Ezequiel 13

BLIVRE · Chapter 13/48

1E veio a mim a palavra do SENHOR, dizendo:

2Filho do homem, profetiza contra os profetas de Israel que profetizam; e dize aos que profetizam de seu [próprio] coração: Ouvi a palavra do SENHOR.

3Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Ai dos profetas tolos, que andam atrás de seu [próprio] espírito, e que nada viram!

4Teus profetas são como raposas nos desertos, ó Israel.

5Não subistes às brechas, nem restaurastes o muro para a casa de Israel, para estardes na batalha no dia do SENHOR.

6Eles veem falsidade e adivinhação de mentira. Falam: O SENHOR disse, mas o SENHOR não os enviou; e [ainda] esperam que a palavra se cumpra.

7Por acaso não vedes visão falsa, e não falais adivinhação de mentira, quando dizeis, O SENHOR disse, sem que eu tenha falado?

8Portanto assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Dado que falais falsidade e vedes mentira, portanto eis que eu sou contra vós, diz o Senhor DEUS.

9E minha mão será contra os profetas que veem falsidade, e adivinham mentira; não estarão na congregação do meu povo, nem estarão inscritos no livro da casa de Israel, nem voltarão para a terra de Israel; e sabereis que eu sou o Senhor DEUS.

10Portanto, por andarem enganando a meu povo, dizendo: Paz, sem que houvesse paz, e [quando] um edifica uma parede, eis que eles a rebocam com cal solta;

11Dize aos que rebocam com cal solta, que cairá; haverá uma grande pancada de chuva, e vós ó grandes pedras de granizo, caireis, e um vento tempestuoso [a] fenderá.

12E eis que, quando a parede tiver caído, não vos dirão: Onde está a reboco com que rebocastes?

13Por isso assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Farei com que rompa um vento tempestuoso em meu furor e haverá uma grande pancada de chuva em minha ira, e grande pedras de granizo em indignação, para destruir.

14E derrubarei a parede que vós rebocastes com cal solta, e a lançarei em terra, e seu fundamento ficará descoberto; assim cairá, e perecereis no meio dela; e sabereis que eu sou o SENHOR.

15Assim cumprirei meu furor contra a parede, e contra os que a rebocaram com lodo solto; e vos direi: Já não há a parede, nem os que a rebocavam,

16Os profetas de Israel que profetizam sobre Jerusalém, e veem para ela visão de paz, sem que haja paz,diz o Senhor DEUS.

17E tu, filho do homem, dirige teu rosto às filhas de teu povo que profetizam de seu [próprio] coração, e profetiza contra elas,

18E dize: Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Ai daquelas que costuram almofadas para todos os pulsos, e fazem lenços sobre as cabeças de todos os tamanhos para caçarem as almas! Por acaso caçareis as almas de meu povo, e guardareis a vossas [próprias] almas em vida?

19Vós me profanastes para com meu povo por punhados de cevada e por pedaços de pão, matando as almas que não deviam morrer, e mantendo em vida as almas que não deviam viver, mentindo a meu povo, que escuta a mentira.

20Por isso assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Eis que eu contra vossas almofadas, com que caçais as almas como [se fossem] pássaros; eu as arrancarei de vossos braços, e soltarei as almas, as almas que caçais como pássaros.

21E rasgarei vossos lenços, e livrarei meu povo de vossas mãos, e não mais estarão em vossas mãos para serem caçadas; e sabereis que eu sou o SENHOR.

22Pois com mentira entristecestes o coração do justo, ao qual eu não lhe causei dor, e fortalecestes as mãos do perverso, para que não se desviasse de seu mau caminho para se manter vivo;

23Portanto não mais vereis falsidade, nem mais adivinhareis adivinhação. Mas livrarei meu povo de vossas mãos, e sabereis que eu sou o SENHOR.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God condemns the false prophets who proclaim 'peace' when there is no peace, comparing them to those who plaster a weak wall with untempered mortar, and He also condemns the false prophetesses who deceive the people with sorcery.

Explanation

False prophets were a recurring problem in Israel, telling the people what they wanted to hear instead of God's truth (compare with Jeremiah 6:14, written around the same time). The image of a wall plastered with weak mortar perfectly illustrates the danger: from the outside it looks solid, but it collapses at the first real storm. The prophetesses mentioned practiced some kind of magic with bands and veils, selling false guarantees of spiritual protection for token prices ('handfuls of barley'). The lesson for today is the importance of discerning between true comfort and empty words that merely avoid confronting reality.

Fun facts

  • The practice of 'hunting souls' with charms (v.18-20) is one of the only detailed biblical accounts of popular Israelite sorcery, showing that magical practices existed, unlawfully, alongside the official faith.
  • The metaphor of the collapsing wall is picked up by Jesus in the parable of the house built on sand (Matthew 7:24-27), with the same principle that appearances without a solid foundation cannot withstand the test.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezequiel 13:1This opens a new oracle, this time aimed directly at the false prophets of Israel.
  2. Ezequiel 13:2The chapter’s central accusation appears right at the opening: these prophets speak on their own authority, inventing messages God never gave.
  3. Ezequiel 13:3God calls these prophets foolish precisely because they follow their own imagination, without having received any real vision from God.
  4. Ezequiel 13:4Comparing the false prophets to “foxes in the deserts” is a way of saying they dig burrows to hide in rather than reinforce the city’s defenses — they use the office of prophet for their own gain, with no real commitment to the people.
  5. Ezequiel 13:5The image of shoring up a gap in the wall compares the prophet’s role to that of a city’s defender — these false prophets failed to give timely warning of the real danger approaching.
  6. Ezequiel 13:6The problem is not just the lie itself, but that these false messages gave the people hope that everything would be fine, when it would not.
  7. Ezequiel 13:7God confronts the false prophets directly: they attribute to Him words that never came from God’s mouth.
  8. Ezequiel 13:8The consequence announced is personal: God sets Himself directly against these prophets, not just against the content of their false messages.
  9. Ezequiel 13:9The punishment includes losing their place among God’s people entirely — neither taking part in the community nor being counted among those who return to the land.
  10. Ezequiel 13:10The wall plastered with “untempered morter” is an image of shoddy construction disguised as sound — the false prophets promised peace with no foundation, and the text warns that the first storm will bring it all down.
  11. Ezequiel 13:11The image of the shoddy wall gains detail: a storm of rain, hail, and wind will easily bring down what looked solid but was only a disguise.
  12. Ezequiel 13:12When the wall falls, everyone will ask about the plaster that promised safety — the question exposes the uselessness of the false assurance the prophets gave.
  13. Ezequiel 13:13God claims authorship of the storm that will destroy the shoddy wall — the collapse of the false security is no accident, it is direct judgment.
  14. Ezequiel 13:14The wall’s collapse will be so complete that even the foundation will be exposed — and whoever built that false security will be struck down along with it.
  15. Ezequiel 13:15God declares that both the wall and its builders will vanish together — neither the disguise nor the one who made it will be left standing.
  16. Ezequiel 13:16This closes the metaphor by explaining who the builders of the shoddy wall really are: the prophets who announced peace for Jerusalem when there was no peace at all.
  17. Ezequiel 13:17The second half of the chapter shifts the target: now it is women among the people practicing a similar kind of false prophecy, and Ezekiel is ordered to confront them too.
  18. Ezequiel 13:18The “pillows” and “kerchiefs” made by certain women were probably amulets or divination items sold as magical protection — the accusation is that they profited by trapping and releasing lives through paid superstition, exploiting other people’s fear.
  19. Ezequiel 13:19The accusation is that these women charged for their divination services — a bit of food in exchange for lies that, in practice, decided life and death for the people who believed them.
  20. Ezequiel 13:20God promises to literally tear away the objects used in these practices — destroying the tool used to exploit and trap people through fear.
  21. Ezequiel 13:21Besides the amulets, the kerchiefs will also be torn away — God promises to free the people from this religious exploitation disguised as spiritual protection.
  22. Ezequiel 13:22The double accusation: these women saddened innocent people for no reason while, at the same time, giving false hope to wrongdoers, encouraging them to keep on doing wrong.
  23. Ezequiel 13:23The chapter ends with the same promise given to the male false prophets: an end to these practices and the people’s freedom from this deceptive influence.

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