1En dag kom nogle af Israels ledere til mig for at spørge Herren til råds.2Da sagde Herren til mig:3„De mænd dyrker afguderne i deres hjerter og lever i åben synd. Hvorfor skulle jeg rådgive dem?4Sig til dem: Hør, hvad Gud Herren siger: De israelitter, som dyrker afguder i det skjulte, og som tillader sig at synde, men alligevel kommer til min profet for at spørge mig til råds, vil jeg give et svar, der passer sig til deres afguderi.5Jeg vil straffe dem i håbet om, at Israels folk vil opgive deres afguder og vende tilbage til mig.6Derfor skal du give hele Israels folk følgende budskab fra Gud Herren: Tag afstand fra jeres afguder og jeres afskyelige handlinger.7Alle de israelitter og de fremmede, der bor iblandt dem, som vender sig fra mig og i det skjulte dyrker afguder, der fører dem ud i synd, men alligevel kommer til min profet for at spørge mig til råds, vil jeg personligt tage mig af.8Jeg vil straffe dem, så de bliver et eksempel til skræk og advarsel. Jeg vil udrydde dem af mit folk, så I kan indse, at jeg er Herren.9Men hvis en profet lader sig lokke til selv at give dem et svar, er det mig, der har lokket ham, for at jeg kan få ham udryddet af Israels folk.10Spørgeren og den falske profet er begge skyldige og får den samme straf,11så Israels folk kan lære ikke at forlade mig og gøre sig urene ved syndige handlinger. Da skal de være mit folk, og jeg vil være deres Gud, siger jeg, Herren.”12Herren sagde til mig:13„Du menneske, hvis mit folk gør oprør imod mig, så må jeg straffe dem med hungersnød, så både mennesker og dyr mister livet.14Selv hvis Noa, Job og Daniel havde været i live, ville deres gudfrygtighed kun kunne redde dem selv. De ville ikke kunne afværge katastrofen.15Eller hvis jeg sendte rovdyr, som dræbte folk i hele landet, og ingen længere turde færdes udendørs,16ville end ikke Noas, Jobs og Daniels gudfrygtighed kunne redde deres egne børns liv, så meget mindre resten af folket. Kun de selv ville blive reddet.17Eller hvis jeg straffede landet med krig og befalede fjendens hær at udrydde både mennesker og dyr,18ville end ikke Noas, Jobs og Daniels gudfrygtighed kunne redde deres egne børns liv, så meget mindre resten af folket. Kun de selv ville blive reddet.19Eller hvis jeg udøste min vrede ved at sende en sygdomsepidemi over landet, som gjorde det af med både mennesker og dyr,20ville end ikke Noas, Jobs og Daniels gudfrygtighed kunne redde deres egne børns liv, så meget mindre resten af folket. Kun de selv ville blive reddet.21Så kan I måske forstå, hvor forfærdeligt det bliver, når jeg snart straffer Jerusalem med krig, hungersnød, rovdyr og epidemier.22Men jeg vil lade en rest overleve og lade dem og deres børn komme til jer i Babylonien. Når I så hører om al den ondskab, de har bedrevet, vil I bedre kunne forstå, hvorfor jeg var nødt til at straffe Jerusalem så hårdt,23og I vil kunne indse, at de fortjente den straf, de har fået.”
1Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. (Ez 8,1)2And the word of the Lord came to me:3“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? (2.Kong 3,13; Ez 2,1; Ez 7,19; Ez 20,3; Ez 20,31; Ez 36,37; Ez 44,12)4Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, (Ez 14,7)5that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols. (Es 1,4; 2.Thess 2,11)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. (Ez 18,30; Ez 18,32)7For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the Lord will answer him myself. (Ez 14,4; Ez 14,5)8And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord. (3.Mos 17,10; 5.Mos 28,37; Jer 44,11; Ez 5,15; Ez 6,7; Ez 15,7)9And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (1.Kong 22,23)10And they shall bear their punishment[1]—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike—11that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.” (Ez 11,20; Ez 37,23)
Jerusalem Will Not Be Spared
12And the word of the Lord came to me:13“Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply[2] of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, (2.Krøn 36,14; Ez 2,1; Ez 4,16; Ez 14,17; Ez 14,19; Ez 14,21; Ez 15,8; Ez 17,20; Ez 18,24; Ez 20,27)14even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God. (1.Mos 6,9; Job 1,1; Jer 15,1; Ez 3,19; Ez 28,3; Dan 9,23)15“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, (Ez 5,17; Ez 6,6; Ez 12,20)16even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate. (Ez 5,11; Ez 6,14)17“Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast, (3.Mos 26,25; Jer 47,6; Ez 14,13; Ez 21,3; Ez 21,9)18though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered. (Ez 14,14)19“Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, (2.Sam 24,15; Ez 38,22)20even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.21“For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! (Ez 5,17; Ez 14,13; Ez 14,15; Ez 14,17; Ez 14,19; Ez 33,27; Åb 6,8)22But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. (Ez 6,8; Ez 12,16; Ez 14,23; Ez 16,54; Ez 20,43)23They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”