Ezekiel 14

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

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

2 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

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

3 “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?

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?

4 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.

Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

5 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.'

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

6 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.

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

7 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.

For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, who separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:

8 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.

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 midst of my people; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.

9 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.

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

10 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.

And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh [to him];

11 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.'”

That the house of Israel may no more go 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, saith the Lord GOD.

12 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

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

13 “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;

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

14 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.

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

15 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,

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

16 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.

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

17 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',

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

18 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.

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

19 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,

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

20 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.

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

21 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.

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

22 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.

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 ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, [even] concerning all that I have brought upon it.

23 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.”

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