14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel to me, and sat
before me.
14:2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their
heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before
their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?
14:4 Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his
idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his
iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD
will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his
idols;
14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart,
because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
14:6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Repent, and turn [yourselves] from your idols; and turn
away your faces from all your abominations.
14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger
that sojourneth in Israel, who separateth himself from me, and
setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the
stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to
a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will
answer him by myself:
14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him
a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of
my people; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing,
I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out
my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my
people Israel.
14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the
punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of
him that seeketh [to him];
14:11 That the house of Israel may no more go astray from me,
neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but
that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the
Lord GOD.
14:12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
14:13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by
trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon
it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will
send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it,
they should deliver their own souls only by their
righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
14:15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and
they lay it waste, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass
through because of the beasts:
14:16 [Though] these three men [were] in it, [as] I live, saith
the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters;
they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
14:17 Or [if] I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go
through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
14:18 Though these three men [were] in it, [as] I live, saith
the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters,
but they only shall be delivered themselves.
14:19 Or [if] I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out
my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, [were] in it, [as] I live,
saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor
daughter; they shall deliver their own souls only by their
righteousness.
14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my
four severe judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the
famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off
from it man and beast?
14:22 Yet behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be
brought forth, [both] sons and daughters: behold, they shall
come forth to you, and ye shall see their way and their doings:
and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have
brought upon Jerusalem, [even] concerning all that I have
brought upon it.
14:23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and
their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without
cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
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