In the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, five more years remained before Jerusalem's destruction.
The leaders (literally elders) of Israel, who were the community's elders in exile, came to Ezekiel again, seeking a message from the Lord (compare Ezekiel 8:1; 14:1).
Normally, it is good to seek a message from the Lord. But these leaders had already been judged because their motives were divided (see Ezekiel 14). They did not truly seek God with sincere hearts.
Because of this, the Lord refused to answer them. The text does not record the question they planned to ask Ezekiel. It is possible they never had the chance to ask it.