Beginning
Chapter 13
Prophecy against False Prophets. 1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those whose prophesies are formulated in their own minds: Hear the word of the Lord.
3 Thus says the Lord God: Disaster will engulf those foolish prophets who follow thoughts that are fabricated in their own imaginations and have received no visions. 4 Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals foraging among ruins. 5 They have not bothered to reinforce the breaches in the walls of the house of Israel so that it may stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord.
6 The visions they saw were false, and their divinations were baseless. They assert: “Thus says the Lord,” despite the fact that the Lord did not send them, and then they expect their words to be proved true. 7 Have you not seen false visions or uttered lying divinations when you have asserted, “Thus says the Lord,” even though I have not said any such thing?
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken untruths and proclaimed false predictions, I have now set myself in opposition to you, says the Lord God. 9 My hand will be raised against those prophets whose visions are baseless and whose divinations are clearly false. They will not be granted any position in the council of my people, nor will their names be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they be permitted to set foot in the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 Because they lead my people astray, crying aloud, “Peace!” when there is no peace, and because, when the people were repairing a flimsy wall, these prophets concealed its flaws by smearing whitewash on it, 11 say to those who covered it with whitewash that it will collapse, for I will cause rain to fall in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down and unleash a wind of gale force. 12 When the wall collapses that you have smeared with whitewash and it falls to the ground so that its foundations will be laid bare, you will be destroyed along with it, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.
13 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I intend to unleash a violent stormwind in my rage, torrential rain in my anger, and hailstones in my fury, 14 and I will shatter the wall that you smeared with whitewash and knock it to the ground and lay bare its foundations. It will fall, and you will perish beneath it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
15 When I have vented my fury upon the wall and upon those who smeared it with whitewash, I will say to you, “The wall is gone, and so are those who smeared it— 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied about Jerusalem and envisioned peace for it when there was no peace,” says the Lord God.
17 Prophecy against False Prophetesses. As for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people whose prophecies emerge from their own imaginations. Prophesy against them 18 and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those women who sew magic bands on their wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every height as they strive to ensnare their souls. Will you seek to ensnare the souls of my people and still preserve your own?
19 You have dishonored me in the eyes of my people for a few handfuls of barley and a few scraps of bread. By lying to my people who listen to lies, you have caused the death of persons who should not die and kept alive those who should not live.
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am now determined to move against your magic bands with which you entrap men’s lives. I will rip them from your arms and set free those people whom you have ensnared like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your clutches, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
22 Because you have intimidated the righteous with your lies and disheartened them when I had done nothing to cause them to be alarmed, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to abandon their wicked ways and save their lives, 23 therefore, you will never again see false visions or practice divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and then you will know that I am the Lord.
Chapter 14
Idolatry of the Elders. 1 Some of the elders came into my presence and sat down before me.[a] 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 Son of man, these men have reserved a special place in their hearts for their idols and have continued to revere the occasions of sin that led to their downfall. Why should I allow myself to be consulted by them?
4 Therefore, speak to them and declare this: Thus says the Lord God: To all those belonging to the house of Israel who continue to revere their idols in their hearts and fail to remove the stumbling block of their iniquity and then approach a prophet, I, the Lord, will deliver my answer to those who approach me with their multitude of idols. 5 In this way, I will recapture the hearts of the house of Israel, all of those who have been estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For if any members of the house of Israel or any aliens who reside in Israel separate themselves from me, holding the memory of their idols in their hearts and keeping the cause of their iniquity before their eyes, and then approach a prophet to consult me, I, the Lord, will answer them myself. 8 I will set my face against them, and I will make them an example and a byword. I will cut them off from the midst of my people, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.
9 If a prophet is led astray into making a prophecy, I, the Lord, shall have been the one who deceived that prophet. I will stretch out my hand against him and eradicate him from the presence of my people Israel. 10 The punishments received by the inquirer and the prophet shall be identical, 11 so that the house of Israel will never again stray from me or defile themselves any longer with all their sins. Thus, they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord God.
12 Individual Responsibility.[b] This word of the Lord came to me: 13 Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of food, inflicting famine on it and removing from its midst all of its inhabitants and its animals, 14 even if the three men, Noah, Daniel,[c] and Job were there, they could save no one but themselves by their own righteousness, says the Lord God.
15 If I were to unleash wild animals throughout the land to ravage it, so that it would become a desolate wasteland through which no one could traverse because of the savage beasts, 16 even if those three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would survive.
17 Or if I were to bring the sword down on that country, commanding the sword to pass through the land, isolating it from man and beast, 18 even if those three men were in it, says the Lord God, they would be unable to save either their sons or their daughters; they alone would be saved.
19 Or if I were to inflict a pestilence upon that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, destroying all people and animals with it, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither son nor daughter; they would only save themselves by their righteousness.
21 Thus says the Lord God: Even if I were to inflict upon Jerusalem my four dreadful scourges—sword, famine, wild animals, and pestilence—to cut off from it both men and animals, 22 even so some survivors will be left in it, both men and women. When they come to you and you observe their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled despite the disaster I have inflicted upon Jerusalem.[d] 23 They will be a source of consolation when you reflect upon their conduct and their deeds, and you will come to realize that it was not without good reason that I have done to it what I did.
Chapter 15[e]
The Useless Vine. 1 This word of the Lord came to me:
2 Son of man, how is the wood of the vine
better than any other wood,
the vine branch from a tree in the forest?
3 Is its wood used to make anything?
Are pegs fashioned from it to hang anything?
4 If it is thrown on the fire for fuel,
and the fire consumes both ends and chars the middle,
is it useful for anything?
5 When it was whole,
it served no purpose.
How much less, when the fire has consumed it
and it is charred,
can it be used for anything?
6 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest
that I have thrown on the fire for fuel,
so will I treat the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7 I have set my face against them.
Although they escape from the fire,
that fire will still devour them.
And you will know that I am the Lord
when I turn my face against them.
8 I will reduce the entire land into a desolate waste
because they have been unfaithful,
says the Lord God.
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