Jezekiel 14

1 And there came to me men of the people of Israel, of the elders, 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 conceived their devices in their hearts, and have set before their faces the punishment of their iniquities: shall I indeed answer 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 you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord; Any man of the house of Israel, who shall conceive his devices in his heart, and shall set the punishment of his iniquity before his face, and shall come to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him [according to the things] in which his mind is entangled,

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 he should turn aside the house of Israel, according to their hearts that are estranged from me in their thoughts.

[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, Be converted, and turn from your [evil] practices, and from all your sins, and turn your faces back again.

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 any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who shall separate himself from me, and conceive his imaginations in his heart, and set before his face the punishment of his iniquity, and come to the prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him, [according to the things] wherein he is entangled.

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 desolate and ruined, and will cut him off from the midst 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 a prophet should cause to err and should speak, I the Lord have caused that prophet to err, and will stretch out my hand upon him, and will utterly destroy him from the midst 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 their iniquity according to the trespass of him that asks; and it shall be in like manner to the prophet according to the trespass:

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 no more go astray from me, and that they may no more defile themselves with any of their transgressions: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord.

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 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],

13 Son of man, if a land shall sin against me by committing a trespass, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break its staff of bread, and will send forth famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast.

“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 And though these three men should be in the midst of it, Noe, and Daniel, and Job, they [alone] should be delivered by their righteousness, says the Lord.

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 again I bring evil beasts upon the land, and take vengeance upon it, and it be ruined, and there be no one to pass through for fear of the wild 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 and [if] these three men should be in the midst of it, [as] I live, says the Lord, neither sons nor daughters shall be saved, but these only shall be saved, and the land shall be destroyed.

[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 again if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Let the sword go through the land; and I cut off from them man and beast:

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 the midst of it, as I live, says the Lord, they shall not deliver sons or daughters, but they only shall be saved 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] again I send pestilence upon that land, and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to destroy from off 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 and should Noe, and Daniel, and Job, be in the midst of it, [as] I live, says the Lord, there shall be left [them] neither sons nor daughters; [only] they by their righteousness shall deliver their souls.

[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 Thus says the Lord, And if I even send upon Jerusalem my four sore judgments, sword, and famine, and evil beasts, and pestilence, to destroy from out of 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, [there shall be] men left in it, the escaped thereof, who [shall] lead forth of it sons and daughters: behold, they [shall] go forth to you, and you shall see their ways and their thoughts: and you shall mourn over the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, [even] all the evils which I have brought upon 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, because you shall see their ways and their thoughts: and you shall know that I have not done in vain all that I have done in it, says the Lord.

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.”