Woe to Foolish Prophets

13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy ^(A)against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to ^(B)those who prophesy out of their own ^(C)heart,^[a] ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ”

³ Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen ^[b]nothing! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets are ^(D)like foxes in the deserts. ⁵ You ^(E)have not gone up into the ^[c]gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. ^6 (F)They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has ^(G)not sent them; yet they hope that the word may ^[d]be confirmed. ⁷ Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “My hand will be ^(H)against the prophets who envision futility and who ^(I)divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, ^(J)nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, ^(K)nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. ^(L)Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.

¹⁰ “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ^(M)‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they ^(N)plaster^[e] it with untempered mortar— ¹¹ say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. ^(O)There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. ¹² Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”

¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. ¹⁴ So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. ^(P)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, ¹⁶ that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who ^(Q)see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord God.

¹⁷ “Likewise, son of man, ^(R)set your face against the daughters of your people, ^(S)who prophesy out of their own ^[f]heart; prophesy against them, ¹⁸ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms ^[g]on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you ^(T)hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? ¹⁹ And will you profane Me among My people ^(U)for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”

²⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like ^[h]birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. ²¹ I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. ^(V)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

²² “Because with ^(W)lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have ^(X)strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. ²³ Therefore ^(Y)you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Idolatry Will Be Punished

14 Now ^(Z)some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them ^(AA)that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. ^(AB)Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

⁴ “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, ⁵ that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and ^(AC)turn your faces away from all your abominations. ⁷ For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself. ^8 (AD)I will set My face against that man and make him a ^(AE)sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. ^(AF)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

⁹ “And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord ^(AG)have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰ And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, ¹¹ that the house of Israel may ^(AH)no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, ^(AI)but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness

¹² The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: ¹³ “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its ^(AJ)supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. ^14 (AK)Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves ^(AL)by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ “If I cause ^(AM)wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ^[i]empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶ even ^(AN)though these three men were ^[j]in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be ^(AO)desolate.

¹⁷ “Or if ^(AP)I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I ^(AQ)cut off man and beast from it, ¹⁸ even ^(AR)though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

¹⁹ “Or if I send ^(AS)a pestilence into that land and ^(AT)pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰ even ^(AU)though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹ For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when ^(AV)I send My four ^[k]severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? ^22 (AW)Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be ^(AX)brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and ^(AY)you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. ²³ And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing ^(AZ)without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.