Then the Spirit carried me to the East Gate of the Lord's Temple. This gate faces the east, {where the sun comes up}. I saw 25 men there at the entrance of this gate. Some of the leaders were among them, including Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me. He said to me, "Tell them that this is what the Lord said: House of Israel, you are planning big things. But I know what you are thinking.
Now, the Lord God says this, 'The dead bodies are the meat, and the city is the pot. But he (Nebuchadnezzar) will come and take you out of this safe pot.
As soon as I finished speaking for God, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died! I fell to the ground. I bowed with my face touching the ground and said, "Oh Lord God, you are going to completely destroy all the survivors of Israel!"
"Son of man, remember your brothers, the family of Israel. They were forced to leave their country, but I will bring them back. But now, the people living in Jerusalem are saying, 'Stay far away from the Lord. This land was given to us—it is ours!'
"So tell them this: The Lord God says, 'It is true, I forced my people to go far away to other nations. I did scatter them among many countries. But I will be their temple for a short time while they are in those other countries.
But you must tell those people that the Lord God Lord will bring them back. I have scattered you among many nations, but I will gather you together and bring you back from those nations. I will give the land of Israel back to you.
I will bring them together and make them like one person. I will put a new spirit in them. I will take away that heart of stone, and I will put a real heart in its place.
Then God said, "But now, their hearts belong to those terrible, filthy idols, and I must punish those people for the bad things they did." This is what the Lord God said.
Then the Spirit lifted me into the air and brought me back to Babylonia. It brought me back to the people who were forced to leave Israel. I saw all this in the vision of God. Then {the one I saw} in the vision rose into the air and left me.