Ezekiel Chapter 14

14:1 Some of the leaders of the Israelites came to consult me about the LORD's will.
14:2 Then the LORD spoke to me.
14:3 "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?
14:4 "Now speak to them and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: Every Israelite who has given his heart to idols and lets them lead him into sin and who then comes to consult a prophet, will get an answer from me--the answer that his many idols deserve!
14:5 All those idols have turned the Israelites away from me, but by my answer I hope to win back their loyalty.
14:6 "Now then, tell the Israelites what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: Turn back and leave your disgusting idols.
14:7 "Whenever one of the Israelites or one of the foreigners who live in the Israelite community turns away from me and worships idols, and then goes to consult a prophet, I, the LORD, will give him his answer!
14:8 I will oppose him. I will make an example of him. I will remove him from the community of my people, so that you will know that I am the LORD.
14:9 "If a prophet is deceived into giving a false answer, it is because I, the LORD, have deceived him. I will remove him from the people of Israel.
14:10 Both the prophet and the one who consults him will get the same punishment.
14:11 I 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.
14:12 The LORD spoke to me.
14:13 "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.
14:14 Even if those three men, Noah, Danel, and Job, were living there, their goodness would save only their own lives." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.
14:15 "Or I might send wild animals to kill the people, making the land so dangerous that no one could travel through it,
14:16 and 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.
14:17 "Or I might bring war on that country and send destructive weapons to wipe out people and animals alike,
14:18 and even if those threemen 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.
14:19 "If I send an epidemic on that country and in my anger take many lives, killing people and animals,
14:20 even 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."
14:21 This 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.
14:22 If anyone does survive and save his 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;
14:23 then you will know that there was good reason for everything I did." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.