Jezekiel 14
1 And there came to me men of the people of Israel, of the elders, and sat before me.
Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
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?
“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 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,
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 that he should turn aside the house of Israel, according to their hearts that are estranged from me in their thoughts.
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 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 house of Israel, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Repent and turn away from your idols! Turn back your faces from all your abominations.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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:
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 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.
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 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
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.
“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 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.
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 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:
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 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.
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 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 a sword against that land and say, 'Sword, go through the land and cut off both man and beast from it',
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.
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] 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 against this land and pour out my fury against it through bloodshed, in order to cut off both man and beast,
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.
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 Thus says the Lord, And if I even send upon Jerusalem my four sore judgements, sword, and famine, and evil beasts, and pestilence, to destroy from out of it man and beast;
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 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.
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 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.
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.”
