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Ezekiel 13

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

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Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;

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Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

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O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

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Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.

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They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

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Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken?

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Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.

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And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

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Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:

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Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

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Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?

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Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.

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So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

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Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;

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To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord God.

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Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

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And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?

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And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

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Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.

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Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

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Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

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Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

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Ezekiel 13

God condemns false prophets and prophetesses who claim inspiration while actually speaking from their own hearts, likening them to foxes damaging a vineyard by their false reassurance that Jerusalem will survive. This chapter establishes prophetic authority criteria: true prophets speak judgment arising from covenant violation; false prophets offer false comfort. The false prophets' message—"Peace, peace, when there is no peace" (cf. Jeremiah 6:14)—represents the fundamental spiritual problem requiring Ezekiel's corrective message. God promises to stand against the false prophets and remove them from the community, establishing divine commitment to truth and authentic prophecy. The prophetesses who sew magic bands and sell false hope represent corruption of spiritual authority throughout society; judgment affects all who mislead the community spiritually. This chapter's polemic against false prophecy establishes Ezekiel's hermeneutical stance: the true prophet announces judgment aligned with covenant violation; comfort without preceding transformation constitutes deception. The theodicy issue underlying this chapter is acute: how do people distinguish true from false prophecy? Ezekiel's answer is implicit: true prophecy aligns with covenant theology and announces judgment before hope. This chapter reinforces Ezekiel's authority by contrasting his authentic, covenant-aligned message with competitors' false reassurance.

Ezekiel 13:23

Therefore, the Lord will not send forth false visions nor practice divination; He will deliver His people from the hand of the false prophets and prophetesses, and the people shall know that the Lord is God. This closing verse promises the final vindication of God's word and the elimination of false prophecy from Israel. The knowledge that the Lord is God becomes both the consequence and the purpose of the destruction of false prophecy. By ending false prophecy, God restores the proper functioning of Israel's spiritual life and establishes His true authority.

Ezekiel 13:18

The false prophetesses sew magic wristbands on the wrists of all people and make veils for the heads of people of every stature to hunt souls, describing practices of spiritual manipulation and control. The magic wristbands and veils likely represent protective amulets or charms that exploit people's desire for spiritual security and invoke occult power rather than trust in God. The phrase "hunt souls" indicates predatory spiritual behavior, where the prophetesses trap and ensnare people for their own purposes rather than serve their genuine spiritual welfare. This verse reveals that female false prophets employed mystical practices to establish authority and control over the vulnerable.

Ezekiel 13:19

The false prophetesses profane God's name among God's people for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, slaying souls who should not die and preserving alive souls who should not live. The commercial basis of their prophecy—payment in barley and bread—exposes them as mercenary spiritual operatives who prioritize gain over truth. Their role reversal of who should die and who should live represents an inversion of God's judgment and an assumption of divine prerogative. This verse reveals that false prophecy commodifies the sacred, turning spiritual authority into a market good and fundamentally corrupting the prophetic office.

Ezekiel 13:20

Therefore, the Lord will act against these prophetesses, tearing their magic wristbands from the people's wrists and delivering His people from their grasp, reversing the ensnarement they perpetrated. The divine action directly undoes the binding magic and coercive control the prophetesses exercised, restoring freedom to those trapped by their deceptions. God's intervention becomes a liberation event, releasing people from the bondage imposed by false spiritual authority. This verse promises that God will actively intervene to protect His people from predatory false prophecy.

Ezekiel 13:21

The Lord will tear the veils and deliver His people from the hand of the prophetesses who hunt souls like birds, a complete reversal of the captivity and control these women exercised. The image of hunting souls like birds emphasizes the predatory nature of their activity and the victimhood of those trapped by their practices. God's tearing of the veils represents both the destruction of the magical apparatus and the exposure of the prophetesses' deceptions. This verse emphasizes God's commitment to liberating His people from spiritual exploitation.

Ezekiel 13:22

The Lord will weaken the hands of the false prophets who have disheartened the righteous with lies while strengthening the wicked so they do not turn from their evil way. The false prophecies that promise peace despite covenant violation actually encourage wickedness by removing the incentive to repent. By disheartening the righteous—those attempting to maintain covenantal faithfulness—the false prophets pervert the entire moral and spiritual economy of Israel. This verse reveals that false prophecy has not merely theological but existential consequences, affecting how people live morally and spiritually.

