Then came certain of the elders of Yisra᾽el to me, and sat before me.

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their faces: should I let myself be inquired of at all by them?

Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God; Every man of the house of Yisra᾽el that sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that comes with the multitude of his idols;

that I may catch the house of Yisra᾽el in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

Therefore say to the house of Yisra᾽el, Thus says the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

For everyone of the house of Yisra᾽el, and of the stranger that sojourns in Yisra᾽el, who separates himself from me, and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself:

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 you shall know that I am the Lord.

And if the prophet be deceived when he has 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 Yisra᾽el.

And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeks to him;

that the house of Yisra᾽el may no more go astray from me, neither be defiled any more by all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, says the Lord God.

The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

Son of man, when the land sins against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break its staff of bread, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

though these three men, Noaĥ, Dani᾽el, and Iyyov, were in it, they should only save their own lives by their righteousness, says the Lord God.

If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:

though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they alone shall be saved, but the land shall be desolate.

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:

though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone shall be saved.

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:

though Noaĥ, Dani᾽el, and Iyyov, were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but save their own lives by their righteousness.

For thus says the Lord God; How much more when I send my four severe judgments upon Yerushalayim, namely the sword, and the famine, and the evil beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant to be brought out, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come out to you, and you shall see their way and their doings: and you shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Yerushalayim, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.

And they shall console you, when you see their ways and their doings: and you shall know that not without cause have I done all that I have done in it, says the Lord God.