Study Desk

"So tell them this: The Lord God says, ‘It is true, I forced my people to go far away to other nations. I did scatter them among many countries. But I will be their temple for a short time while they are in those other countries.

Then God said, "But now, their hearts belong to those terrible, filthy idols, and I must punish those people for the bad things they have done." This is what the Lord God said.

"Son of man, you live among people who refuse to obey me. They have eyes to see what I have done for them, but they don't see those things. They have ears to hear what I told them to do, but they don't hear my commands, because they are a rebellious people.

Tell them, ‘I am an example for all of you. What I have done will happen to you.' You will be forced to go to a faraway country as prisoners.

"Son of man, the people of Israel think that the visions I give you are for a time far in the future. They think you are talking about things that will happen many years from now.

"Son of man, you must speak to the prophets of Israel for me. They are only saying what they want to say. You must speak to them. Tell them this: ‘Listen to this message from the Lord !

"‘Israel, your prophets are false prophets. They are like jackals hunting for food among the ruins of a city.

You have not put soldiers near the broken walls of the city. You have not built walls to protect the family of Israel. So when the day comes for the Lord to punish you, you will lose the war!

"‘Your prophets say they have seen visions. They did their magic to see what will happen next. But everything they said would happen is a lie. They claim to speak for the Lord , but the Lord did not send them. And they still think that what they said is what will happen.

"Again and again those false prophets lied to my people. They said there would be peace, but there is no peace. The people need to fix the walls and prepare for war. But they only slap a thin coat of plaster over the broken walls.

God said, "Son of man, look at the women prophets in Israel. They say the things they want to say, so you must speak against them for me. You must say this to them:

‘This is what the Lord God says: Bad things will happen to you women. You sew cloth bracelets for people to wear on their arms. You make special scarves for people to wear on their heads. You say those things have magic powers to control people's lives. You trap the people only to keep yourselves alive!

You make them think I am not important. You turn them against me for a few handfuls of barley and a few scraps of bread. You tell lies to my people. They love to listen to lies. You kill those who should live, and you let people live who should die.

"Son of man, these men came to talk to you. But they still have their filthy idols. They kept the things that made them sin. They still worship those statues, so why do they come to me for advice? Should I answer their questions?

But I will give them an answer. You must tell them this: ‘This is what the Lord God says: If any Israelites come to a prophet and ask me for advice, I myself will answer their questions. I, the Lord , will answer them even if they still have their filthy idols, even if they kept the things that made them sin, and even if they still worship those statues. I will speak to them in spite of all their filthy idols.

This is because I want to touch their hearts. I want to show them that I love them, even though they left me for their filthy idols.'

If any Israelites or foreigners who live in Israel come to me for advice, I will give them an answer. I, the Lord , will answer them even if they still have their filthy idols, even if they kept the things that made them sin, and even if they worship those statues. This is the answer I will give them:

So both the one who came for advice and the prophet who gave an answer will get the same punishment.

Then the Lord God said, "So think how bad it will be for Jerusalem. I will send all four of those punishments against that city! I will send enemy soldiers, hunger, disease, and wild animals against that city. I will remove all the people and animals from that country.

Some of the people will escape from that country. They will bring their sons and daughters and come to you for help. Then you will see how bad those people really are, and you will feel better about all the troubles that I am bringing to Jerusalem.