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EZEKIEL.

[CH. XIII. midst thereof, that ye may know that I am Jehovah. 15 Thus will I accomplish my fury upon the wall, and upon them that daubed it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor they 16 that daubed it; even the prophets of Israel, who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and see visions of peace for her, when there is no peace, saith the Lord, Jehovah.

17

Likewise, son of man, set thou thy face against the daughters of thy people, who prophesy out of their 18 own heart and prophesy thou against them. And say, Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah; Woe to the women, that sew cushions for all elbows, and make pillows for heads of every stature, to ensnare men to destruction! Will ye hunt the lives of my people, and shall ye save 19 your own? And will ye pollute me among my people

for handfuls of barley, and for pieces of bread, slaying them that should not die, and saving them alive, that should not live, by lying to my people, who hearken to 20 your lies? Therefore, thus saith the Lord, Jehovah; Behold I will set myself against the cushions, with which ye ensnare men to destruction, so that they shall escape you; and I will tear them from your arms, and make them free, whom ye would ensnare, so that they 21 shall escape you. Your pillows also will I tear, and deliver

my people out of your hand, and they shall no more be in your hand, to be ensnared, and ye shall know that I 22 am Jehovah. Because with lies ye have made sad the

heart of the righteous, whom I have not made sad, and have strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising 23 him life; therefore shall ye no more see falsehood, nor divine divinations; but I will deliver my people

CH. XIV.]

EZEKIEL.

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out of your hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

VII..

Punishment threatened against idolatrous prophets, and those who consult them.- CH. XIV. 1-11.

1 Now certain men of the elders of Israel came to 2 me, and sat before me. And the word of Jehovah 3 came to me, saying; Son of man, these men have set

up their idols in their heart, and have put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face; shall I 4 hear them, when they inquire of me? Therefore speak with them, and say to them; Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah; Every man of the house of Israel, that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh. to the prophet, I, Jehovah, will answer him according to 5 the multitude of his idols; that I may lay hold of the house of Israel in their hearts, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

6

Therefore say to the house of Israel; Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah; Turn ye, even turn yourselves from your idols, and from all your abominations turn ye 7 your faces! For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet to inquire of me

32

EZEKIEL.

[CH. XIV.

through him, I, Jehovah, will answer him by myself. 8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.

And when the prophet is deceived, when he speaketh any thing, I, Jehovah, have deceived that prophet; and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will 10 destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punish11 ment of him that inquireth of him; that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord, Jehovah.

VIII.

Some of the wicked shall escape a general destruction, and the reason why. CH. XIV. 12-23.

12

AGAIN the word of Jehovah came to me, saying; 13 Son of man, when a land sinneth against me, and grievously transgresseth, and I stretch out my hand against it, and break the staff of its bread, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 though these three men were in it, Noah, Daniel, and

Job, they should deliver only themselves by their

15 righteousness, saith the Lord, Jehovah. When I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, and it be desolate, so that none passeth through it be16 cause of the beasts; 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 17 delivered, but the land should be desolate. Or when

I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off from it man and 18 beast; though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord, Jehovah, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered them19 selves. Or when I send a pestilence upon that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from 20 it man and beast; though Noah, Daniel, and Job were

in it, as I live, saith the Lord, Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should deliver 21 only themselves by their righteousness. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, Jehovah; How much more, when I send my four grievous judgments against Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the wild beast, and the 22 pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? Yet behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, sons and daughters, Behold, they shall come forth to you, and ye shall see their way and their doings, and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil, which I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning 23 all, which I have brought upon her. They shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings; and ye shall know, that not without cause I have done all that I have done to her, saith the Lord, Jehovah.

IX.

The destruction of Jerusalem represented under the image of the unfruitful vine, fit for nothing, but to be burned.

1

- CH. XV.

AND the word of Jehovah came to me, saying; 2 Son of man, what is the wood of the vine more than any wood; a branch, that is among the trees of the 3 forest? Shall wood be taken from it to be wrought into any work? Or will men take a pin of it to hang a 4 vessel upon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the middle 5 of it is burned. Is it then fit for any work? Behold, when it was whole, nothing could be made of it; how much less can any thing be made of it, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?

6

Therefore, thus saith the Lord, Jehovah; As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give to it the 7 inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face. against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that 8 I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have grievously trespassed, saith the Lord, Jehovah.