Ezekiel 14:12-23

Complete Jewish Bible

¹² The word of Adonai came to me: ¹³ “Human being, when a land sins against me by dealing treacherously with me, so that I stretch out my hand over it and break off its food supply, sending it famine and eliminating both its humans and its animals; ¹⁴ even if these three men were in it — Noach, Dani’el and Iyov — they would by their righteousness save only themselves,” says Adonai Elohim.

¹⁵ “If I unleash wild beasts on the land, and they kill its children and desolate it, so that no one can pass through because of the animals; ¹⁶ even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither sons nor daughters; only they themselves would be saved, and the land would remain barren.

¹⁷ “Or if I bring the sword down on that land, saying, ‘Let the sword pass through the land,’ so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals; ¹⁸ even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither sons nor daughters; only they themselves would be saved.

¹⁹ “Or if I bring a plague into that land and pour out my fury on it in bloodshed, so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals; ²⁰ even if Noach, Dani’el and Iyov were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither a son nor a daughter; they would save only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹ For here is what Adonai Elohim says: “Even if I inflict my four dreadful judgments on Yerushalayim — sword, famine, wild animals and plagues — to eliminate both its humans and its animals; ²² there will still be left a remnant in it to be brought out, including both sons and daughters. When they come out to you, and you see their way of life and how they act, then you will be consoled over the calamity I have brought upon Yerushalayim, over everything I have done to it. ²³ Yes, they will console you when you see their way of life and how they act; and you will understand that it was not without good reason that I did what I did in [Yerushalayim],” says Adonai Elohim.