Ezekiel 13

Chapter 13

False Prophets Condemned

¹Then the word of the Lord came to me saying,

²“Son of man, prophesy against the ^aprophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own ¹inspiration, ‘^bListen to the word of the Lord!

³‘Thus says the Lord ¹God, “Woe to the ^afoolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have ^bseen nothing.

⁴“O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins.

⁵“You have not ^agone up into the ^bbreaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the ^cday of the Lord.

⁶“They see ^1afalsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; ^byet they hope for the fulfillment of their word.

⁷“^aDid you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?” ’ ”

⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Because you have spoken ¹falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, ^aI am against you,” declares the Lord God.

⁹“So My hand will be against the ^aprophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will ¹have no place in the council of My people, ^bnor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, ²that you may know that I am the Lord God.

¹⁰“It is definitely because they have ^amisled My people by saying, ‘^bPeace!’ when there is ^cno peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;

¹¹so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A ^aflooding rain will come, and you, O 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?’ ”

¹³Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and ^ahailstones to consume it in wrath.

¹⁴“So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its ^afoundation is laid bare; and when it falls, you will be ^bconsumed in its midst. And you will ^cknow that I am the Lord.

¹⁵“Thus I will spend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall ¹is gone and its plasterers are gone,

¹⁶along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who ^asee visions of peace for her when there is ^bno peace,’ declares the Lord God.

¹⁷“Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are ^aprophesying ^bfrom their own ¹inspiration. Prophesy against them

¹⁸and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on ¹all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to ^ahunt down ²lives! Will you hunt down the lives of My people, but preserve the lives of others for yourselves?

¹⁹“^aFor handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death ¹some who should not die and to ^bkeep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.” ’ ”

²⁰Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you hunt ¹lives there as ²birds and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let them go, even those lives whom you hunt as birds.

²¹“I will also tear off your veils and ^adeliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am the Lord.

²²“Because you ^adisheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief, but have ^1bencouraged the wicked not to ^cturn from his wicked way and preserve his life,

²³therefore, you women will no longer see ^1afalse visions or practice divination, and I will ^bdeliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will ^cknow that I am the Lord.”