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Idolatrous Elders Condemned14
1Then some a2 Kin 6:32; Ezek 8:1; 20:1 elders of Israel came to me and bIs 29:13; Ezek 33:31, 32sat down before me. 2And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3“Son of man, these men have aEzek 20:16 set up their idols in their hearts and have bEzek 7:19; 14:4, 7; Zeph 1:3 put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be cIs 1:15; Jer 11:11; Ezek 20:3, 31consulted by them at all? 4“Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord [D]Heb YHWH, usually rendered LORD, and so throughout the ch God, “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will be brought to give him an answer in [E]Lit it the matter in view of the a1 Kin 21:20-24; 2 Kin 1:16; Is 66:4multitude of his idols, 5in order to lay hold of [F]Lit their aJer 17:10; Zech 7:12 the hearts of the house of Israel who are [G]Or all estranged from Me through their idols bIs 1:4; Jer 2:11; Zech 11:8estranged from Me through all their idols.”’
6“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “a1 Sam 7:3; Neh 1:9; Is 2:20; 30:22; 55:6, 7; Ezek 18:30 Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your bEzek 8:6; 14:4abominations. 7“For anyone of the house of Israel or of the aEx 12:48; 20:10 immigrants who stay in Israel who separates himself from Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts right before his face the stumbling block of his iniquity, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me for himself, bEzek 14:4I the Lord will be brought to answer him in My own person. 8“I will aJer 44:11; Ezek 15:7 set My face against that man and make him a bIs 65:15; Ezek 5:15sign and [H]Lit proverbs a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.
9“But if the prophet is [I]Or enticed prevailed upon to speak a word, it is I, the Lord, who have [J]Or enticed prevailed upon that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and aJer 6:14, 15; 14:15destroy him from among My people Israel. 10“They will bear the punishment of their iniquity; as the iniquity of the inquirer is, so the iniquity of the prophet will be, 11in order that the house of Israel may no longer aEzek 44:10, 15; 48:11 stray from Me and no longer bEzek 11:18; 37:23 defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be cEzek 11:20; 34:30; 36:28My people, and I shall be their God,”’ declares the Lord God.”
The City Will Not Be Spared
12Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 13“Son of man, if a country sins against Me by aEzek 15:8; 20:27 committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it, [K]Lit break the staff destroy its bLev 26:26; Is 3:1; Ezek 4:16supply of bread, send famine against it and cut off from it both man and beast, 14even aJer 15:1 though these three men, bGen 6:8; 7:1; Heb 11:7 Noah, cEzek 28:3; Dan 1:6; 9:21; 10:11 Daniel and dJob 1:1, 5; 42:8, 9 Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver eEzek 16:18, 20; 18:20themselves,” declares the Lord God. 15“If I were to cause aLev 26:22; Num 21:6; Ezek 5:17; 14:21wild beasts to pass through the land and they [L]Lit bereave of children depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the beasts, 16though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters. aGen 19:29; Ezek 18:20They alone would be delivered, but the country would be desolate. 17“Or if I should aLev 26:25; Ezek 5:12; 21:3, 4 bring a sword on that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass through the country and bEzek 25:13; Zeph 1:3cut off man and beast from it,’ 18even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not deliver either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be delivered. 19“Or if I should send a aJer 14:12; Ezek 5:12; 14:21plague against that country and pour out My wrath in blood on it to cut off man and beast from it, 20even though Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not deliver either their son or their daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
21For thus says the Lord God, “How much more when aEzek 5:17; 33:27; Amos 4:6-10; Rev 6:8I send My four [M]Lit evil severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it! 22“Yet, behold, [N]Lit escaped ones survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come forth to you and you will aEzek 12:16; 36:20 see their conduct and actions; then you will be bEzek 16:54; 31:16; 32:31comforted for the calamity which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it. 23“Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done aJer 22:8, 9in vain whatever I did [O]Or in to it,” declares the Lord God.
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