King Zedekiah had to face the awful consequences. Captured, he was forced to look on as his two sons were murdered, then his own eyes were put out (2Kgs 25). among the eight or ten thousand deportees of 597 (2 Kgs 24, 14-16 give both figures) was Ezekiel ( Ez 1,1), evidently a Zadokite priest. With other exiles, he settled in Nippur and seems to have occupied a prominent place in the transplanted community and was often consultd by them (Ez 8, 1: 14, 1: 20, 1). To judge by his commission to stand in opposition to the community and by his vigorous criticism of their opinions, he had a very different understanding of the exile than they did. He saw the exile as a long process of judgment that required fait[[posterous-content:pid___0]]h. The people , on the other hand, saw themselves as helpless victims and hoped for a speedy and trouble-free return. No wonder that the Lord said to the prophet: "Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God!" (2,4)
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