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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
English Standard Version
Ezekiel 13
English Standard Version
False Prophets Condemned
13 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those (B)who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5 (C)You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. 6 (D)They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ (E)when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 7 Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, (F)whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, (G)I am against you, declares the Lord God. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, (H)nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, (I)nor shall they enter the land of Israel. (J)And you shall know that I am the Lord God. 10 Precisely because they have misled my people, (K)saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, (L)these prophets smear it with whitewash,[a] 11 say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! (M)There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. 12 And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: (N)I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, (O)and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. 14 And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, (P)and you shall know that I am the Lord. 15 Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem (Q)and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.
17 “And you, son of man, (R)set your face against (S)the daughters of your people, (T)who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them 18 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women (U)who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and (V)make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in (W)the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? 19 You have profaned me among my people (X)for handfuls of barley (Y)and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
20 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, (Z)I am against (AA)your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. 21 Your veils also I will tear off and (AB)deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, (AC)and you shall know that I am the Lord. 22 (AD)Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and (AE)you have encouraged the wicked, that (AF)he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, 23 (AG)therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 13:10 Or plaster; also verses 11, 14, 15
Ezekiel 13
Easy-to-Read Version
Ezekiel 13
Easy-to-Read Version
Warnings Against False Prophets
13 Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man,[a] 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! 3 This is what the Lord God says. Bad things will happen to you foolish prophets. You are following your own spirits. You are not telling people what you really see in visions.
4 “‘Israel, your prophets are false prophets. They are like jackals hunting for food among the ruins of a city. 5 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!
6 “‘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.
7 “‘If you prophets saw visions, they were not true. And all you got from your magic was lies! So how can you say that the Lord told you those things? I did not speak to you!’”
8 So now, the Lord God really will speak. He says, “You told lies. You saw visions that were not true. So now I am against you!” This is what the Lord God said. 9 “I will punish those prophets whose visions are false and who lie about the future. I will remove them from my people. Their names will not be in the list of the family of Israel. They will never again come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God!
10 “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[b] over the broken walls. 11 Tell them that I will send hail and a strong rain. The wind will blow hard, and a tornado will come. Then the wall will fall down. 12 When the wall falls down, the people will ask the prophets, ‘What happened to the plaster you put on the wall?’” 13 The Lord God says, “I am angry and I will send a storm against you. I am angry and I will send a strong rain. I am angry and I will make hail fall from the sky and completely destroy you! 14 You put plaster on the wall, but I will destroy the whole wall. I will pull it to the ground. The wall will fall on you, and then you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will finish showing my anger against the wall and those who put plaster on it. Then I will say, ‘There is no wall, and there are no workers to put plaster on it.’
16 “All these things will happen to the false prophets of Israel. They speak to the people of Jerusalem and say there will be peace, but there is no peace.” This is what the Lord God said.
17 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: 18 ‘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! 19 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. 20 So this is what the Lord God says to you: You make those cloth bracelets to trap people, but I will set them free. I will tear those bracelets off your arms, and the people will be free from you. They will be like birds flying from a trap. 21 And I will tear up those scarves and save my people from your power. They will escape from your trap, and you will know that I am the Lord.
22 “‘You prophets tell lies. Your lies hurt good people—I did not want to hurt them! You support the wicked and encourage them. You don’t tell them to change their lives. You don’t try to save their lives! 23 So you will not see any more useless visions or do any more magic. I will save my people from your power, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 13:2 Son of man This was usually just a way of saying “a person” or “a human being.” Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel. Also in verse 17.
- Ezekiel 13:10 plaster A type of mud or cement that people used to cover a wall and make it smooth. This is also a wordplay. The Hebrew word is like the word meaning “It will fall.” Also in verse 14.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International