעַמִּים וְאָסַפְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מִן־הָאֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר נְפֹצוֹתֶם בָּהֶם וְנָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת־אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
18And they shall return there, and do away with all its detestable things and all its abominations.
יחוּבָאוּ־שָׁמָּה וְהֵסִירוּ אֶת־כָּל־שִׁקּוּצֶיהָ וְאֶת־כָּל־תּוֹעֲבוֹתֶיהָ מִמֶּנָּה׃
19I will give them one heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh,
יטוְנָתַתִּי לָהֶם לֵב אֶחָד וְרוּחַ חֲדָשָׁה אֶתֵּן בְּקִרְבְּכֶם וַהֲסִרֹתִי לֵב הָאֶבֶן מִבְּשָׂרָם וְנָתַתִּי לָהֶם לֵב בָּשָׂר׃
20that they may follow My laws and faithfully observe My rules. Then they shall be My people and I will be their God.
כלְמַעַן בְּחֻקֹּתַי יֵלֵכוּ וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַי יִשְׁמְרוּ וְעָשׂוּ אֹתָם וְהָיוּ־לִי לְעָם וַאֲנִי אֶהְיֶה לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים׃
21But as for them whose heart is set upon their detestable things and their abominations, I will repay them for their conduct—declares Hashem.”
כאוְאֶל־לֵב שִׁקּוּצֵיהֶם וְתוֹעֲבוֹתֵיהֶם לִבָּם הֹלֵךְ דַּרְכָּם בְּרֹאשָׁם נָתַתִּי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה׃
22Then the cherubs, with the wheels beside them, lifted their wings, while the Presence of the God of Yisrael rested above them.
כבוַיִּשְׂאוּ הַכְּרוּבִים אֶת־כַּנְפֵיהֶם וְהָאוֹפַנִּים לְעֻמָּתָם וּכְבוֹד אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲלֵיהֶם מִלְמָעְלָה׃
23The Presence of Hashem ascended from the midst of the city and stood on the hill east of the city.
כגוַיַּעַל כְּבוֹד יְהֹוָה מֵעַל תּוֹךְ הָעִיר וַיַּעֲמֹד עַל־הָהָר אֲשֶׁר מִקֶּדֶם לָעִיר׃
24A spirit carried me away and brought me in a vision by the spirit of Hashem to the exile community in Chaldea. Then the vision that I had seen left me,
כדוְרוּחַ נְשָׂאַתְנִי וַתְּבִיאֵנִי כַשְׂדִּימָה אֶל־הַגּוֹלָה בַּמַּרְאֶה בְּרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים וַיַּעַל מֵעָלַי הַמַּרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי׃
25and I told the exiles all the things that Hashem had shown me.
va-a-da-BAYR el ha-go-LAH AYT kol div-RAY a-do-NAI a-SHER her-A-nee
כהוָאֲדַבֵּר אֶל־הַגּוֹלָה אֵת כָּל־דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר הֶרְאָנִי׃
11:25 And I told the exiles

Rabbi Benjamin Blech (b. 1933)
In verses 16-17, Hashem promises that though He has exiled the Children of Israel and scattered them among the nations, in the future He will gather and redeem them: “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the Land of Israel.” In this verse, Yechezkel shares Hashem’s promise with the Children of Israel already in captivity, giving them hope for the future. The Hebrew word for ‘captivity’ or ‘exile’, found in this verse, is gola (גולה), while the term for ‘redemption’ is geula (גאולה). Rabbi Benjamin Blech notes that the two words are spelled almost identically, with the only difference between them being the single letter aleph (א). The numerical value of the aleph is one, representing the one true God who must be incorporated into the mentality of the gola (exile) in order to bring about the geula (redemption).