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False Prophets and Prophetesses

13 The word of the Lord came to me.

Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying. You are to say to the prophets who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord.

This is what the Lord God says. Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and prophesy things which they have not seen. Israel, your prophets are like jackals among the ruins. You have not stepped up into the breaks in the wall, nor have you repaired the wall for the house of Israel, so that it could stand up in battle on the Day of the Lord. They see empty visions and their omens predict lies—those who say, “The declaration of the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. Have you not, in fact, seen an empty vision and predicted lies when you say, “The declaration of the Lord,” when, in fact, I have not spoken? Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have spoken empty words and have seen a lying vision, therefore, I am surely against you, declares the Lord God. My hand will come upon the prophets who see empty visions and predict a lie. They will not remain in the council of my people. They will not be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.

10 This will happen precisely because they have misled my people by saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace. When someone builds a flimsy wall, look how the false prophets daub it with a coat of mud plaster.[a] 11 Tell those who are daubing with plaster that the wall will fall. There will be driving rain, large hailstones will fall,[b] and a violent wind will break out, 12 and suddenly the wall will fall. Won’t they say to you, “Where is the mud plaster you daubed on now?”

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. In my wrath I will make a violent wind break out, and there will be driving rain because of my anger. In my wrath I will send large hailstones that bring destruction. 14 I will demolish the wall that you have daubed with mud plaster. I will level it to the ground, so that its foundation will be exposed. It will fall, and you will perish within the city. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 15 In this way I will exhaust my wrath against the wall and against those who daubed it with mud plaster, and I will say to you, “Gone is the wall, and gone are those who daubed on it— 16 those prophets of Israel who are prophesying about Jerusalem and who proclaim a vision of peace about her when there is no peace, declares the Lord God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:10 Or whitewash
  2. Ezekiel 13:11 The Hebrew text reads O you (feminine plural) large hailstones will fall. Alternate versions read I will give large hailstones that will fall.

Condemnation of False Prophets

13 And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying,[b] “Son of man,[c] prophesy to[d] the prophets of Israel who are prophesying,[e] and you must say to those who are prophets out of their own imagination,[f] ‘Hear the word of Yahweh!’ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Alas, for the foolish prophets who are going after their own spirit, and they did not see anything![g] Your prophets have been like foxes[h] among ruins. You did not go up into[i] the breaches and repair a wall for the house of Israel to stand firm in the battle on the day of Yahweh. They saw falseness and a lying divination,[j] the ones saying, ‘Declaration of Yahweh!’ and Yahweh did not send them, and they wait for the confirmation of their word.[k] Have you not seen a false vision[l] and spoken a lying divination,[m] and you said, ‘Declaration of Yahweh!’ but I myself did not speak.[n] Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because of your speaking falseness and because you envisioned a lie, therefore, look! I am against you!” declares[o] the Lord Yahweh. “And it will be my hand against the prophets who are seeing falseness and who are practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written down in the record book of the house of Israel, and into[p] the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh. 10 Because, yes, because they led my people astray, saying[q] ‘Peace!’ And there is not peace. And when anyone[r] builds a flimsy wall, look, they coat it with whitewash. 11 Say to those covering it with whitewash that it will fall; there will be a torrent of rain,[s] and I will give stones of hail; they will fall! [t] And a windstorm[u] will burst forth! 12 And look! When the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘And so I will let burst forth a windstorm[v] in my rage, and there will be a torrent of rain[w] in my anger, and hailstones in my rage for complete destruction.[x] 14 And I will break down the wall that you covered with whitewash, and I will knock it to the ground, and its foundation will be revealed, and it will fall, and you will come to an end in the midst of it, and you will know that I am Yahweh! 15 And I will fully vent my rage against the wall and against those covering it with whitewash, and I will say to you, “The wall is no more,[y] and the people covering it are no more,[z] 16 that is, the prophets of Israel, the ones prophesying concerning Jerusalem and the ones seeing visions of peace, and there is not peace!’” ” declares[aa] the Lord Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 13:1 Or “to say”
  3. Ezekiel 13:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  4. Ezekiel 13:2 Or “against”
  5. Ezekiel 13:2 Literally “the ones prophesying”
  6. Ezekiel 13:2 Literally “heart”
  7. Ezekiel 13:3 Literally “and not they saw”
  8. Ezekiel 13:4 Or “jackals”
  9. Ezekiel 13:5 Hebrew “in”
  10. Ezekiel 13:6 Literally “a divination of a lie”
  11. Ezekiel 13:6 Literally “to confirm a word”
  12. Ezekiel 13:7 Literally “vision of falseness”
  13. Ezekiel 13:7 Literally “divination of a lie”
  14. Ezekiel 13:7 Literally “I not I spoke”
  15. Ezekiel 13:8 Literally “declaration of”
  16. Ezekiel 13:9 Hebrew “in”
  17. Ezekiel 13:10 Literally “to say”
  18. Ezekiel 13:10 Hebrew “he”
  19. Ezekiel 13:11 Literally “rain flooding”
  20. Ezekiel 13:11 Or “and I will give great hailstones. They will fall”
  21. Ezekiel 13:11 Literally “wind of a storm”; or “with respect/concerning you stones of hail, they will fall”
  22. Ezekiel 13:13 Literally “a wind of storm”
  23. Ezekiel 13:13 Literally “rain flooding there will be”
  24. Ezekiel 13:13 Literally “to complete destruction”
  25. Ezekiel 13:15 Literally “not is the wall”
  26. Ezekiel 13:15 Literally “not are the people whitewashing him”
  27. Ezekiel 13:16 Literally “declaration of”