Ezekiel 13:7

The Lord declares that the false prophets lie, saying "the Lord declares it," when He has not spoken, making their core offense the unauthorized appropriation of divine authority. The repetition of this charge throughout the verse emphasizes the heinousness of speaking in God's name without commission, which places the false prophets in direct opposition to the true prophet Ezekiel. Every utterance that attributes a word to the Lord when He has not spoken constitutes a fresh violation of the covenant and desecration of God's holiness. This verse underscores that the fundamental problem with false prophecy is not merely error but active impersonation of God's authority.

Ezekiel 13:8

Ezekiel declares that the Lord's hand shall be against the false prophets, making them targets of divine judgment rather than spokespersons of divine will. This pronouncement reverses the expected relationship: instead of dispensing God's word to Israel, the false prophets become objects of God's wrath. The divine opposition to these prophets will be visible and unmistakable, serving as a sign that they did not speak for God. This verse announces that the false prophets' ultimate fate will demonstrate to Israel the consequences of speaking presumptuously in God's name.

Ezekiel 13:9

The false prophets will not be in the council of God's people, nor enrolled in the registry of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel, indicating multiple layers of exclusion from covenant blessing and restoration. This verse announces both present spiritual exclusion and future eschatological rejection from the reconstituted people of God and their promised land. The "council" (sod) refers to the intimate communion and counsel of God's community, a privilege the false prophets forfeited through their fraudulent claims. Their absence from the registry of Israel indicates they are not truly part of the covenantal community despite their residence in the land.

Ezekiel 13:10

The false prophets have led My people astray, saying "peace" when there is no peace, describing how deceptive prophecy becomes an active agent of spiritual corruption and destruction. This verse identifies the practical consequence of false prophecy: it generates false confidence and prevents genuine repentance and spiritual preparation for coming judgment. The declaration of false peace contradicts the reality of Israel's broken covenant and coming judgment, leading people into catastrophic complacency. This verse reveals how false prophecy functions not merely as error but as active deception that imperils the spiritual health of the entire community.

Ezekiel 13:11

The false prophets build a flimsy wall and plaster it with whitewash, a metaphor for the superficial, deceptive comfort they offer to Israel in its spiritual crisis. The wall represents Israel's attempted self-defense and false security, which the false prophets reinforce with their lies (the whitewash). The materials used—flimsy construction covered with whitewash—indicate both the structural weakness of their message and its superficial appeal. This image of cosmetic covering concealing fundamental instability captures how false prophecy masks rather than addresses Israel's spiritual and covenantal problems.

Ezekiel 13:12

The Lord announces that the wall will fall, and those who plastered it will perish, a promise of judgment upon both the false prophets and those who benefit from their deception. The collapse of the wall represents not merely the failure of false prophecy but its complete undoing and the vindication of God's true word. Those who plastered it—the false prophets themselves—will face divine judgment, indicating that complicity in spiritual deception carries serious consequences. This verse assures that false prophecy's apparent success is temporary; ultimate judgment will expose its falsity and destroy both the false message and its messengers.

Ezekiel 13:13

Therefore, the Lord will make a windstorm break out in His wrath, with hailstones in His fury and a destroying wind, describing the violent force of God's judgment. The natural imagery of severe weather represents God's raw power unleashed against Israel and against those who have misdirected the people. The progression from wind to hail to destroying wind emphasizes mounting intensity and inescapability of divine judgment. This verse clarifies that the wall's collapse will not be gradual or resistible but catastrophic, demonstrating that God's judgment, once unleashed, operates with overwhelming power.

Ezekiel 13:14

God will break down the wall they plastered with whitewash, bringing it down to the ground so that its foundation is exposed, a complete and humiliating destruction of the false prophets' work. The exposure of the foundation—the revelation of what lies beneath the superficial whitewash—symbolizes the unmasking of the false prophets' deceptions. The destruction extends from the visible surface down to the very foundation, indicating total annihilation rather than partial damage. This verse emphasizes that God's judgment will not only refute false prophecy but publicly demolish it, leaving no structure of credibility standing.

Ezekiel 13:15

Thus God will accomplish His wrath upon the wall and upon those who plastered it, that the people may know that the Lord is God. The destruction of the wall and the false prophets serves an educational function: it teaches Israel to recognize God's true character and power. The catastrophic judgment becomes a sign and demonstration of God's sovereignty and the ineffectiveness of false prophecy against His will. This verse reveals the redemptive purpose underlying judgment: through the destruction of false prophecy, God re-establishes His authority in Israel's perception and understanding.

