Ezekiel 14

1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and sat before me.

One day some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.

2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Then Yahweh gave me this message:

3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?

“You human, these men want to [IDM] worship idols, and they are allowing idols to induce them to sin [IDM]. So I will certainly [RHQ] answer them if they ask me for advice.

4 Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that comes according to the multitude of his idols;

So say this to them: ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: When any Israeli person wants to worship idols which will induce him to sin, and he goes to a [to get advice], I, Yahweh, will give him the answer that he deserves to receive because he worship idols.

5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

[I will do that] in order that the Israeli people, who have abandoned me in order to worship their idols, will sincerely [IDM] worship me again.’

6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

Therefore, say to the Israeli people, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: (Repent/Stop sinning)! Stop worshiping your idols, and stop all your [other] detestable behavior!’

7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourns in Israel, which separates himself from me, and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:

When any of [you] Israeli people or any foreigner living among you turns away from me and starts worshiping idols [IDM] that induce him to sin, and then goes to a prophet to find out what I want him to do, I myself will answer him.

8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the middle of my people; and you shall know that I am the LORD.

I will show that I detest him, and [what happens to] him to be a warning [to others], and cause him to be someone whom people despise. I will cause him to no longer be allowed to associate with my people. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].

9 And if the prophet be deceived when he has spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand on him, and will destroy him from the middle of my people Israel.

And if a prophet is deceived and gives a false prophecy, [even though] I [allowed him to] give that message, I will get rid of him and remove him from among my Israeli people.

10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeks to him;

Both the prophet and the one who asks him for advice will be guilty, [and I will punish both of them].

11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, says the Lord GOD.

Then you Israeli people will no longer abandon me, and you will no longer become unacceptable to me because of your sins. You will be my people, and I will be your God. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, say.”

12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],

13 Son of man, when the land sins against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand on it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine on it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

“You human, [the people of some] country sin against me by abandoning me, and I punish [IDM] them by cutting off their food supply and by sending a famine, with the result that people and animals die,

14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD.

even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they would save only themselves because of their being righteous. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.

15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:

Or, if I send wild animals throughout the country, and they attack and [many of] [HYP] the people, with the result that travel in that country becomes very dangerous and no one travels through that country,

16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

[as surely] as I am alive, even if those three men were in that country, they could not save [even their own] sons or [from being killed]. Only those [three] would (be saved/remain alive), and the country would become desolate. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.

17 Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:

Or, if I bring enemy soldiers [MTY] to attack that country, and they kill [MTY] people and animals throughout that country with their swords,

18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.

as surely as I am alive, even if those three men were in that country, they would not be able to save even their own sons or [from being killed]. They would save only themselves. That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, declare.

19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury on it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:

Or, if I send a plague into that land and cause the people and the animals to [from the plague] because I am very angry with those people,

20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

[as surely] as I am alive, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in that country, they would not [be able to] save even their sons and daughters. They would save only themselves because of their being righteous. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.

21 For thus says the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

So [now] this is what [I, ], Yahweh the Lord, say: I will cause four things to happen to [the people of] Jerusalem to punish them very severely. [Some] people and animals will be killed by swords, [some will die from] famines, [others will be attacked and killed by] wild animals, and [others will die in] plagues.

22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth to you, and you shall see their way and their doings: and you shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought on it.

But some [of your people] will remain alive, [both adults] and children. They will come to you, [Ezekiel, in Babylon]. And when you see [disgusting] behavior and actions, you will realize that I had good reasons for causing [the people of] Jerusalem to experience those many great disasters [DOU] that I have sent to them.

23 And they shall comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings: and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord GOD.

When you see those things that they do, you will know that there were very good reasons [LIT] for me to do everything that I caused to happen to them. [That is what I], Yahweh the Lord, declare.”