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Ezekiel 14

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God Refuses the Idolatrous Seekers 1–11

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Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. ​
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And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them? ​
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Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Every man of the house of Israel that taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I Jehovah will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols; ​
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that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. ​
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Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. ​
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For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that separateth himself from me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet to inquire for himself of me; I Jehovah will answer him by myself: ​
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and I will set my face against that man, and will make him an astonishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah. ​
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And if the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, Jehovah, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. ​
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And they shall bear their iniquity: the iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of him that seeketh unto him; ​
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that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord Jehovah. ​

Inescapable Judgment on the Sinful Land 12–23

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And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast; ​
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though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah. ​
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If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the beasts;
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though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate.
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Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off from it man and beast;
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though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only should be delivered themselves.
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Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast;
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though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
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For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
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Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be carried forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto 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.
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And they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ezekiel 14

Verse 1

certain of the elders of Israel — Elders come and sit before Ezekiel as they did in 8:1 and 20:1. In 20:1 they 'came to enquire of the LORD'. Their purpose is not stated here, but v.3 shows it. Their sitting before him recalls 33:31: 'they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them'.

Verse 3

set up their idols in their heart — The idols are 'set up' (literally 'brought up') in the heart, and the 'stumblingblock of their iniquity' (mikshol) is put before their face, as with the silver and gold of 7:19. The question, 'should I be enquired of at all by them?', answers the elders' visit, as in 20:3, 'I will not be enquired of by you'. Ps 66:18 gives the principle.

Verse 4

according to the multitude of his idols — The one who comes to a prophet with idols in his heart will be answered by the LORD himself, and the answer matches the idols, as v.9 shows. Isa 66:4 gives the principle: 'I also will choose their delusions… because when I called, none did answer'. The promise to the one who seeks with 'all your heart' is different (Jer 29:13).

Verse 5

take the house of Israel in their own heart — 'Take' (taphas) is the verb of the snare in 12:13, 'taken in my snare'. The LORD will lay hold of the people where the idols sit, in the heart. 'Estranged' (zur) is to turn aside as a stranger, so those who should be his people have become strangers to him through their idols.

Verse 6

Repent, and turn yourselves — 'Repent', 'turn yourselves' and 'turn away' are one Hebrew verb, shub, to return, said three times. The call is given before the judgment of vv.8–10 falls. 18:30 repeats it, 'Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin', and Isa 55:6 says, 'Seek ye the LORD while he may be found'.

Verse 7

which separateth himself from me — 'Separateth himself' is nazar, the verb of the Nazirite's separation 'unto the LORD' (Num 6:2), turned here to separation from him. 'The stranger that sojourneth in Israel' is included, as in Lev 20:2, 'the strangers that sojourn in Israel'. 'I the LORD will answer him by myself' means the answer comes from the LORD directly.

Verse 8

make him a sign and a proverb — 'I will set my face against that man… and will cut him off' is the sentence of Lev 20:3 on idolatry, here 'from the midst of my people'. 'Sign' (oth) and 'proverb' (mashal, as in 12:22) mean he becomes an example people speak of, as Israel was warned it would be 'an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword' (Deut 28:37).

Verse 9

I the LORD have deceived that prophet — 'Deceived' is pathah, to entice or persuade, the verb of 1 Kgs 22:20–22, 'Who shall persuade Ahab', where a spirit becomes 'a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets'. The prophet is not excused, for the LORD will 'destroy him' (v.9). 2 Thess 2:11 speaks of the same judgment: 'God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie'.

Verse 10

the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh — 'Punishment' is avon, the word for iniquity and for its penalty, and it is used three times in this verse. The inquirer and the prophet share one sentence, as the leader and the led do in Matt 15:14: 'if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch'.

Verse 11

that they may be my people, and I may be their God — The aim of the judgment is a cleansed people: they are to 'go no more astray' (ta'ah) and to be no more 'polluted'. The covenant formula closes the sentence, as in 11:20 and Jer 31:33. 37:23 describes the result: 'Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols'.

Verse 13

break the staff of the bread thereof — 'Trespassing grievously' is the doubled ma'al ma'al, the word of 15:8 and 17:20. The 'staff of bread' is broken in Lev 26:26 and in 4:16. Famine is the first of four judgments, called 'my four sore judgments' in v.21: famine here, then noisome beasts (v.15), the sword (v.17) and pestilence (v.19).

Verse 14

Noah, Daniel, and Job — Three men known for righteousness: Noah 'was a just man and perfect in his generations' (Gen 6:9), Job 'perfect and upright' (Job 1:1), and Daniel, named again in 28:3 for his wisdom. Even they 'should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness'. Jer 15:1 says the same of Moses and Samuel: even they could not turn his mind toward the people.