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Ezekiel 13
New International Version
Ezekiel 13
New International Version
False Prophets Condemned
13 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets(A) of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination:(B) ‘Hear the word of the Lord!(C) 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish[a] prophets(D) who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!(E) 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair(F) it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.(G) 6 Their visions are false(H) and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent(I) them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.(J) 7 Have you not seen false visions(K) and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?
8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you,(L) declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying(M) divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records(N) of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(O)
10 “‘Because they lead my people astray,(P) saying, “Peace,”(Q) when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,(R) 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones(S) hurtling down,(T) and violent winds will burst forth.(U) 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”
13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones(V) and torrents of rain(W) will fall with destructive fury.(X) 14 I will tear down the wall(Y) you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation(Z) will be laid bare. When it[b] falls,(AA) you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AB)”’
17 “Now, son of man, set your face(AC) against the daughters(AD) of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them(AE) 18 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? 19 You have profaned(AF) me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread.(AG) By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.(AH)
20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds.(AI) 21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AJ) 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies,(AK) when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives,(AL) 23 therefore you will no longer see false visions(AM) or practice divination.(AN) I will save(AO) my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.(AP)’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 13:3 Or wicked
- Ezekiel 13:14 Or the city
Ezekiel 13
New American Standard Bible
Ezekiel 13
New American Standard Bible
False Prophets Condemned
13 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the (A)prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own [a]inspiration, ‘(B)Listen to the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Lord [b]God says: “Woe to the (C)foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have (D)seen nothing! 4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not (E)gone up into the (F)breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the (G)day of the Lord. 6 They see (H)deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; (I)yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! 7 (J)Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”
8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, (K)I am against you,” declares the Lord God. 9 “So My hand will be against the (L)prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will [c]have no place in the council of My people, (M)nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, [d]so that you may know that I am the Lord God. 10 It is definitely because they have (N)misled My people by saying, ‘(O)Peace!’ when there is (P)no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; 11 so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A (Q)flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out. 12 Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’” 13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and (R)hailstones to consume it in wrath. 14 So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its (S)foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will (T)perish in its midst. And you will (U)know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall [e]is gone and those who plastered it are gone, 16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who (V)see a vision of peace for her when there is (W)no peace,’ declares the Lord God.
17 “Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are (X)talking like prophets (Y)from their own [f]imagination. Prophesy against them 18 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on [g]all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to (Z)capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves? 19 (AA)For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death [h]some who should not die, and to (AB)keep [i]others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as [j]birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let [k]them go, those souls whom you capture as [l]birds. 21 I will also tear off your veils and (AC)save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you (AD)disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have [m](AE)encouraged the wicked not to (AF)turn from his wicked way to keep him alive, 23 therefore you women will no longer see (AG)deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will (AH)save My people from your hands. So you will (AI)know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 13:2 Lit heart
- Ezekiel 13:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 13:9 Lit not be in
- Ezekiel 13:9 Or and you will know
- Ezekiel 13:15 Lit is not...are not
- Ezekiel 13:17 Lit heart
- Ezekiel 13:18 Lit all joints of the hand; MT of my hands
- Ezekiel 13:19 Lit souls
- Ezekiel 13:19 Lit souls
- Ezekiel 13:20 Or flying ones
- Ezekiel 13:20 Or flying ones
- Ezekiel 13:20 Or flying ones
- Ezekiel 13:22 Lit strengthened the hands of
Ezekiel 13
New Living Translation
Ezekiel 13
New Living Translation
Judgment against False Prophets
13 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord. 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!’
4 “O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging in the ruins. 5 They have done nothing to repair the breaks in the walls around the nation. They have not helped it to stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord. 6 Instead, they have told lies and made false predictions. They say, ‘This message is from the Lord,’ even though the Lord never sent them. And yet they expect him to fulfill their prophecies! 7 Can your visions be anything but false if you claim, ‘This message is from the Lord,’ when I have not even spoken to you?
8 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because what you say is false and your visions are a lie, I will stand against you, says the Sovereign Lord. 9 I will raise my fist against all the prophets who see false visions and make lying predictions, and they will be banished from the community of Israel. I will blot their names from Israel’s record books, and they will never again set foot in their own land. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.
10 “This will happen because these evil prophets deceive my people by saying, ‘All is peaceful’ when there is no peace at all! It’s as if the people have built a flimsy wall, and these prophets are trying to reinforce it by covering it with whitewash! 11 Tell these whitewashers that their wall will soon fall down. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down. 12 And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, ‘What happened to your whitewash?’
