Ezekiel 14:1-11

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 14

Idolatry of the Elders. ¹ Some of the elders came into my presence and sat down before me.^{[a] 2} Then the word of the Lord came to me: ³ Son of man, these men have reserved a special place in their hearts for their idols and have continued to revere the occasions of sin that led to their downfall. Why should I allow myself to be consulted by them?

⁴ Therefore, speak to them and declare this: Thus says the Lord God: To all those belonging to the house of Israel who continue to revere their idols in their hearts and fail to remove the stumbling block of their iniquity and then approach a prophet, I, the Lord, will deliver my answer to those who approach me with their multitude of idols. ⁵ In this way, I will recapture the hearts of the house of Israel, all of those who have been estranged from me through their idols.

⁶ Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. ⁷ For if any members of the house of Israel or any aliens who reside in Israel separate themselves from me, holding the memory of their idols in their hearts and keeping the cause of their iniquity before their eyes, and then approach a prophet to consult me, I, the Lord, will answer them myself. ⁸ I will set my face against them, and I will make them an example and a byword. I will cut them off from the midst of my people, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.

⁹ If a prophet is led astray into making a prophecy, I, the Lord, shall have been the one who deceived that prophet. I will stretch out my hand against him and eradicate him from the presence of my people Israel. ¹⁰ The punishments received by the inquirer and the prophet shall be identical, ¹¹ so that the house of Israel will never again stray from me or defile themselves any longer with all their sins. Thus, they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord God.