Ezekiel 13–28

The Lord Punishes Those Who Pretend to Be True Prophets

13A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, prophesy against those who are now prophesying in Israel. What they prophesy comes out of their own minds. Tell them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message! ³The Lord and King says, “How terrible it will be for you foolish prophets! You say what your own minds tell you to. Your visions did not come from me.

⁴“ ‘ “Israel, your prophets are like wild dogs that live among broken-down buildings. ⁵You have not repaired the cracks in the city wall for the people of Israel. So it will not stand firm in the battle on the day I judge you. ⁶The visions of those prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say, ‘The Lord announces.’ But I have not sent them. In spite of that, they expect their words to come true.

⁷“ ‘ “You prophets have seen false visions. You have used magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But your magic tricks are lies. So you lied when you said, ‘The Lord announces.’ I did not even speak to you at all.”

⁸“ ‘The Lord and King says, “I am against you prophets. Your messages are false. Your visions do not come true,” announces the Lord and King.

⁹“ ‘ “Israel, my powerful hand will be against the prophets who see false visions. Their magic tricks are lies. They will not be among the leaders of my people. They will not be listed in the records of Israel. In fact, they will not even enter the land. Then you will know that I am the Lord and King.

¹⁰“ ‘ “They lead my people away from me. They say, ‘Peace.’ But there isn’t any peace. They are like people who build a weak wall. They try to cover up the weakness by painting the wall white. ¹¹Tell those who do it that their wall is going to fall. Heavy rains will come. I will send hailstones crashing down. Powerful winds will blow. ¹²The wall will fall down. Then people will ask them, ‘Now where is the paint you covered it with?’ ”

¹³“ ‘So the Lord and King speaks. He says, “When I am burning with anger, I will send a powerful wind. Hailstones and heavy rains will come. They will fall with great force. ¹⁴I will tear down the wall you prophets painted over. I will knock it down. The only thing left will be its foundation. When it falls, you will be destroyed along with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵“ ‘ “So I will pour out all of my burning anger on the wall. I will also send it against you prophets who painted it. I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone. You who painted it will be gone too. ¹⁶You prophets of Israel prophesied to Jerusalem. You saw visions of peace for its people. But there wasn’t any peace,’ announces the Lord and King.” ’

¹⁷“Son of man, turn your attention to the daughters of your people. What they prophesy comes out of their own minds. So prophesy against them. ¹⁸Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “How terrible it will be for you women who sew magic charms to put around your wrists! You make veils of different lengths to put on your heads. You do those things to trap people. You trap my people. But you will also be trapped. ¹⁹You have treated me as if I were not holy. You did it among my very own people. You did it for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You told lies to my people. They like to listen to lies. You killed those who should have lived. And you spared those who should have died.”

²⁰“ ‘So the Lord and King says, “I am against your magic charms. You use them to trap people as if they were birds. I will tear them off your arms. I will set free the people you trap like birds. ²¹I will tear your veils off your heads. I will save my people from your powerful hands. They will no longer be under your control. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

²²“ ‘ “I had not made godly people sad. But when you told them lies, you made them lose all hope. You advised sinful people not to turn from their evil ways. You did not want them to save their lives. ²³So you will never see false visions again. You will not use your magic tricks anymore. I will save my people from your powerful hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

The Lord Judges Those Who Worship Other Gods

14Some of the elders of Israel came to see me. They sat down with me. ²Then a message came to me from the Lord. He said, ³“Son of man, these men have thought about nothing but other gods. They have fallen into the evil trap of worshiping them. Should I let those men ask me for any advice?

⁴“Speak to them. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Suppose an Israelite thinks about other gods. And he falls into the evil trap of worshiping them. Then he goes to a prophet to ask for advice. If he does, I myself will tell the prophet to answer him in keeping with his worship of many gods. ⁵I will win back the hearts of the people of Israel. All of them have deserted me for their other gods.” ’

⁶“So speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Turn away from your sins! Also turn away from your gods. Give up all of the evil things you have done. I hate them.

⁷“ ‘ “Suppose an Israelite or outsider who lives in Israel separates himself from me. And he thinks about other gods. He falls into the evil trap of worshiping them. Then he goes to a prophet to ask me for advice. If he does, I myself will tell the prophet to answer him. ⁸I will turn against him. I will make an example out of him. People will laugh at him. I will cut him off from you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁹“ ‘ “Suppose that prophet is stirred up to give a prophecy. Then I am the one who has stirred him up. And I will reach out my powerful hand against him. I will destroy him from among my people Israel. ¹⁰The prophet will be as much to blame as the one who asks him for advice. Both of them will be guilty. ¹¹Then the people of Israel will no longer wander away from me. And they will not pollute themselves anymore with their many sins. They will be my people. And I will be their God,” ’ announces the Lord and King.”

The Lord Punishes All Sinners

¹²A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ¹³“Son of man, suppose the people in a certain country sin against me. And they are not faithful to me. So I reach out my powerful hand against them. I cut off their food supply. I make them very hungry. I kill them and their animals. ¹⁴And suppose Noah, Daniel and Job were in that country. Then those three men could save only themselves by doing what is right,” announces the Lord and King.

¹⁵“Or suppose I send wild animals through that country. And they kill all of its children. It becomes a dry and empty desert. No one can pass through it because of the animals. ¹⁶And suppose those three men were in that country. Then they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved. But the land would become a dry and empty desert. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.

¹⁷“Or suppose I send swords to kill the people in that country. And I say, ‘Let swords sweep all through the land.’ And I kill its people and their animals. ¹⁸And suppose those three men were in that country. Then they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.

¹⁹“Or suppose I send a plague into that land. And I pour out my burning anger on it by spilling blood. I kill its people and their animals. ²⁰And suppose Noah, Daniel and Job were in that land. Then they could not save their own sons or daughters. They could save only themselves by doing what is right. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.

²¹The Lord and King says, “It will get much worse. I will punish Jerusalem in four horrible ways. There will be war, hunger, wild animals and plague. They will destroy the people and their animals.

²²“But some people will be left alive. Some children will be brought out of the city. They will come to you. You will see how they act and the way they live. And you will be comforted in spite of all of the trouble I brought on Jerusalem. ²³You will be comforted when you see how they act and the way they live. Then you will know that I did not do anything there without a reason,” announces the Lord and King.

Jerusalem Is Like a Useless Vine

15A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, is the wood of a vine better than the wood of any of the trees in the forest? ³Can its wood ever be made into anything useful? Can pegs be made from it to hang things on?

⁴“Suppose it is thrown in the fire to be burned. And the fire burns both ends and blackens the middle. Then is it useful for anything? ⁵It was not useful when it was whole. So how can it be made into something useful now? The fire has burned it and blackened it.”

⁶The Lord and King says, “Instead of the wood of any tree in the forest, I have given the vine to burn in the fire. I will treat the people who live in Jerusalem the same way. ⁷I will turn against them. They might have come out of the fire. But the fire will destroy them anyway. I will turn against them. Then they will know that I am the Lord. ⁸I will make the land a dry and empty desert. My people have not been faithful to me,” announces the Lord and King.

A Story That Pictures Unfaithful Jerusalem

16A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem the evil things they have done. I hate those things.

³“Tell them, ‘The Lord and King speaks to Jerusalem. He says, “Your history in the land of Canaan goes back a long way. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite. ⁴On the day you were born your cord was not cut. You were not washed with water to clean you up. You were not rubbed with salt. And you were not wrapped in large strips of cloth. ⁵No one took pity on you. No one was concerned enough to do any of those things for you. Instead, you were thrown out into an open field. You were hated on the day you…