Ezekiel 14

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

Then certain of the responsible men of Israel came to me and took their seats before me.

2 Then Yahweh gave me this message:

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

3 “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.

Son of man, these men have taken their false gods into their hearts and put before their faces the sin which is the cause of their fall: am I to give ear when they come to me for directions?

4 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.

For this cause say to them, These are the words of the Lord: Every man of Israel who has taken his false god into his heart, and put before his face the sin which is the cause of his fall, and comes to the prophet; I the Lord will give him an answer by myself in agreement with the number of his false gods;

5 [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.’

So as to take the children of Israel in the thoughts of their hearts, because they have become strange to me through their false gods.

6 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!’

For this cause say to the children of Israel, These are the words of the Lord: Come back and give up your false gods and let your faces be turned from your disgusting things.

7 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.

When any one of the men of Israel, or of those from other lands who are living in Israel, who has become strange to me, and takes his false gods into his heart, and puts before his face the sin which is the cause of his fall, comes to the prophet to get directions from me; I the Lord will give him an answer by myself:

8 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].

And my face will be turned against that man, and I will make him a sign and a common saying, cutting him off from among my people; and you will be certain that I am the Lord.

9 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.

And if the prophet, tricked by deceit, says anything, it is I the Lord by whom he has been tricked, and I will put out my hand against him, and he will be cut off from among my people Israel.

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

And the punishment of their sin will be on them: the sin of the prophet will be the same as the sin of him who goes to him for directions;

11 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.”

So that the children of Israel may no longer go wandering away from me, or make themselves unclean with all their wrongdoing; but they will be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord.

12 Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],

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

13 “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,

Son of man, when a land, sinning against me, does wrong, and my hand is stretched out against it, and the support of its bread is broken, and I make it short of food, cutting off man and beast from it:

14 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.

Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, only themselves would they keep safe by their righteousness, says the Lord.

15 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,

Or if I send evil beasts through the land causing destruction and making it waste, so that no man may go through because of the beasts:

16 [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.

Even if these three men were in it, by my life, says the Lord, they would not keep safe their sons or daughters, but only themselves, and the land would be made waste.

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

Or if I send a sword against that land, and say, Sword, go through the land, cutting off from it man and beast:

18 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.

Even if these three men were in it, by my life, says the Lord, they would not keep safe their sons or daughters, but only themselves.

19 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,

Or if I send disease into that land, letting loose my wrath on it in blood, cutting off from it man and beast:

20 [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.

Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, by my life, says the Lord, they would not keep son or daughter safe; only themselves would they keep safe through their righteousness.

21 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.

For this is what the Lord has said: How much more when I send my four bitter punishments on Jerusalem, the sword and need of food and evil beasts and disease, cutting off from it man and beast?

22 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.

But truly, there will still be a small band who will be safe, even sons and daughters: and they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings: and you will be comforted about the evil which I have sent on Jerusalem, even about everything I have sent on it.

23 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.”

They will give you comfort when you see their ways and their doings: and you will be certain that not for nothing have I done all the things I have done in it, says the Lord.