7. So I did as I was told. In broad daylight I brought my pack outside, filled with the things I might carry into exile. Then in the evening while the people looked on, I dug through the wall with my hands and went out into the night with my pack on my shoulder.
8. The next morning this message came to me from the lord:
9. “Son of man, these rebels, the people of Israel, have asked you what all this means.
10. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign lord says: These actions contain a message for King Zedekiah in Jerusalem and for all the people of Israel.’
11. Explain that your actions are a sign to show what will soon happen to them, for they will be driven into exile as captives.
12. “Even Zedekiah will leave Jerusalem at night through a hole in the wall, taking only what he can carry with him. He will cover his face, and his eyes will not see the land he is leaving.
13. Then I will throw my net over him and capture him in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Babylonians, though he will never see it, and he will die there.
14. I will scatter his servants and warriors to the four winds and send the sword after them.
15. And when I scatter them among the nations, they will know that I am the lord.
16. But I will spare a few of them from death by war, famine, or disease, so they can confess all their detestable sins to their captors. Then they will know that I am the lord.”
17. Then this message came to me from the lord: