Ezekiel 13:1–16:30
13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy aagainst the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to bthose who prophesy out of their own cheart, 1‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ”
3 Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen 2nothing! 4 O Israel, your prophets are dlike foxes in the deserts. 5 You ehave not gone up into the 3gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. 6 fThey have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has gnot sent them; yet they hope that the word may 4be confirmed. 7 Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord God. 9 “My hand will be hagainst the prophets who envision futility and who idivine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, jnor be written in the record of the house of Israel, knor shall they enter into the land of Israel. lThen you shall know that I am the Lord God.
10 “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, m‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they nplaster 5it with untempered mortar—11 say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. oThere will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. 12 Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. 14 So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. pThen you shall know that I am the Lord.
15 “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, 16 that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who qsee visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ ” says the Lord God.
17 “Likewise, son of man, rset your face against the daughters of your people, swho prophesy out of their own 6heart; prophesy against them, 18 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms 7on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you thunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? 19 And will you profane Me among My people ufor handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”
20 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like 8birds. I will tear them from your arms, and let the souls go, the souls you hunt like birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people out of your hand, and they shall no longer be as prey in your hand. vThen you shall know that I am the Lord.
22 “Because with wlies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have xstrengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. 23 Therefore yyou shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
14 Now asome of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them bthat which causes them to stumble into iniquity. cShould I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?
4 “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and dturn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself. 8 eI will set My face against that man and make him a fsign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. gThen you shall know that I am the Lord.
9 “And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord hhave induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, 11 that the house of Israel may ino longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, jbut that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord God.’ ”
Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its ksupply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. 14 lEven if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves mby their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
15 “If I cause nwild beasts to pass through the land, and they 1empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even othough these three men were 2in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be pdesolate.
17 “Or if qI bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I rcut off man and beast from it, 18 even sthough these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
19 “Or if I send ta pestilence into that land and upour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even vthough Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”
21 For thus says the Lord God: “How much more it shall be when wI send My four 3severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 xYet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be ybrought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and zyou will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing awithout cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord God.
15 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Instead, ait is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?
6 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 7 and bI will set My face against them. cThey will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. dThen you shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. 8 Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.”
16 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, acause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your 1birth band your nativity are from the land of Canaan; cyour father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, don the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were 2loathed on the day you were born.
6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 eI made you 3thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.
8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; fso I spread 4My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I gswore an oath to you and entered into a hcovenant with you, and iyou became Mine,” says …