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Ezekiel 13

KJV · Chapter 13/48

1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

2Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;

3Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!

4O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

5Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.

6They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.

7Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken?

8Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.

9And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

10Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter:

11Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

12Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?

13Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.

14So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

15Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;

16To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord God.

17Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

18And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?

19And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

20Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.

21Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

22Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

23Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

📖 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. Ezekiel 13:1This opens a new oracle, this time aimed directly at the false prophets of Israel.
  2. Ezekiel 13:2The chapter’s central accusation appears right at the opening: these prophets speak on their own authority, inventing messages God never gave.
  3. Ezekiel 13:3God calls these prophets foolish precisely because they follow their own imagination, without having received any real vision from God.
  4. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 13:7God confronts the false prophets directly: they attribute to Him words that never came from God’s mouth.
  8. Ezekiel 13:8The consequence announced is personal: God sets Himself directly against these prophets, not just against the content of their false messages.
  9. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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. Ezekiel 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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