Ezekiel 14

¹ Next, some elders of Israel visited me and while they were sitting with me,

² the word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows,

³ 'Son of man, these men have enshrined their foul idols in their hearts and placed the cause of theirsinning right before their eyes. Why should I let myself be consulted by them?

⁴ So speak to them; tel them this, "Lord Yahweh says this: Every member of the House of Israel whoenshrines his foul idols in his heart and places the cause of his sinning right before his eyes, and who thenapproaches the prophet, wil get this answer from me, Yahweh, as the multiplicity of his idols deserves,

⁵ and in this way I hope to win back the hearts of the House of Israel who have al been estranged fromme by their foul idols."

⁶ 'So say to the House of Israel, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Come back, turn away from your foulidols, turn your backs on al your loathsome practices;

⁷ for if any member of the House of Israel -- or any foreigner living in Israel -- deserts me to enshrine hisfoul idols in his heart and places the cause of his sinning right before his eyes and then approaches a prophet toconsult me through him, he will get his answer from me, Yahweh.

⁸ I shal set my face against that person; I shall make him an example and a byword; I shal rid mypeople of him, and you wil know that I am Yahweh.

⁹ And if the prophet is seduced into saying something, I, Yahweh, shall have seduced that prophet; Ishall point my finger at him and rid my people Israel of him.

¹⁰ Both wil be punished for their guilt; the prophet's punishment wil be the same as that of the personwho consults him,

¹¹ so that the House of Israel wil never stray from me again or defile themselves again with thesecrimes, but be my people and I their God -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '

¹² The word of Yahweh was addressed to me:

¹³ 'Son of man, when a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I point my finger at it anddestroy its supply of food, inflicting famine on it and denuding it of human and animal,

¹⁴ even if the three men, Noah, Danel and Job, were living in it, they would save no one but themselvesby their uprightness -- declares the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁵ Were I to unleash wild beasts on that country to rob it of its children and reduce it to a desert whichno one would dare to cross because of the animals,

¹⁶ even if these three men were living there, as I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- they would not beable to save either son or daughter; they alone would be saved, and the country would become a desert.

¹⁷ Were I to bring the sword down on that country and say, "Sword, cross the country!" so as to denude it of human and animal,

¹⁸ even if these three men were living there, as I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- they would not beable to save either son or daughter; they alone would be saved.

¹⁹ If I were to send the plague on that country and vent my fury on it by bloodshed, so as to denude it ofhuman and animal,

²⁰ even if Noah and Danel and Job were living there, as I live -- declares the Lord Yahweh -- they wouldbe able to save neither son nor daughter, only themselves by their uprightness.

²¹ 'The Lord Yahweh says this, "Even if I send my four dreadful scourges on Jerusalem-sword, famine,wild beasts and plague -- to denude it of human and animal,

²² even so, there wil be a remnant left, a few men and women who come through; when they come toyou and you see their conduct and actions, you wil take comfort in spite of the disaster which I have brought onJerusalem, in spite of al I have brought on her.

²³ They will comfort you, when you see their conduct and actions, and so you wil know that I have notdone in vain al I have done to her -- declares the Lord Yahweh." '