Ezekiel 14:1

Condemnation of Israel’s Idolatrous Elders

1 And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat {before me}.

Ezekiel 14:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 14:1

Then came certain, of the elders of Israel unto me
The Syriac version adds, "to consult the Lord"; by the prophet. These, according to Kimchi, were the elders of the captivity, the heads of the captives that were now in Babylon with Ezekiel: but there are others that think they were some that came from Jerusalem to Babylon on some business or another; and having heard much of the prophet, came to visit him, and to hear his prophecies, and inquire of the Lord by him: and sat before me;
silent and pensive, as persons in anxiety and distress; or as hearers of him, for sitting is a hearing gesture; they sat and heard with great attention, gravity, and seriousness, with seeming affection and reverence; and all this was not in a visionary way, but was a real fact; see ( Ezekiel 33:31 Ezekiel 33:32 ) .

Ezekiel 14:1 In-Context

1 And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat {before me}.

2 And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying},

3 "Son of man, these men took up their idols into their heart and {they placed before themselves} a stumbling block of their guilt. {Should I really let myself be consulted by them}?

4 Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,

5 so that [I may] take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, [those] who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.'

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "to the face of me"