Open English Translation EZE Chapter 14

14 One day some of the Israeli elders came and sat down to talk, 2 and Yahweh gave me this message: 3 “Humanity’s child, these men have taken their idols to be their gods, and their choice to disobey makes it very difficult for them to relate to me. Should I even let them ask me anything?

4 Therefore tell them that the master Yahweh says this: ‘Every Israeli person who makes their idols their priority, or who allows their disobedience to separate them from me, and who then comes to a prophet, I, Yahweh, will answer them according to how many idols they have. 5 I’ll do that so that I can reclaim the Israeli people whose values are now far from mine due to their idols.

6 Therefore tell the Israeli people that the master Yahweh says this: ‘Change your behaviour and turn away from your idols. Make a decision to stop disobeying me by doing those evil things.

7 Any Israeli person or any foreigner residing in Yisrael who deserts me, who takes idols to be their gods and allows their disobedience to separate them from me, and who then comes to a prophet to request my guidance, I, Yahweh, will answer that person myself. 8 I’ll clearly show my disapproval and make that person into a sign for others and into a talking point, and they’ll be isolated from the rest of my people, and you people will know that I am Yahweh.

9 If a prophet is deceived and speaks a message, then I, Yahweh, will deceive that prophet. I’ll take action against him and destroy him to remove him from among the Israeli people. 10 Both the prophet and the one who asks him for advice will be guilty, and I’ll punish both of them for their disobedience. 11 Because of that, the Israeli people will no longer wander away from following me, nor defile themselves any longer through all their disobedience. They’ll be my people, and I’ll be their god. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.’ ”

12 Then Yahweh gave me another message: 13 “Humanity’s child, when a country sins against me by choosing to worship other gods, so that I decide to take action against it, then I’ll break the cycle of food production and send a famine out over it. I’ll punish both people and animals from that land 14 in such a way that even if Noah, Daniel, and Yob (Job) lived in that place, they could only rescue their own lives by being blameless in my sight. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.

15 If I send vicious wild animals through the country and make it barren so that it becomes a wasteland where no one can pass through because of those animals, 16 then even if those same three men were in it, as I live, declares the master Yahweh, they wouldn’t be able to rescue even their own children—only their own lives would be saved, but the land itself would become a wasteland.

17 Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Sword, go through the land and eliminate both the people and domestic animals from it’, 18 then even if those three men were in it, as I live, declares the master Yahweh, they wouldn’t be able to rescue even their own sons or daughters—only their own lives would be saved.

19 Or if I send a plague against that country and pour out my rage against it through bloodshed, in order to eliminate both the people and the domestic animals, 20 as surely as I live, even if Noah, Daniel, and Yob were in that country, they wouldn’t be able to rescue even their sons and daughters. They’d save only themselves by being blameless in my sight. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.

21 The master Yahweh says this: ‘I’ll certainly make things worse by sending my four punishments against Yerushalem to eliminate both the people and the domestic animals from it: famine, sword, wild animals, and plague.[ref] 22 But listen! Despite that, a remnant will be left in the city—survivors who’ll go out with sons and daughters. Yes, they’ll go out to you, and you’ll see their behaviour and actions and understand why they deserved the punishment that I sent to Yerushalem, and about everything else that I’ve sent against the country. 23 The survivors will relieve you people when you see their behaviour and their actions, because you’ll know that all those things that I’ve done against Yerushalem, I didn’t do them without good reason. That’s the master Yahweh’s declaration.”