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.” ’ ”

The Glory Departs from the Temple

10 And I looked, and there in the ^(A)firmament^[a] that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. ^2 (B)Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with ^(C)coals of fire from among the cherubim, and ^(D)scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the ^[b]south side of the ^[c]temple when the man went in, and the ^(E)cloud filled the inner court. ^4 (F)Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the ^[d]temple; and ^(G)the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s ^(H)glory. ⁵ And the ^(I)sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like ^(J)the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

⁶ Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels. ⁷ And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. ^8 (K)The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

^9 (L)And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a ^(M)beryl stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ^11 (N)When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. ¹² And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were ^(O)full of eyes all around. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my ^[e]hearing, “Wheel.”

^14 (P)Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. ¹⁵ And the cherubim were lifted up. This was ^(Q)the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. ^16 (R)When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. ^17 (S)When ^[f]the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when ^[g]one was lifted up, ^[h]the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

¹⁸ Then ^(T)the glory of the Lord ^(U)departed from the threshold of the ^[i]temple and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹ And ^(V)the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the ^(W)east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

^20 (X)This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel ^(Y)by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. ^21 (Z)Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. ²² And ^(AA)the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. ^(AB)They each went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 Then ^(AC)the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(AD)the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward; and there ^(AE)at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked ^[j]counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not ^(AF)near to build houses; ^(AG)this city is the ^[k]caldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵ Then ^(AH)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for ^(AI)I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (AJ)You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AK)“Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; ^(AL)but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have ^(AM)feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and ^(AN)execute judgments on you. ^10 (AO)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at ^(AP)the border of Israel. ^(AQ)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (AR)This city shall not be your ^[l]caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel. ¹² And you shall know that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but ^(AS)have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.” ’ ”

¹³ Now it happened, while I was prophesying, that ^(AT)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then ^(AU)I fell on my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You make a complete end of the remnant of Israel?”

God Will Restore Israel

¹⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, ^(AV)yet I shall be a little ^[m]sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” ’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AW)“I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’ ¹⁸ And they will go there, and they will take away all its ^(AX)detestable things and all its abominations from there. ¹⁹ Then ^(AY)I will give them one heart, and I will put ^(AZ)a new spirit within ^[n]them, and take ^(BA)the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (BB)that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; ^(BC)and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, ^(BD)I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

²² So the cherubim ^(BE)lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. ²³ And ^(BF)the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood ^(BG)on the mountain, ^(BH)which is on the east side of the city.

²⁴ Then ^(BI)the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into ^[o]Chaldea, to those in captivity. And the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ So I spoke to those in captivity of all the things the Lord had shown me.