14Ezekiel 14

God Condemns Idolatry

1Some of the leaders of the Israelites came to consult me about the Lord's will.Select Ezekiel 14:1

2Then the Lord spoke to me.Select Ezekiel 14:2

3“Mortal man,” he said, “these men have given their hearts to idols and are letting idols lead them into sin. Do they think I will give them an answer?Select Ezekiel 14:3

4“Now speak to them and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them: Each of you Israelites who have given your heart to idols and let them lead you into sin and who then come to consult a prophet, will get an answer from me—the answer that your many idols deserve!Select Ezekiel 14:4

5All those idols have turned the Israelites away from me, but by my answer I hope to win back their loyalty.Select Ezekiel 14:5

6“Now then, tell the Israelites what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: Turn back and leave your disgusting idols.Select Ezekiel 14:6

7“Whenever one of you Israelites or one of you foreigners who live in the Israelite community turn away from me and worship idols, and then go to consult a prophet, I, the Lord, will give you your answer!Select Ezekiel 14:7

8I will oppose you. I will make an example of you. I will remove you from the community of my people, so that all of you will know that I am the Lord.Select Ezekiel 14:8

9“If any prophets are deceived into giving a false answer, it is because I, the Lord, have deceived them. I will remove them from the people of Israel.Select Ezekiel 14:9

10Both prophets and anyone who consults them will get the same punishment.Select Ezekiel 14:10

11I will do this to keep the Israelites from deserting me and defiling themselves by their sins. They are to be my people, and I will be their God.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.Select Ezekiel 14:11

Noah, Danel, and Job

12The Lord spoke to me.Select Ezekiel 14:12

13“Mortal man,” he said, “if a country sins and is unfaithful to me, I will reach out and destroy its supply of food. I will send a famine and kill people and animals alike.Select Ezekiel 14:13

14Even if those three men, Noah, Danel, and Job, were living there, their goodness would save only their own lives.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.Select Ezekiel 14:14

15“Or I might send wild animals to kill the people, making the land so dangerous that no one could travel through it,Select Ezekiel 14:15

16and even if those three men lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their own children. They would save only their own lives, and the land would become a wilderness.Select Ezekiel 14:16

17“Or I might bring war on that country and send destructive weapons to wipe out people and animals alike,Select Ezekiel 14:17

18and even if those three men lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their children, but only their own lives.Select Ezekiel 14:18

19“If I send an epidemic on that country and in my anger take many lives, killing people and animals,Select Ezekiel 14:19

20even if Noah, Danel, and Job lived there—as surely as I, the Sovereign Lord, am the living God—they would not be able to save even their own children. Their goodness would save only their own lives.”Select Ezekiel 14:20

21This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: “I will send my four worst punishments on Jerusalem—war, famine, wild animals, and disease—to destroy people and animals alike.Select Ezekiel 14:21

22If some survive and save their children, look at them when they come to you. See how evil they are, and be convinced that the punishment I am bringing on Jerusalem is justified;Select Ezekiel 14:22

23then you will know that there was good reason for everything I did.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.Select Ezekiel 14:23