Ezekiel 14

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

1Then some 1elders of Israel came to me and 2sat down before me. 2And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3“Son of man, these men have 3set up their idols in their hearts and have 4put in front of their faces the stumbling block of their wrongdoing. Should I let Myself be 5consulted by them at all? 4Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord 6God says: “Anyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will let Myself answer him in 7the matter in view of the 8multitude of his idols, 5in order to take hold of 910the hearts of the house of Israel who have 1112turned away from Me due to all their idols.”’

6“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “13Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your 14abominations. 7For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the 15strangers who reside in Israel, who deserts Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet to request something of Me for himself, 16I the Lord will let Myself answer him Myself. 8I will 17set My face against that person and make him a 18sign and 19a proverb, and I will eliminate him from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.

9“But if the prophet is persuaded so that he speaks a word, it is I, the Lord, who have persuaded that prophet; and I will stretch out My hand against him and 20eliminate him from among My people Israel. 10And they will bear the punishment for their wrongdoing; as the wrongdoing of the inquirer is, so the wrongdoing of the prophet will be, 11in order that the house of Israel may no longer 21stray from Me and no longer 22defile themselves with all their offenses. So they will be 23My people, and I shall be their God,”’ declares the Lord God.”

The City Will Not Be Spared

12Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 13“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by 24being unfaithful, and I stretch out My hand against it, 25destroy its 26supply of bread, send famine against it, and eliminate from it both human and animal life, 14even 27though these three men, 28Noah, 29Daniel, and 30Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only save 31themselves,” declares the Lord God. 15“If I were to cause 32vicious animals to pass through the land and they 33depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the animals, 16though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters. 34They alone would be saved, but the country would be desolate. 17Or if I were to 35bring a sword on that country and say, ‘A sword is to pass through the country,’ and I 36eliminated human and animal life from it, 18even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved. 19Or if I were to send a 37plague against that country and pour out My wrath on it in blood to eliminate man and animal from it, 20even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their son or their daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.”

21For this is what the Lord God says: “How much more when 38I send My four 39severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, vicious animals, and plague to eliminate human and animal life from it! 22Yet, behold, 40survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come out to you, and you will 41see their conduct and actions; then you will be 42comforted for the disaster which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it. 23Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done 43without reason whatever I did 44to it,” declares the Lord God.