13 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will sweep away your whitewashed wall with a storm of indignation, with a great flood of anger, and with hailstones of fury. 14 I will break down your wall right to its foundation, and when it falls, it will crush you. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 15 At last my anger against the wall and those who covered it with whitewash will be satisfied. Then I will say to you: ‘The wall and those who whitewashed it are both gone. 16 They were lying prophets who claimed peace would come to Jerusalem when there was no peace. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!’
Judgment against False Women Prophets
17 “Now, son of man, speak out against the women who prophesy from their own imaginations. 18 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits you women who are ensnaring the souls of my people, young and old alike. You tie magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves? 19 You bring shame on me among my people for a few handfuls of barley or a piece of bread. By lying to my people who love to listen to lies, you kill those who should not die, and you promise life to those who should not live.
20 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against all your magic charms, which you use to ensnare my people like birds. I will tear them from your arms, setting my people free like birds set free from a cage. 21 I will tear off the magic veils and save my people from your grasp. They will no longer be your victims. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22 You have discouraged the righteous with your lies, but I didn’t want them to be sad. And you have encouraged the wicked by promising them life, even though they continue in their sins. 23 Because of all this, you will no longer talk of seeing visions that you never saw, nor will you make predictions. For I will rescue my people from your grasp. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 13
The Message
Ezekiel 13
The Message
People Who Love Listening to Lies
13 1-2 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, preach against the prophets of Israel who are making things up out of their own heads and calling it ‘prophesying.’
2-6 “Preach to them the real thing. Tell them, ‘Listen to God’s Message!’ God, the Master, pronounces doom on the empty-headed prophets who do their own thing and know nothing of what’s going on! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals scavenging through the ruins. They haven’t lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on God’s Day of Judgment. All they do is fantasize comforting illusions and preach lying sermons. They say ‘God says . . .’ when God hasn’t so much as breathed in their direction. And yet they stand around thinking that something they said is going to happen.
7-9 “Haven’t you fantasized sheer nonsense? Aren’t your sermons tissues of lies, saying ‘God says . . .’ when I’ve done nothing of the kind? Therefore—and this is the Message of God, the Master, remember—I’m dead set against prophets who substitute illusions for visions and use sermons to tell lies. I’m going to ban them from the council of my people, remove them from membership in Israel, and outlaw them from the land of Israel. Then you’ll realize that I am God, the Master.
10-12 “The fact is that they’ve lied to my people. They’ve said, ‘No problem; everything’s just fine,’ when things are not at all fine. When people build a wall, they’re right behind them slapping on whitewash. Tell those who are slapping on the whitewash, ‘When a torrent of rain comes and the hailstones crash down and the hurricane sweeps in and the wall collapses, what’s the good of the whitewash that you slapped on so liberally, making it look so good?’
13-14 “And that’s exactly what will happen. I, God, the Master, say so: ‘I’ll let the hurricane of my wrath loose, a torrent of my hailstone-anger. I’ll make that wall you’ve slapped with whitewash collapse. I’ll level it to the ground so that only the foundation stones will be left. And in the ruin you’ll all die. You’ll realize then that I am God.
15-16 “‘I’ll dump my wrath on that wall, all of it, and on those who plastered it with whitewash. I will say to them, There is no wall, and those who did such a good job of whitewashing it wasted their time, those prophets of Israel who preached to Jerusalem and announced all their visions telling us things were just fine when they weren’t at all fine. Decree of God, the Master.’
17-19 “And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say ‘Doom’ to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, ‘Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn’t live. You’ve lied to people who love listening to lies.’
20-21 “Therefore God says, ‘I am against all the devices and techniques you use to hunt down souls. I’ll rip them out of your hands. I’ll free the souls you’re trying to catch. I’ll rip your magic bracelets and scarves to shreds and deliver my people from your influence so they’ll no longer be victimized by you. That’s how you’ll come to realize that I am God.
22-23 “‘Because you’ve confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you’ve made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn’t even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you’re finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I’m going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you’ll realize that I am God.’”
Ezekiel 13
King James Version
Ezekiel 13
King James Version
13 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 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;
3 Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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?
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.
9 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.
10 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:
11 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.
12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
13 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.
14 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.
15 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;
16 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.
17 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,
18 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?
19 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?
20 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.
21 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.
22 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:
23 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.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson