‘Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me, and the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face. Should I be enquired of at all by them?” '
The elders of the Israelites in captivity now came to Ezekiel. He had clearly made an impression on them and they were seeking Yahweh's words through him. But they had not come as true believers, men firmly committed to the covenant with Yahweh, but as those who sought Yahweh's advice as One among others. They were compromisers. They believed in Yahweh to a certain extent, but they served other gods too, the gods of their captors. However, they were probably hoping to receive some word of comfort and hope in their predicament. Yahweh was the specialist on Jerusalem.
But God knew the truth about them. He knew their hearts. They were still involved in similar idol worship to that which had called down God's judgment on Jerusalem, and their hearts were with them and not with Yahweh. Thus Yahweh called them ‘these men' in contempt.
‘The stumblingblock of their iniquity.' Another way of speaking of idolatry. It either referred to their idols which caused them to stumble and fall into iniquity (compare Ezekiel 7:19 where it was their gold and silver; Ezekiel 14:4; Ezekiel 14:7 where it was seemingly the idols themselves; Ezekiel 18:30 where it was their transgressions which included idolatry), or to the fact that they had encouraged and participated in idolatrous rites, thus leading the people astray, encouraging them in idolatry and putting a stumblingblock before them, causing them also to stumble (compare Ezekiel 44:12). It basically referred to what caused men to stumble. It is a phrase unique to Ezekiel.
‘Should I be enquired of at all by them?' They had no right to seek His face, for they sought the face of idols. He would not hear those who simply treated Him as one of a pantheon of gods. He would not listen to any but those who were totally true to Him (compare Psalms 66:18; 1 Kings 18:21).