14:1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.
14:2 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?
14:4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.
14:5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’
14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!
14:7 “‘When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself.
14:8 I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
14:9 “‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.
14:10 They will bear their guilt–the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him.
14:11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”
14:12 The word of the LORD came to me:
14:13 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals,
14:14 even if these three men–Noah, Daniel and Job–were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD.
14:15 “Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts,
14:16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.
14:17 “Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its men and their animals,
14:18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.
14:19 “Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals,
14:20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.
14:21 “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments–sword and famine and wild beasts and plague–to kill its men and their animals!
14:22 Yet there will be some survivors–sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem–every disaster I have brought upon it.
14:23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
14:1 Then some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
14:2 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I be inquired of at all by them?
14:4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Each and every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and goes to the prophet, I, Jehovah, will be found to be answering according to this, according to the multitude of his idols;
14:5 That I may lay hold of the house of Israel in their heart, who have become estranged from Me because of all their idols.
14:6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Repent, and turn away from your idols; and turn your faces away from all your abominations;
14:7 For each and every man of the house of Israel or of the sojourners who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and goes to the prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I, Jehovah, will be found to be answering him by Myself;
14:8 And I will set My face against that man, and I will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you will know that I am Jehovah.
14:9 But if the prophet is enticed to speak a word, I, Jehovah, have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel.
14:10 And they will bear their iniquity: As the iniquity of the prophet is, so the iniquity of him who inquires of him shall be,
14:11 That the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and may no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God, declares the Lord Jehovah.
14:12 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
14:13 Son of man, when a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand over it and break its staff of bread and send a famine against it and cut off man and beast from it;
14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in the midst of it, they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, declares the Lord Jehovah.
14:15 If I were to cause wild beasts to pass through the land so that they destroyed its inhabitants and it became so desolate that no one would pass through it because of the beasts,
14:16 Though these three men were in the midst of it, as I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, they could not deliver even their sons and daughters; they alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.
14:17 Or if I were to bring a sword upon that land and were to say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I were to cut off man and beast from it;
14:18 Though these three men were in the midst of it, as I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, they could not deliver even their sons and daughters, but they alone would be delivered.
14:19 Or if I were to send pestilence into that land and were to pour out My wrath upon it in blood so as to cut off man and beast from it,
14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of it, as I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, they could not deliver even a son or daughter; they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness.
14:21 For thus says the Lord Jehovah, How much more then when I send My four severe judgments upon Jerusalem, sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence, to cut off man and beast from it!
14:22 Yet there will be a remnant left in it that will be brought forth, both sons and daughters. They will come forth to you, and you will see their ways and their doings; and you will be comforted for the ill that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.
14:23 And they will comfort you when you see their ways and their doings; and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all that I have done to it, declares the Lord Jehovah.