Ezekiel 13:16

The false prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace will themselves face judgment and will know that the Lord has spoken. This verse specifically identifies those prophets who focused their deceptions on Jerusalem, the spiritual heart of Israel, making their false prophecies of peace especially grievous. The judgment upon these prophets serves a dual purpose: punishing their deception and forcing them to acknowledge the true prophet and the true God. The eschatological recognition of God's word through judgment echoes throughout Ezekiel as a key theological theme.

Ezekiel 13:17

The Lord commands Ezekiel to prophesy against the women who prophesy from their own hearts, introducing a second category of false prophecy operated by women within Israel. These female false prophets apparently enjoyed significant influence in Israel's spiritual life, making them equally subject to divine judgment. The command to prophesy against them establishes that Ezekiel's role includes confronting false prophecy regardless of the gender of the false prophets. This verse indicates that spiritual deception and false authority were not limited to male prophets but represented a broader structural problem in Israel's religious leadership.

Ezekiel 13:1

Ezekiel receives the word of the Lord commanding him to prophesy against the false prophets who speak from their own hearts rather than from God's revealed word. This opening establishes the central theme of chapter 13: the critical distinction between authentic divine revelation and self-generated spiritual deception. The command to speak constitutes Ezekiel as a bearer of God's judgment against those who mislead Israel, underscoring the prophet's grave responsibility to confront false spiritual authority. This sets the theological stage for examining the nature of true versus false prophecy in Israel's religious life.

Ezekiel 13:2

The Lord identifies the false prophets who speak from their own hearts, revealing that their prophecies originate not from divine encounter but from human imagination and desire. These prophets lack genuine access to God's word yet claim divine authority, representing a fundamental spiritual fraudulence that corrupts Israel's covenantal relationship with God. The phrase "from their own hearts" indicates an inversion of the proper prophetic calling, which requires submission to God's will rather than the assertion of personal intuition. This verse exposes the idolatry inherent in self-directed prophecy, where the prophet essentially becomes his own god.

Ezekiel 13:3

Ezekiel pronounces woe upon the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing, a devastating indictment that simultaneously mocks their claims to visionary experience. The term "foolish" (naval) carries connotations of moral depravity beyond mere intellectual deficiency, suggesting these prophets have abandoned ethical and spiritual discernment. The assertion that they "have seen nothing" denies the fundamental claim that all true prophets make: direct encounter with God's glory and word. This verse establishes that false prophecy is not merely wrong doctrine but a complete absence of authentic spiritual vision.

Ezekiel 13:4

The prophets of Israel are compared to foxes in the wastelands, suggesting they are destructive scavengers who exploit devastated circumstances rather than healers or builders. Foxes are solitary, cunning creatures that prey on the vulnerable, mirroring how false prophets exploit Israel's spiritual weakness and confusion for personal gain or notoriety. The wasteland imagery reinforces the sense that these prophets inhabit and perpetuate spiritual desolation rather than leading toward restoration. This metaphor emphasizes the parasitic nature of false prophecy, which feeds upon rather than nourishes Israel's spiritual life.

Ezekiel 13:5

The Lord accuses the false prophets of failing to go up into the breaches or build a wall for the house of Israel to stand firm in the battle of the Lord. This verse introduces the structural metaphor that dominates chapter 13: the prophets have not strengthened Israel's spiritual defenses against judgment. The "breaches" represent vulnerable points in Israel's moral and covenantal standing, places where judgment threatens to pour in like invading armies. A true prophet would stand in these breaches, interceding and warning of danger, but false prophets abandon their responsibility, leaving Israel defenseless before God's judgment.

Ezekiel 13:6

The false prophets have seen false visions and divined lies while claiming "the Lord says," committing the gravest blasphemy of speaking in God's name without His authorization. Each false claim to receive revelation when none has been given constitutes a violation of God's holy name and represents rebellion against the fundamental structure of the covenant. Their visions and divinations are explicitly characterized as false, indicating deliberate deception or profound self-delusion about their spiritual status. This verse exposes the tension between the prophets' confident assertions of divine word and the actual absence of any authentic prophetic experience.