Ezekiel 14

1 And come in unto me do certain of the elders of Israel, and sit before me.

And men among the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat down before me.

2 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

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

3 'Son of man, these men have caused their idols to go up on their heart, and the stumbling-block of their iniquity they have put over-against their faces; am I inquired of at all by them?

“Son of man, these men have placed their uncleanness in their hearts, and they have stationed the scandal of their iniquities before their face. So why should I respond when they inquire of me?

4 'Therefore, speak with them, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Every one of the house of Israel who causeth his idols to go up unto his heart, and the stumbling-block of his iniquity setteth over-against his face, and hath gone in unto the prophet — I Jehovah have given an answer to him for this, for the abundance of his idols,

Because of this, speak to them, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: The man, the man of the house of Israel, who places his uncleanness in his heart, and who stations the scandal of his iniquities before his face, and who approaches a prophet, so as to inquire of me through him: I, the Lord, will respond to him in accord with the multitude of his uncleannesses,

5 in order to catch the house of Israel by their heart, in that they have become estranged from off me by their idols — all of them.

so that the house of Israel may be seized within their own heart, by which they have withdrawn from me to all their idols.

6 'Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Turn ye back, yea, turn ye back from your idols, and from all your abominations turn back your faces,

Because of this, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Be converted, and withdraw from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

7 for every one of the house of Israel, and of the sojourners who doth sojourn in Israel, who is separated from after Me, and doth cause his idols to go up unto his heart, and the stumbling-block of his iniquity setteth over-against his face, and hath come in unto the prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I, Jehovah, have answered him for Myself;

For the man, the man of the house of Israel, and the new arrival among the converts who may be in Israel, if he is alienated from me, and he sets his idols in his heart, and he stations the scandal of his iniquity before his face, and he approaches the prophet, so that he may inquire of me through him: I, the Lord, will respond to him through myself.

8 and I have set My face against that man, and made him for a sign, and for similes, and I have cut him off from the midst of My people, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.

And I will set my face against that man, and I will make him an example and a proverb. And I will perish him from the midst of my people. And you shall know that I am the Lord.

9 'And the prophet, when he is enticed, and hath spoken a word — I, Jehovah, I have enticed that prophet, and have stretched out My hand against him, and have destroyed him from the midst of My people Israel.

And when a prophet has gone astray and has spoken a word: I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet. And I will extend my hand over him, and I will wipe him away from the midst of my people, Israel.

10 And they have borne their iniquity: as the iniquity of the inquirer, so is the iniquity of the prophet;

And they shall bear their iniquity. In accord with the iniquity of the one who inquires, so shall the iniquity of the prophet be.

11 so that the house of Israel do not wander any more from after Me, nor are defiled any more with all their transgressions, and they have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for God — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

So may the house of Israel no longer go astray from me, nor be polluted by all their transgressions. Instead, may they be my people, and may I be their God, says the Lord of hosts.”

12 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

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

13 'Son of man, the land — when it sinneth against Me to commit a trespass, and I have stretched out My hand against it, and broken for it the staff of bread, and sent into it famine, and cut off from it man and beast —

“Son of man, when a land will have sinned against me, so that it transgresses grievously, I will extend my hand over it, and I will crush the staff of its bread. And I will send a famine upon it, and I will destroy from it both man and beast.

14 and these three men have been in its midst, Noah, Daniel, and Job — they by their righteousness deliver their own soul — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

And if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver their own souls by their justice, says the Lord of hosts.

15 'If an evil beast I cause to pass through the land, and it hath bereaved, and it hath been a desolation, without any passing through because of the beast —

And if I also lead in very harmful beasts upon the land, so that I devastate it, and it becomes impassable, so that no one may cross through it because of the beasts,

16 these three men in its midst: I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah — neither sons nor daughters do they deliver; they alone are delivered, and the land is a desolation.

if these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they will deliver neither sons, nor daughters. But only they themselves will be delivered, for the land shall be desolated.

17 'Or — a sword I bring in against that land, and I have said: Sword, thou dost pass over through the land, and I have cut off from it man and beast —

Or if I lead in the sword upon that land, and if I say to the sword, ‘Pass through the land,’ and so I destroy from it both man and beast,

18 and these three men in its midst: I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah — they deliver not sons and daughters, for they alone are delivered.

and if these three men were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they will deliver neither sons, nor daughters, but only they themselves will be delivered.

19 'Or — pestilence I send unto that land, and I have poured out My fury against it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast —

Then, if I also send the pestilence upon that land, and I pour out my indignation upon it with blood, so that I take away from it both man and beast,

20 and Noah, Daniel, and Job, in its midst: I live — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah — neither son nor daughter do they deliver; they, by their righteousness, deliver their own soul.

and if Noah, and Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they will deliver neither son, nor daughter, but they will deliver only their own souls by their justice.

21 'For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Although My four sore judgments — sword, and famine, and wild beast, and pestilence — I have sent unto Jerusalem, to cut off from it man and beast,

For thus says the Lord God: Even though I will send upon Jerusalem my four most grievous judgments, sword and famine and harmful beasts and pestilence, so that I destroy from it both man and beast,

22 yet, lo, there hath been left in it an escape, who are brought forth, sons and daughters, lo, they are coming forth unto you, and ye have seen their way, and their doings, and have been comforted concerning the evil that I have brought in against Jerusalem, all that which I have brought in against it.

yet still there shall be left within it some who will be saved, who shall lead away their own sons and daughters. Behold, they will enter to you, and you will see their way and their accomplishments. And you shall be consoled concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, concerning all the things that I have brought to bear upon it.

23 And they have comforted you, for ye see their way and their doings, and ye have known that not for nought have I done all that which I have done in her — an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

And they shall console you, when you see their ways and their accomplishments. And you shall know that I have not acted to no purpose in all that I have done within it, says the Lord God.”