Ezekiel 14

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

Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.

2 Then Yahweh gave me this message:

Then the word of Yahweh 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 idols into their hearts and have put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their own faces. Should I be inquired of at all by them?

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.

Therefore announce this to them and say to them, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart, or who puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and who then comes to a prophet—I, Yahweh, will answer him according to the number of his idols.

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.’

I will do this so that I may take back the house of Israel in their hearts that have been driven far from me through their idols.'

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!’

Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Repent and turn away from your idols! Turn back your faces from all your abominations.

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.

For every one from the house of Israel and every one of the foreigners staying in Israel who deserts me, who takes his idols into his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his own face, and who then comes to a prophet to seek me—I, Yahweh, will answer him 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].

So I will set my face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, for I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

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.

If a prophet is deceived and speaks a message, then I, Yahweh, will deceive that prophet; I will reach out with my hand against him and destroy him from the midst of 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].

They will carry their own iniquity; the iniquity of the prophet will be the same as the iniquity of the one who inquires from him.

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.”

Because of this, the house of Israel will no longer wander away from following me nor defile themselves any longer through all their transgressions. They will be my people, and I will be their God—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”

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

Then the word of Yahweh 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 sins against me by committing a sin so that I reach out with my hand against it and break the staff of its bread, and send out over it a famine and cut off both man and beast from the land;

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.

then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in the land's midst, they could only rescue their own lives by their righteousness—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

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,

If I send evil beasts through the land and make it barren so that it becomes a wasteland where no man may pass 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.

then even if these same three men were in it—as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh—they would not be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters; only their own lives would be rescued, but the land would become a wasteland.

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 bring a sword against that land and say, 'Sword, go through the land and cut off both man and beast from it',

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.

then even if these three men were in the midst of the land—as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh—they would not be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters; only their own lives would be rescued.

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 a plague against this land and pour out my fury against it through bloodshed, in order to cut off both 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.

then even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in that land—as I live, declares the Lord Yahweh—they would not be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters; only their own lives would be rescued by 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 the Lord Yahweh says this: I will certainly make things worse by sending my four punishments—famine, sword, wild animals, and plague—against Jerusalem to cut off both man and beast from her.

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.

Yet, behold! A remnant will be left in her, survivors who will go out with sons and daughters. Behold! They will go out to you, and you will see their ways and actions and be comforted concerning the punishment that I have sent to Jerusalem, and about everything else that I have sent against the land.

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.”

The survivors will comfort you when you see their ways and their actions, so you will know all these things I have done against her, that I have not done them in vain!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.”