Ezekiel 14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Idolatrous Elders Punished
14 Some of the elders of Israel came(A) to me and sat down in front of me.(B) 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and have put sinful stumbling blocks before their faces.(C) Should I be consulted by them at all?(D)
4 “Therefore, speak to them and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart, puts a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, Yahweh, will answer him appropriately.[a] I will answer him according to his many idols, 5 so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their hearts. They are all estranged from Me because of their idols.
6 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: Repent and turn away(E) from your idols; turn your faces away from all your detestable things. 7 For when anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in Israel separates himself from Me, setting up idols in his heart and putting a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me,[b] I, Yahweh, will answer him Myself. 8 I will turn against that one and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people.(F) Then you will know that I am Yahweh.
9 “But if the prophet is deceived and speaks a message, it was I, Yahweh, who deceived that prophet.(G) I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.(H) 10 They will bear their punishment—the punishment of the one who inquires will be the same as that of the prophet— 11 in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from following Me and no longer defile themselves(I) with all their transgressions. Then they will be My people and I will be their God.”(J) This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Four Devastating Judgments
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of bread,(K) to send famine through it, and to wipe out both man and animal from it, 14 even if these three men(L)—Noah,(M) Daniel,(N) and Job(O)—were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15 “If I allow dangerous animals(P) to pass through the land and depopulate it so that it becomes desolate, with no one passing through it for fear of the animals, 16 even if these three men were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not deliver their sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.(Q)
17 “Or if I bring a sword(R) against that land and say: Let a sword pass through it, so that I wipe out both man and animal from it,(S) 18 even if these three men were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not deliver their sons or daughters, but they alone would be delivered.
19 “Or if I send a plague into that land(T) and pour out My wrath on it with bloodshed to wipe out both man and animal from it, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not deliver their son or daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.
21 “For this is what the Lord God says: How much worse will it be when I send My four(U) devastating judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, dangerous animals, and plague—in order to wipe out both man and animal from it! 22 Even so, there will be survivors left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out. Indeed, they will come out to you, and you will observe their conduct and actions.(V) Then you will be consoled about the devastation I have brought on Jerusalem, about all I have brought on it. 23 They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done what I did to it.”(W) This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 14:4 Alt Hb tradition reads him who comes
- Ezekiel 14:7 Lit Me for himself
Ezekiel 14
Lexham English Bible
Condemnation of Israel’s Idolatrous Elders
14 And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat before me.[a] 2 And the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] 3 “Son of man,[d] these men took up their idols into their heart and they placed before themselves[e] a stumbling block of their guilt.[f] Should I really let myself be consulted by them?[g] 4 Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and places before himself[h] a stumbling block of his guilt[i] and yet he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act[j] with respect to the multitude[k] of his idols, 5 so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, those who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.’ 6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Return,[l] and turn away from your idols and from all of your detestable things! Turn away your faces!”’ 7 For each person[m] from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself from following me[n] and brings up his idols into his heart and places before himself[o] a stumbling block of his guilt[p], and yet he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer[q] him myself. 8 And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to[r] be a sign and make him into[s] the subject of proverbs; and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know I am Yahweh. 9 And the prophet, if he is deceived and he speaks a word, I Yahweh, I have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him, and I will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they will bear their guilt, like[t] the guilt of the inquirer so[u] the guilt of the prophet will be, 11 so that the house of Israel will not go astray again from me,[v] and they will not make themselves unclean again with all of their transgressions, and they will be for me a people, and I will be for them as God,” declares[w] the Lord Yahweh.
Jerusalem will not be Spared
12 And the word of Yahweh came[x] to me, saying,[y] 13 “Son of man,[z] when a land sins against me by acting very unfaithfully,[aa] then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it the supply of food,[ab] and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, both human and animal. 14 And if even the three of these men were in the midst of it—Noah, Daniel, and Job—they, through their righteousness, would save only themselves!”[ac] declares[ad] the Lord Yahweh. 15 “If a fierce animal I should let cross through the land, and it should make it childless and it will be a desolation, so that there will not be one crossing over the land due to[ae] the presence of the animal, 16 even if these three men were in the midst of it, as surely as I live,”[af] declares[ag] the Lord Yahweh, “surely they will not save sons and daughters; they themselves alone,[ah] they will be saved, but the land will be a desolation. 17 Or, if I bring a sword over that land, and I say, ‘Sword, let it cross over into[ai] the land!’ And I will cut off from it both human and animal. 18 And if these three men were in the midst of it, as surely as I live,”[aj] declares[ak] the Lord Yahweh, “they will not save sons and daughters, but they alone[al] will be saved. 19 And if I were to send a plague to that land, and I pour out my rage on it with blood to cut it off, both human and animal, 20 and if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of her, as surely as I live,”[am] declares[an] the Lord Yahweh, “surely not a son, surely not a daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save themselves.”[ao] 21 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “How much more when I send my four punishments—the evil sword, and famine, and a fierce animal, and a plague—to Jerusalem to cut it off, both human and animal! 22 But[ap] look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out.[aq] Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to[ar] the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of it that I brought over[as] it. 23 And they will console you when you see their way and their deeds, and you will know that not for nothing I did all that I did in it,” declares[at] the Lord Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 14:1 Literally “to the face of me”
- Ezekiel 14:2 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 14:2 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 14:3 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 14:3 Literally “they gave before their faces”
- Ezekiel 14:3 Or “iniquity”
- Ezekiel 14:3 Literally “Surely I will let me be consulted by them?”
- Ezekiel 14:4 Literally “they gave before their faces”
- Ezekiel 14:4 Or “iniquity”
- Ezekiel 14:4 Hebrew “it”
- Ezekiel 14:4 According to the Kethib; the Qere reads “I will respond to him, he who comes with the multitude of his idols”
- Ezekiel 14:6 Or “Repent”
- Ezekiel 14:7 Literally “a man, a man” or “each one, each one”
- Ezekiel 14:7 Literally “from behind me”
- Ezekiel 14:7 Literally “he puts beside his face”
- Ezekiel 14:7 Or “iniquity”
- Ezekiel 14:7 Or “am answering”
- Ezekiel 14:8 Or “as”
- Ezekiel 14:8 Hebrew “to”
- Ezekiel 14:10 Or “as”
- Ezekiel 14:10 Or “like”
- Ezekiel 14:11 Literally “from behind me”
- Ezekiel 14:11 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 14:12 Literally “was”
- Ezekiel 14:12 Literally “to say”
- Ezekiel 14:13 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Ezekiel 14:13 Literally “acting unfaithfully doing infidelity”
- Ezekiel 14:13 Literally “staff of bread”
- Ezekiel 14:14 Literally “their souls”
- Ezekiel 14:14 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 14:15 Literally “from the face of”
- Ezekiel 14:16 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 14:16 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 14:16 Literally “they to alone them”
- Ezekiel 14:17 Hebrew “in”
- Ezekiel 14:18 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 14:18 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 14:18 Literally “they to alone them”
- Ezekiel 14:20 Literally “live I”
- Ezekiel 14:20 Literally “declaration of”
- Ezekiel 14:20 Literally “their souls”
- Ezekiel 14:22 Or “And”
- Ezekiel 14:22 Literally “the ones being brought out”
- Ezekiel 14:22 Hebrew “for”
- Ezekiel 14:22 Or “upon”
- Ezekiel 14:23 Literally “declaration of”
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