Beginning
Condemnation of False Prophets
13 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] 2 “Son of man,[c] prophesy to[d] the prophets of Israel who are prophesying,[e] and you must say to those who are prophets out of their own imagination,[f] ‘Hear the word of Yahweh!’ 3 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Alas, for the foolish prophets who are going after their own spirit, and they did not see anything![g] 4 Your prophets have been like foxes[h] among ruins. 5 You did not go up into[i] the breaches and repair a wall for the house of Israel to stand firm in the battle on the day of Yahweh. 6 They saw falseness and a lying divination,[j] the ones saying, ‘Declaration of Yahweh!’ and Yahweh did not send them, and they wait for the confirmation of their word.[k] 7 Have you not seen a false vision[l] and spoken a lying divination,[m] and you said, ‘Declaration of Yahweh!’ but I myself did not speak.[n] 8 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because of your speaking falseness and because you envisioned a lie, therefore, look! I am against you!” declares[o] the Lord Yahweh. 9 “And it will be my hand against the prophets who are seeing falseness and who are practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written down in the record book of the house of Israel, and into[p] the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh. 10 Because, yes, because they led my people astray, saying[q] ‘Peace!’ And there is not peace. And when anyone[r] builds a flimsy wall, look, they coat it with whitewash. 11 Say to those covering it with whitewash that it will fall; there will be a torrent of rain,[s] and I will give stones of hail; they will fall! [t] And a windstorm[u] will burst forth! 12 And look! When the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘And so I will let burst forth a windstorm[v] in my rage, and there will be a torrent of rain[w] in my anger, and hailstones in my rage for complete destruction.[x] 14 And I will break down the wall that you covered with whitewash, and I will knock it to the ground, and its foundation will be revealed, and it will fall, and you will come to an end in the midst of it, and you will know that I am Yahweh! 15 And I will fully vent my rage against the wall and against those covering it with whitewash, and I will say to you, “The wall is no more,[y] and the people covering it are no more,[z] 16 that is, the prophets of Israel, the ones prophesying concerning Jerusalem and the ones seeing visions of peace, and there is not peace!’” ” declares[aa] the Lord Yahweh.
17 “And you, son of man,[ab] place your face toward the daughters of your people who prophesy from their imagination,[ac] and prophesy against them! 18 And you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to those who sew[ad] magic charm bands on all the wrists[ae] of the hands of my people and those who make the veils[af] that are on the head of people of every height, to ensnare people’s lives![ag] Will you ensnare the lives[ah] of my people and keep yourselves alive?[ai] 19 And you defiled me among my people for a handful of barley and for morsels of bread to kill persons who should not die and to keep alive persons who should not live by means of your lies to my people who are listening to your lies.”’[aj] 20 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Look! I am against your magic charm bands with which you are ensnaring persons[ak] as birds; I will tear them from your arms, and I will release the persons that you are ensnaring, treating persons as birds. 21 And I will tear off your veils, and I will deliver my people from your hand, and they will not any longer be in your hand as prey, and you will know that I am Yahweh. 22 Because you disheartened the heart of the righteous by deception, and I have not[al] caused him pain, and strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he did not turn[am] from his wicked way to save his life. 23 Therefore falseness[an] you will not see,[ao] and divination you will not practice[ap] any longer, and I will rescue my people from your hand, and you will know that I am Yahweh!’”
Condemnation of Israel’s Idolatrous Elders
14 And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat before me.[aq] 2 And the word of Yahweh came[ar] to me, saying,[as] 3 “Son of man,[at] these men took up their idols into their heart and they placed before themselves[au] a stumbling block of their guilt.[av] Should I really let myself be consulted by them?[aw] 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[ax] a stumbling block of his guilt[ay] and yet he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act[az] with respect to the multitude[ba] 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,[bb] and turn away from your idols and from all of your detestable things! Turn away your faces!”’ 7 For each person[bc] from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself from following me[bd] and brings up his idols into his heart and places before himself[be] a stumbling block of his guilt[bf], and yet he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer[bg] him myself. 8 And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to[bh] be a sign and make him into[bi] 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[bj] the guilt of the inquirer so[bk] the guilt of the prophet will be, 11 so that the house of Israel will not go astray again from me,[bl] 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[bm] the Lord Yahweh.
Jerusalem will not be Spared
12 And the word of Yahweh came[bn] to me, saying,[bo] 13 “Son of man,[bp] when a land sins against me by acting very unfaithfully,[bq] then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it the supply of food,[br] 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!”[bs] declares[bt] 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[bu] the presence of the animal, 16 even if these three men were in the midst of it, as surely as I live,”[bv] declares[bw] the Lord Yahweh, “surely they will not save sons and daughters; they themselves alone,[bx] 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[by] 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,”[bz] declares[ca] the Lord Yahweh, “they will not save sons and daughters, but they alone[cb] 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,”[cc] declares[cd] the Lord Yahweh, “surely not a son, surely not a daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save themselves.”[ce] 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[cf] look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out.[cg] Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to[ch] the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of it that I brought over[ci] 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[cj] the Lord Yahweh.
Jerusalem a Useless Vine
15 And the word of Yahweh came[ck] to me, saying,[cl] 2 “Son of man, how will the wood of the vine be better than[cm] any of the wood of[cn] the branch which is among the trees of the forest?[co] 3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can they take a tent peg from it to hang on it any object?[cp] 4 Look! It is given to the fire as fuel. The fire will consume two of its ends, and its middle will be charred. Is it useful for anything? 5 Look! When it is in perfect condition,[cq] it will not be used for anything, how much less[cr] when the fire has consumed it[cs] and it is charred; and then can it be used again for anything? 6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Just like[ct] the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest[cu] which I gave to the fire for fuel, so I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them. From the fire they mayescape,[cv] but the fire will yet consume them, and they will know that I am Yahweh when I set my face against them.[cw] 8 And I will make the land a desolation because they acted very unfaithfully!”[cx] declares[cy] the Lord Yahweh.
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