The Lord is against false prophets

1 Then the Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, speak my message to warn Israel's prophets. They are prophesying but they teach only their own ideas. Say to them, “Listen to this message from the Lord. 3 This is what the Almighty Lord says: Terrible trouble will come to those foolish prophets. They have not seen any vision from me but they tell people their own ideas. 4 People of Israel, your prophets have become like wild dogs that live among heaps of stones. 5 They have not helped you to mend the broken walls of your city. The walls will not be strong enough to keep Israel's people safe on the day of the Lord. That is when I will allow your enemies to attack you. 6 The visions that these prophets see are false. They tell lies about what will happen. They say, ‘The Lord says this,’ when I have not sent them with any message. But they still think that what they say will really happen. 7 Yes, you prophets have seen false visions. You tell lies when you say, ‘The Lord says this.’ You say that, but I have not spoken any message to you!

8 So this is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to them: I am now your enemy because of your lies. You deceive people when you tell them what will happen. Yes, I have become your enemy. That is what the Almighty Lord says.

9 I will punish the prophets who see false visions and who tell lies. They will not be among the leaders of my people. They will not be on the list of people who are true Israelites. They will not even return to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Almighty Lord.

10 Those prophets have deceived my people. They say that there will be peace. But there is no peace for my people. They are like men who build a wall without any mortar. They paint it white to make it look nice. 11 So tell those prophets that their paint is useless. The wall will soon fall down. There will be a lot of rain, hail and strong winds that knock it down. 12 After the wall has fallen down, people will say, ‘That white paint was useless!’

13 So this is what I, the Almighty Lord, say: Because I am angry with you, I will send strong winds to destroy your wall. I will send a lot of rain and hail. 14 I will break down your wall with its white paint. I will knock it down to the ground and leave only its foundation. It will fall on you and it will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will show you that I am very angry. I will destroy the wall and the prophets who painted it white. Then I will say to you, ‘The wall is no longer there. The prophets who painted it are no longer alive. 16 They were prophets of Israel who told lies. They promised that Jerusalem would have peace. But there was really no peace.’ That is what the Almighty Lord says.”

17 Now, son of man, you must warn the women among your people who use their own ideas to prophesy. Tell them my message to warn them. 18 Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Terrible trouble will come to those women who make pieces of cloth which they say have magic power. People tie them around their arms and their heads. Those women want to have power over people's lives. They think they can have power over other people's lives but they themselves will be safe. 19 You have made people give you a little bit of barley or bread to eat. That is how they pay you to insult my name! You tell lies to my people, and they listen to you! As a result, you cause people to die who do not deserve to die. And people who do not deserve to live continue to live.

20 So this is what the Almighty Lord says to those women: I hate your pieces of cloth. You use them to catch people in traps, like you catch birds. But I will pull those cloths off your arms. Then those people that you like to catch will become free. 21 I will pull the cloths off your heads. That will rescue my people from your power. You will no longer be able to catch them. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22 You have used lies to make righteous people stop being strong. But I did not want to hurt those people. You have also helped wicked people to continue to do evil things. You did not want them to change and save their lives. 23 So you women will not see any more false visions. You will no longer pretend that you know future events. I will rescue my people from your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ’

Ezekiel 14

1 Some of the leaders of Israel came to talk to me. They sat down in front of me. 2 Then the Lord gave this message to me: 3 ‘Son of man, these men like to worship idols. They allow those idols to cause them to do wicked things. So I should not allow them to ask me anything. 4 You must speak to them. Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: One of these men who like to worships idols may want to ask me something. Those men allow their idols to cause them to do wicked things. So if one of them goes to a prophet to find out something, I will give him an answer! I will give him the answer that he deserves because of his many idols! 5 Israel's people have turned away from me because of their idols. So I will give them an answer that will bring them back to worship me.” 

6 Say to Israel's people, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Turn back to me and stop worshipping idols. Stop doing the disgusting things that you have been doing.”

7 An Israelite or a foreigner who lives in Israel may not want to serve me. He may choose to worship idols and do wicked things. If anyone like that goes to a prophet to find out something from me, I will answer him. Yes, I myself, the Lord, will answer him! 8 I will be that person's enemy. I will punish him to make him an example to others. Other people will see that he is not good. I will not allow him to belong to my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

9 I will also punish the prophet himself if he gives a false message. I, the Lord, have deceived him to show that he is a fool. And I will punish him. I will remove him from among my people, Israel's people. 10 I will punish both the prophet and the person who asked him for a message. They will both have the same punishment. 11 I will do that to bring back Israel's people to serve me. They will not continue to make themselves unclean because of all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’

12 The Lord gave this message to me: 13 ‘Son of man, the people of a whole nation may choose not to obey me. Then I would punish them because of their sins. I might stop the people getting any food to eat. Then there would be a famine that kills both people and animals. 14 If that happens, I would only save the righteous people who lived there. If men like Noah, Daniel and Job lived there, I would save them. But nobody else would escape. That is what the Almighty Lord says.

15 Or I might send wild animals to kill the people of that nation. Nobody would travel through that place. The wild animals would make it too dangerous to travel there. 16 I promise you this, as surely as I live: if those three righteous men lived there, they would only save themselves. They could not even save the lives of their own children. The whole land would become an empty place. That is what the Almighty Lord says.

17 Or I might bring an enemy to attack that nation. I would say, “Soldiers with swords should destroy the whole land.” I would cause them to kill both people and animals. 18 I promise you this, as surely as I live: if those three righteous men lived there, they would only save themselves. They could not even save the lives of their own children. That is what the Almighty Lord says.

19 Or I might punish that nation with a terrible disease. Because I am very angry with those people, I would cause people and animals to die in that place. 20 I promise you this, as surely as I live: if Noah, Daniel and Job lived there, they would only save themselves because they are righteous people. They could not save the lives even of their own children. That is what the Almighty Lord says.

21 This is what the Almighty Lord says: It will be terrible for Jerusalem's people when I punish them in all these four ways. I will send enemy soldiers with swords. I will send famine. I will send wild animals. And I will send disease. That will cause both people and animals to die. 22 But some people will still be alive. Some sons and daughters will come out from the city. They will come to you here in Babylon. You will see the way that those people have lived. You will see the things that they have done. Then you will not be upset that I have punished Jerusalem in all these ways. 23 Yes, when you see what they are like, you will no longer be upset. You will know that I have punished the people of Jerusalem as they deserved. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’