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The Prophets · Old Testament

Ezekiel 14

Ezekiel 14: idols in the heart, and Noah, Daniel and Job who would save only themselves

General context

Certain elders of Israel come and sit before the prophet. The Lord says these men "have set up their idols in their heart" and asks, "should I be enquired of at all by them?" Every man of the house of Israel who does so and comes to the prophet will be answered by the Lord "according to the multitude of his idols," so that the Lord may "take the house of Israel in their own heart." The house of Israel is told, "Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols." Anyone, Israelite or sojourning stranger, who separates himself and comes to a prophet to enquire will be answered by the Lord himself, made "a sign and a proverb" and cut off. If a prophet is deceived, "I the Lord have deceived that prophet," and prophet and enquirer will bear the same punishment, so that Israel may go astray no more and be his people. A second word states a rule: when a land sins grievously and the Lord sends famine, noisome beasts, sword or pestilence, then "though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it," they would deliver only their own souls by their righteousness, "neither sons nor daughters." How much more when the Lord sends "my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem." Yet a remnant will be brought forth, "both sons and daughters"; they will come to the captives, who will see their ways and doings and be comforted, and "ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it."

Cited passages: Ezekiel 14:1, Ezekiel 14:3, Ezekiel 14:4, Ezekiel 14:5, Ezekiel 14:6, Ezekiel 14:7, Ezekiel 14:8, Ezekiel 14:9, Ezekiel 14:10, Ezekiel 14:11, Ezekiel 14:13, Ezekiel 14:14, Ezekiel 14:16, Ezekiel 14:21, Ezekiel 14:22, Ezekiel 14:23

Ezekiel 14 (KJV)

1Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.

2And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

3Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

4Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

5That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

6Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

7For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself:

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

9And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

10And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;

11That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.

12The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

13Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

14Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.

15If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:

16Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

17Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:

18Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.

19Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:

20Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

21For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

22Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought 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.

23And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The elders who come are "certain of the elders of Israel," unnamed and uncounted; 8:1 had "the elders of Judah" sitting before the prophet, and the text does not say whether they are the same men. Their question is never recorded; the Lord speaks before any enquiry is quoted. The idols are located "in their heart," and the text does not describe any physical idol in this scene. Noah, Daniel and Job are named twice, and called "these three men" twice more, as a set of righteous men without any account of who they are; the chapter treats their righteousness as known and says only that it would deliver "their own souls." The four judgments are listed as sword, famine, noisome beast and pestilence, and applied to Jerusalem as "my four sore judgments." The remnant of 14:22 is not spared for righteousness; its purpose is that the captives "shall see their way and their doings" and be comforted, and 14:23 says this will show the Lord did not act "without cause," which is the reverse of a claim that the survivors are good. The statement "I the Lord have deceived that prophet" is the Lord's own word about a prophet who answers idolaters, and the text does not soften it. The case law of 14:13 to 20 is stated in the conditional, "when the land sinneth," as a general rule before it is applied to Jerusalem.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 14:1, Ezekiel 14:2, Ezekiel 14:3, Ezekiel 14:20, Ezekiel 14:21, Ezekiel 14:22, Ezekiel 14:23, Ezekiel 14:9, Ezekiel 14:13

Literary context

The chapter is two oracles. The first is shaped like a legal ruling: a case ("Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart") is stated, restated more widely to include the stranger, and given a verdict, with a call to repent placed between the two statements. The phrase "set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face" is repeated three times almost verbatim, and the pairing of prophet and enquirer in one punishment closes it. The second oracle uses four parallel cases, famine, beasts, sword, pestilence, each with the same refrain about "these three men" delivering only themselves, and the oath "as I live, saith the Lord God" in three of the four. The four cases then collapse into one, "my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem," with the argument "How much more." The word "comfort" is used twice at the end, but the comfort offered is knowledge of cause, not relief. The chapter opens with elders sitting before the prophet and never records a question from them; instead the Lord answers the condition of their hearts.

Cited passages: Ezekiel 14:4, Ezekiel 14:7, Ezekiel 14:15, Ezekiel 14:17, Ezekiel 14:18, Ezekiel 14:19, Ezekiel 14:21, Ezekiel 14:22

Key moments

  1. Elders sit before the prophet (Ezekiel 14:1). Certain elders of Israel come and sit before him.
  2. Idols in the heart (Ezekiel 14:3). The Lord asks whether he should be enquired of by men with idols in their hearts.
  3. Repent and turn (Ezekiel 14:6). The house of Israel is told to turn from its idols and abominations.
  4. The deceived prophet (Ezekiel 14:9). The Lord says he has deceived any prophet who answers such enquirers.
  5. Noah, Daniel and Job (Ezekiel 14:14). Three righteous men in a sinning land would deliver only their own souls.
  6. Four sore judgments (Ezekiel 14:21). Sword, famine, noisome beast and pestilence are sent on Jerusalem.
  7. A remnant as comfort (Ezekiel 14:22). Survivors will come to the captives, whose ways will show the Lord acted with cause.

For reflection

The elders come to enquire, and the Lord answers their hearts instead of their question. What does the chapter suggest about the difference between asking for a word and being ready to receive one?

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