Ezekiel 14

Idolaters Condemned

1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.2 Then the word of the LORD came to me:3 “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?4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.

5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’

6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
7 ” ‘When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself.

8 I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
9 ” ‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.10 They will bear their guilt—the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him.

11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ ”

Judgment Inescapable

12 The word of the LORD came to me:13 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals,

14 even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.
15 “Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts,

16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.
17 “Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its men and their animals,

18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.
19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals,

20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.
21 “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments—sword and famine and wild beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals!22 Yet there will be some survivors—sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem—every disaster I have brought upon it.

23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

EZEKIEL 14

Ezekiel Encourages the People //To Turn Back //to the [Lord]

1 One day, some of Israel's leaders came to me and asked for a message from the [Lord].

2 While they were there, the [Lord] said:

3 Ezekiel, son of man, these men have started worshiping idols, though they know it will cause them to sin even more. So I refuse to give them a message!
4 Tell the people of Israel that if they sin by worshiping idols and then go to a prophet to find out what I say, I will give them the answer their sins deserve.

5 When they hear my message, maybe they will see that they need to turn back to me and stop worshiping those idols.

6 Now, Ezekiel, tell everyone in Israel:
I am the [Lord] God. Stop worshiping those idols I hate so much and come back to me.
7 Suppose one of you Israelites or a foreigner living in Israel rejects me and starts worshiping idols. If you then go to a prophet to find out what I say, I will answer

8 by turning against you. I will make you a warning to anyone who might think of doing the same thing, and you will no longer belong to my people. Then you will know that I am the [Lord] and that you have sinned against me.
9 If a prophet gives a false message, I am the one who caused that prophet to lie. But I will still reject him and cut him off from my people, 10 and anyone who goes to that prophet for a message will be punished in the same way.

11 I will do this, so that you will come back to me and stop destroying yourselves with these disgusting sins. So turn back to me! Then I will be your God, and you will be my people. I, the [Lord] God, make this promise.

Judgment on a Sinful Nation

12 The [Lord] God said:
13 Ezekiel, son of man, suppose an entire nation sins against me, and I punish it by destroying the crops and letting its people and livestock starve to death.

14 t Even if Noah, Daniel, t and Job were living in that nation, their faithfulness would not save anyone but themselves.
15 Or suppose I punish a nation by sending wild animals to eat people and scare away every passerby, so that the land becomes a barren desert.

16 As surely as I live, I promise that even if these three men lived in that nation, their own children would not be spared. The three men would live, but the land would be an empty desert.
17 Or suppose I send an enemy to attack a sinful nation and kill its people and livestock.

18 If these three men were in that nation when I punished it, not even their children would be spared. Only the three men would live.
19 And suppose I am so angry that I send a deadly disease to wipe out the people and livestock of a sinful nation.

20 Again, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, I, the [Lord], promise that the children of these faithful men would also die. Only the three of them would be spared.
21  t I am the [Lord] God, and I promise to punish Jerusalem severely. I will send war, starvation, wild animals, and deadly disease to slaughter its people and livestock. 22 And those who survive will be taken from their country and led here to Babylonia. Ezekiel, when you see how sinful they are, you will know why I did all these things to Jerusalem. 23 You will be convinced that I, the [Lord] God, was right in doing what I did.