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of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts, and have put stumbling blocks of iniquity before their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Any man of the house of Israel who sets up idols in his heart, and puts a stumbling block of iniquity before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, the Lord, will answer him who comes in keeping with the multitude of his idols, 5 so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their hearts, for they are all estranged from Me by their idols” ’.
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Repent and turn away from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
7 “For when anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who live in Israel separates himself from Me, setting up his idols in his heart and putting a stumbling block of iniquity before his face, then he comes to a prophet to inquire of Me, I, the Lord, will answer him Myself. 8 I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
9 “But if a prophet is enticed to speak a message, I, the Lord, have enticed that prophet. I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. 10 They will bear their punishment for their iniquity; the punishment of the one who inquires will be the same as the punishment of the prophet. 11 Then the house of Israel may no longer go astray from Me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions. They will be My people and I will be their God”, says the Lord God’.”
12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by being faithless, and I stretch out My hand against it and cut off its supply of bread and send famine upon it to cut off man and beast from it, 14 even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
15 “Or if I send wild beasts to pass through that land, and they ravage it and leave it desolate so that no man can pass through it because of the beasts, 16 even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they could not deliver neither their sons nor daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.
17 “Or if I send a sword against that land and say, ‘Sword, go through the land’, and I cut off man and beast from it, 18 even though these three men were it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they could not deliver their sons or daughters, but they alone would be delivered.
19 “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My wrath upon it in bloodshed, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it,” says the Lord God, “they could not deliver son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.”
21 For this is what the Lord God says: “How much worse will it be when I send My four devastating judgments on Jerusalem—sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 Yet even so, there will be survivors left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and you will observe their conduct and their actions. Then you will be consoled regarding the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, about all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will console you when you observe their conduct and their actions; for you will know that it was not without cause that I have done what I did to it,” says the Lord God.