New English Translation
Ezekiel 14:3
3“Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek me?
Ezekiel 14:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
- New International Version (NIV)“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?
Context of Ezekiel 14:3
1Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me. 2The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek me? 4Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry. 5I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’
Read all of Ezekiel 14Ezekiel 14:3 word by word
בֶּן־אָדָ֗ם הָאֲנָשִׁ֤ים הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הֶעֱל֤וּ גִלּֽוּלֵיהֶם֙ עַל־לִבָּ֔ם וּמִכְשׁ֣וֹל עֲוֹנָ֔ם נָתְנ֖וּ נֹ֣כַח פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם הַאִדָּרֹ֥שׁ אִדָּרֵ֖שׁ לָהֶֽם׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- these menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- have set upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
- their idolsגִּלּוּלgillûl gillûl · idolH1544
- in their heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- and putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- the stumblingblockמִכְשׁוֹלmikshôl mikshôl · stumblingH4383
- of their iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
- beforeנֹ֫כַחnôkach · beforeH5227
- their faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- should I be enquiredדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
Cross-references for Ezekiel 14:3
- Ezekiel 6:9Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.
- Ezekiel 11:21But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, says the sovereign Lord.”
- Ezekiel 20:16I did this because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols.
- Ezekiel 36:25I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols.
- Jeremiah 17:1The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel on their stone-hard hearts. It is inscribed with a diamond point on the horns of their altars.
- Ephesians 5:5For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
- Ezekiel 3:20“When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death.
- Ezekiel 7:19They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth was the obstacle leading to their iniquity.
- Ezekiel 44:12Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible for their sin.
- Jeremiah 44:16“We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us!
- Zephaniah 1:3“I will destroy people and animals; I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. (The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) I will remove humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
- 1 Peter 2:8and a stumbling-stone and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
- Revelation 2:14But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
- Ezekiel 20:3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, declares the sovereign Lord.’
- 1 Samuel 28:6So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim nor by the prophets.
- 2 Kings 3:13Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here? Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.”
Commentaries on Ezekiel 14:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3These men have set up their idols in their heart - Not only in their houses; in the streets; but they had them in their hearts. These were stumbling-blocks of iniquity; they fell over them, and broke the neck of their souls. And should God be inquired of by such miscreants as these?Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3The leaders of the exiled community of Israel visited Ezekiel again, likely seeking encouragement (see Ezekiel 8:1; 20:1). The people were involved in similar sins, such as idolatry, that also affected those in Judah (see Ezekiel 8:10–12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. heart ... face--The heart is first corrupted, and then the outward manifestation of idol-worship follows; they set their idols before their eyes. With all their pretense of consulting God now, they have not even put away their idols outwardly; implying gross contempt of God. "Set up," literally, "aloft"; implying that their idols had gained the supreme ascendancy over them. stumbling-block of ... iniquity--See Pr 3:21, 23, "Let not them (God's laws)…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 14:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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