Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.

EZEKIEL 12:11KJV
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Ezekiel 12:11 (KJV)

What does Ezekiel 12:11 mean?

Ezekiel 12:11 explains that Ezekiel’s actions are a warning about the people still living in Jerusalem. His acted-out departure shows what will happen to them: they will be forced to leave their homes and go into captivity.

God tells Ezekiel to say, “I am your sign.” Ezekiel has packed belongings and carried them out as someone leaving home would do. The words “like as I have done” make his actions a visible picture of what lies ahead for the people.

The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 12:11

  • “sign” — מוֹפֵת (mofet): This word can mean a sign or a visible indication. Here Ezekiel himself, through his actions, serves as the sign that gives meaning to what his audience has watched.
  • “remove” — גָּלָה (galah): This word can carry the sense of going away into exile. In this verse, the departure is not simply a change of residence; it belongs to the forced removal described by “captivity.”

Why Ezekiel 12:11 matters

  • Ezekiel’s actions are a message for other people, not merely a private gesture. The words “so shall it be done unto them” connect what he has done with what will happen to his audience’s people.
  • The passage also narrows the warning to the leader and people in Jerusalem. Verse 10 names “the prince in Jerusalem” and “all the house of Israel that are among them,” helping explain who “them” refers to in verse 11.
  • The departure is pictured as a loss of home and freedom. “They shall remove and go into captivity” joins the journey away with the condition awaiting them.

Where else these words appear

“sign” Hebrew H4159 · used in 35 verses

  • Exodus 4:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
  • Deuteronomy 28:46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
  • Psalms 105:5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

“remove” Hebrew H1473 · used in 41 verses

  • 2 Kings 24:15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
  • Ezra 10:8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
  • Jeremiah 49:3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.

“captivity” Hebrew H7628 · used in 47 verses

  • Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
  • Ezra 8:35 Also the children of those that had been carried away, which were come out of the captivity, offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he goats for a sin offering: all this was a burnt offering unto the LORD.
  • Jeremiah 22:22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.