Ezekielchapter 14

A.Elders with idols set up in their heartsvv. 1-11

1 Then some of the elders of Israel came and sat down before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way? 4 Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him according to his great idolatry, 5 so that I may take hold of the hearts of the people of Israel. For because of their idols, they are all estranged from Me.’ 6 Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For when any Israelite or any foreigner dwelling in Israel separates himself from Me, sets up idols in his heart, and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the 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; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 9 But if the prophet is enticed to speak a message, then it was I the LORD who enticed him, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. 10 They will bear their punishment—the punishment of the inquirer will be the same as that of the prophet— 11 in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Then they will be My people and I will be their God, declares the Lord GOD.’”

B.Noah, Daniel, and Job could save only themselvesvv. 12-20

12 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 13 “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast, 14 then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD. 15 Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts, 16 then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if these three men were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast, 18 then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if these three men were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered. 19 Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath upon it through bloodshed, cutting off from it both man and beast, 20 then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.

C.A remnant brought out to comfort youvv. 21-23

21 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast? 22 Yet, behold, some survivors will be left in it—sons and daughters who will be brought out. They will come out to you, and when you see their conduct and actions, you will be comforted regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem—all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will bring you consolation when you see their conduct and actions, and you will know that it was not without cause that I have done all these things within it,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

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Chapter summary

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Elders sit before Ezekiel to inquire of Jehovah, but 'these men have taken their idols into their heart', the answer they get will match the idols they brought, so that God may take the house of Israel in their own heart. The chapter then names the four sore judgments (sword, famine, evil beasts, pestilence) and delivers its famous verdict on borrowed righteousness: though Noah, Daniel, and Job stood in the land, 'they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness,' not son nor daughter. Yet even so a remnant is brought out, and seeing their way and their doings, 'ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought.'

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Ezekiel — Ezekiel overview

A. 1–11 Elders with idols set up in their hearts
B. 12–20 Noah, Daniel, and Job could save only themselves
C. 21–23 A remnant brought out to comfort you

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Ezekiel 145 verses
- Ezekiel 14:4Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him according to his great idolatry,
- Ezekiel 14:7For when any Israelite or any foreigner dwelling in Israel separates himself from Me, sets up idols in his heart, and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me, I the LORD will answer him Myself.
- Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
- Ezekiel 14:14then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 14:20then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.
- Read Ezekiel 14 →
Ezekiel 204 verses
- Ezekiel 20:1In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down before me.
- Ezekiel 20:16because they kept rejecting My ordinances, refusing to walk in My statutes, and profaning My Sabbaths; for their hearts continually went after their idols.
- Ezekiel 20:25I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.
- Ezekiel 20:43There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
- Read Ezekiel 20 →
Ezekiel 53 verses
- Ezekiel 5:12A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
- Ezekiel 5:15So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD, have spoken.
- Ezekiel 5:17I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
- Read Ezekiel 5 →
Leviticus 263 verses
- Leviticus 26:22I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.
- Leviticus 26:25And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- Leviticus 26:26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
- Read Leviticus 26 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Ezekiel 72 verses
- Ezekiel 7:8Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and vent My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations.
- Ezekiel 7:19They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.
- Read Ezekiel 7 →
Jeremiah 152 verses
- Jeremiah 15:1Then the LORD said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.
- Jeremiah 15:3I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
- Read Jeremiah 15 →
1 John 32 verses
- 1 John 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
- 1 John 3:10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
- Read 1 John 3 →
Ezekiel 81 verse
- Ezekiel 8:1In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.
- Read Ezekiel 8 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.