The parable of the exile
1 This word of Yahweh came to me,
2 ¡°Son of man, you live in the midst of a house of rebels: they have
eyes for seeing but do not see; they have ears for hearing but do not
hear, for they are a house of rebels.
3 Because of this, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile¡¯s baggage
in their sight as an exile does; and go as an exile to another place in
their sight. Would that they may understand, because they are a house of
rebels.
4 You will gather your things, an exile¡¯s baggage, by day to be seen by
them, and you will leave in the evening as for a departure of deportees.
While they look on,
5 dig a hole in the wall and leave from there.
6 As they look on, shoulder your baggage and leave in the dark. Veil
your face and do not look at the land for I have made you a sign for
Israel.¡±
7 I did as I was ordered, gathering my things by day, an exile¡¯s bag
gage, and in the evening I made a hole in the wall with my hand. I left
in the dark, in their presence, shouldering my bag gage.
8 In the morning the word of Yahweh came to me:
9 ¡°Son of man, did not the Israelites, these rebels, ask you, ¡®What are
you doing there?¡¯
10 Answer them on behalf of Yahweh: This oracle con cerns the prince in
Jerusalem and all the Israelites remaining in the city.
11 Say, ¡®I am a sign for you,¡¯ for what I have done will happen to them:
They will be deported, exiled.
12 The prince among them shall shoulder his baggage in the dark and
depart. They will dig a hole in the wall to let him leave by it. He will
cover his face because he must not see the land with his eyes.
13 I will spread my net over him and he will be caught in its mesh. I
will bring him to Babylon in the country of the Chaldeans but he will
not see it and it is there that he will die.
14 As for all those who form his court, his guard, his troops, I will
scatter them to the winds and pursue them with the sword.
15 They will know I am Yahweh when I scatter them among the nations and
disperse them in other countries.
16 I will however allow a small number of them to escape the sword,
famine and pestilence so they may confess their abominations among the
nations where they will go and they will know I am Yahweh.¡±
17 This word of Yahweh came to me,
18 ¡°Son of man, trembling you will eat your bread and you will drink
water in fear and anxiety.
19 Say to the people, ¡®This is what Yahweh says regarding those who live
in Jeru salem in the land of Israel: In fear they will eat their bread
and in affliction they will drink their water because the land will be
desolate, stripped of all it contains, due to the violence of its
inhabitants.
20 Cities that were inhabited will become ruins, the country a wasteland
and you will know that I am Yahweh.¡±
The word of God will be fulfilled
21 The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms,
22 ¡°Son of man, what do you mean by this proverb: The days pass and the
visions do not come true? Why do you refer thus to what happens in
Israel?
23 You shall say to them this word of Yahweh: No more of this proverb.
It will not be used in Israel, for the day is at hand when every vision
will be fulfilled.
24 No longer will there be false visions or misleading divinations in
Israel.
25 I, Yahweh, will say what I want to say, and my words will be
fulfilled. There will be no more delay, for it is in your days,
rebellious people, that I will speak and it will be done ¨C word of
Yahweh.¡±
26 The word of Yahweh was given me in these terms,
27 ¡°Son of man, this is what Israel says: ¡®Ezekiel¡¯s visions refer to
the distant future; he prophesies for times far off.¡¯
28 Therefore speak to them: This is what Yahweh says: There will be no
further delay concerning my words: what I say will be done ¨C word of
Yahweh.¡±
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Comments Ezekiel, Chapter 12
• 12.1 At nightfall in Babylon, people gather at the doors of their
houses. Ezekiel appears. Without say ing a word he behaves as a solitary
actor in a performance which captures the people¡¯s attention. When his
act is over, he leaves without giving any explanation. The next day he
reveals the mean ing of this parable in action.
By this symbolic act the prophet announces the deportation of the
residents of Jerusalem and of their king.
• 21. The days pass and the visions do not come true. We are surprised
by the lack of faith of the Jews, because looking back at Sacred History
it seems to us that it is filled with miracles and the words of the
prophets were fulfilled. This is not the way it appeared to the
prophets¡¯ contemporaries. In almost two centuries, there were only
Isaiah, Jere miah, Ezekiel and a few minor prophets; be sides,
miraculous liberations like that of Jerusalem in 701 did not often
occur. History was not only miracles; prophetic words were not fulfilled
immediately. Moreover, side by side with the true prophets there were
false ones whose visions often failed to come true. Thus, the Jews¡¯
unbelief is quite under standable.
There are times, in the course of his tory, when changes occur rapidly,
and other times when God does not seem to be doing anything. In the
Gospel itself we are told not to become materialistic when the Lord
seems absent from the affairs of the world (Lk 21:34; 17:26; 2 P 3:3).