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Ezekiel 13:1-16
New English Translation

False Prophets Denounced

13 Then the Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination:[a] ‘Listen to the Lord’s message! 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie.[b] They say, “The Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them;[c] yet they expect their word to be confirmed.[d] 7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “The Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?

8 “‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look,[e] I am against you,[f] declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council[g] of my people, nor be written in the registry[h] of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.

10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,”[i] when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar,[j] they coat it with whitewash. 11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones[k] will fall and a violent wind will break out.[l] 12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it,[m] and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will vent my rage against the wall and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more— 16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the Sovereign Lord.’

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:2 tn Heb “from their mind.” sn Who prophesy from their imagination. Note the testimony of Moses in Num 16:28, which contains a similar expression.
  2. Ezekiel 13:6 sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.
  3. Ezekiel 13:6 sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14 and 23:21.
  4. Ezekiel 13:6 tn Or “confirmed”; NIV has “to be fulfilled,” TEV “to come true.”
  5. Ezekiel 13:8 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
  6. Ezekiel 13:8 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘hinnenî ’êlékâ’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
  7. Ezekiel 13:9 tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the Lord (Jer 23:18; Job 15:8), but here it more likely refers to a human council comprised of civic leaders (Gen 49:6; Jer 6:11; 15:17; Pss 64:3; 111:1).
  8. Ezekiel 13:9 tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).
  9. Ezekiel 13:10 tn Or “peace.”
  10. Ezekiel 13:10 tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3), it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here, which compares the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.
  11. Ezekiel 13:11 tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”
  12. Ezekiel 13:11 sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).
  13. Ezekiel 13:14 tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.
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Ezekiel 13:1-16
Common English Bible

Against the prophets

13 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, prophesy to Israel’s prophets who prophesy from their own imaginations. Say, Hear the Lord’s word! 3 The Lord God proclaims: Doom to the foolish prophets who follow their own whims but see nothing. 4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. 5 You haven’t gone up into the breach or reinforced the wall of the house of Israel, so that it might withstand the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They saw worthless visions and performed deceptive divinations. Even though the Lord didn’t send them, they said, “This is what the Lord says” and expected their word to stand. 7 Didn’t you see worthless visions? And didn’t you report deceptive divinations and say, “This is what the Lord says,” even though I didn’t speak?

8 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: Because you spoke worthless things and had false visions, I’m against you. This is what the Lord God says! 9 I’ll wield my power against the prophets, those seers of nothingness and diviners of lies. They won’t be included in my people’s council, or recorded in the house of Israel’s official records, or enter Israel’s fertile land. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

10 Without a doubt, they led my people astray, saying “Peace” when there was no peace, and “He is building a wall” when they were the ones who laid on the plaster. 11 Say to those who laid on the plaster that it will fall. When the flooding rains appear and I send hailstones, it will collapse, and the storm winds will break it apart. 12 The wall will certainly fall. Won’t it be said about you, “Where is your plaster now?”

13 Therefore, the Lord God proclaims: In my fury I will make a storm wind break out, and in my anger there will be flooding rains and hailstones in consuming wrath. 14 I will tear down the wall on which you laid plaster. I will raze it to the ground and expose its foundation. When it falls, you will be destroyed with it, and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 I will exhaust my fury on the wall and on those who laid plaster on it. Then I will say to you, “Where is the wall?”[a] and “Where are those who plastered it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and envisioned peace when there was no peace?” This is what the Lord God says!

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:15 Syr, cf 13:12; MT There is no wall.
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