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13 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

Son of man, prophesy thou to the prophets of Israel that prophesy; and thou shalt say to them that prophesy of their heart, Hear ye the word of the Lord. (Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of Israel who prophesy; and thou shalt say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord.)

The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, that follow their spirit, and see nothing; (The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, who follow their own spirit, and so see nothing;)

Israel, thy prophets were as foxes in desert[s]. (Israel, thy prophets were like foxes in the desert.)

Ye ascended not even against, neither again-setted a wall for the house of Israel, that ye should stand in battle in the day of the Lord. (Ye went not even against, nor set again, or fixed, the broken wall for the house of Israel, so that ye could stand in battle on the day of the Lord.)

They see vain things, and divine a leasing, and say, The Lord saith, when the Lord sent not them; and they continued to confirm the word. (They see empty and futile things, and divine a lie, and say, The Lord saith, when the Lord did not send them; and yet they continue to confirm their words.)

Whether ye saw not a vain vision, and spake false divining, and said, The Lord saith, when I spake not? (Saw ye not an empty and futile vision, and spoke false divining, and said, The Lord saith, when I did not speak?)

Therefore the Lord God saith these things, For ye spake vain things, and saw a leasing, therefore lo! I to you, saith the Lord God. (And so the Lord God saith these things, For ye spoke empty and futile things, and saw a lie, and so lo! I am against you, saith the Lord God.)

And mine hand shall be on the prophets that see vain things, and divine leasings (And my hand shall be against those prophets who see empty and futile things, and divine lies); they shall not be in the counsel(s) of my people, and they shall not be written in the scripture of the house of Israel, neither they shall enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord God.

10 For they deceived my people, and said, Peace, peace, and no peace is; and it builded a wall, but they pargeted it with fen without chaffs. (For they deceived my people, and said, Peace, peace, when there was no peace; and they built a wall, but they mortared it with dirt without any chaff, that is, without any straw.)

11 Say thou to them that parget without tempering, that it shall fall down; for a strong rain shall be (over)flowing, and I shall give full great stones falling from above, and I shall give a wind of tempest that destroyeth. (Say thou to those who mortar it without tempering, that it shall fall down; for there shall be an overflowing rain, and I shall send some very great hailstones falling down from above, and I shall make a wind of tempest that shall destroy it.)

12 For lo! the wall fell down. Whether it shall not be said to you, Where is the pargeting, which ye pargeted? (For lo! when the wall falleth down, shall it not be said to you, Where is the mortar, which ye should have used?)

13 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, And I shall make the spirit of tempests to break out in mine indignation, and [a] strong rain flowing in my strong vengeance shall be (and there shall be a strong overflowing rain in my strong vengeance), and great (hail)stones in [my] wrath into wasting.

14 And I shall destroy the wall, which ye have pargeted without tempering, and I shall make it even with the earth; and the foundament thereof shall be showed, and it shall fall down, and it shall be wasted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (And I shall destroy the wall, which ye have mortared without tempering, and I shall bring it down to the ground; and its foundation shall be shown, and it shall fall down, and thou shalt be wasted, or shalt be destroyed, in its midst; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

15 And I shall [ful]fill mine indignation in the wall, and in them that pargeted it without tempering; and I shall say to you, The wall is not, and they be not, that pargeted it, (And I shall fulfill my indignation upon the wall, and upon those who mortared it without tempering; and I shall say to you, The wall is not, and they be not, who mortared it,)

16 (that is,) the prophets of Israel, that prophesy to Jerusalem, and see to it the vision of peace, and peace is not, saith the Lord God. (that is, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied to Jerusalem, and saw a vision of peace for it, when there was no peace, saith the Lord God.)

17 And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy of their heart; and prophesy thou on them, (And thou, son of man, set thy face toward the daughters of thy people, who prophesy out of their own hearts; and prophesy thou against them,)

18 and say thou, The Lord God saith these things, Woe to them that sew together cushions under each cubit of [the] hand, and make pillows under the head of each age, to take souls; and when they deceived the souls of my people, they quickened the souls of them. (and say thou, The Lord God saith these things, Woe to those who sew bands for each wrist, and put veils on the heads of everyone, to hunt souls, or lives; and while they hunt the souls of my people, yet they keep their own souls safe.)

19 And they defouled me to my people, for an handful of barley, and for a gobbet of bread, that they should slay souls that die not, and quicken souls that live not; and they lied to my people, believing to leasings. (And they defiled me among my people, for a handful of barley, and for a piece of bread, so that they kill souls that should not die, and enliven souls that should not live; and they lied to my people, who believed the lies.)

20 For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I to your cushions, by which ye deceive souls flying; and I shall all-break those from (off) your arms, and I shall deliver [the] souls which ye deceive, souls (that ye make) to fly. (For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I am against your wristbands, with which ye hunt souls to make them fly; and I shall rip them off your arms, and I shall deliver, or shall set free, the souls which ye hunt to make fly.)

21 And I shall all-break your pillows, and I shall deliver my people from your hand (And I shall rip up your veils, and I shall deliver my people from out of your hands); and they shall no more be in your hands, to be robbed; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.

22 For that that ye made falsely the heart of a just man to mourn, whom I made not sorry; and ye strengthened the hands of a wicked man, that he should not turn again from his evil way, and live. (Because ye falsely made the heart of the just, or of the righteous, to mourn, whom I have not made sorrowful; and ye strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that they would not turn from their evil ways, and live.)

23 Therefore ye shall not see vain things (And so ye shall not see empty and futile things again), and ye shall no more divine false divinings; and I shall deliver my people from your hand, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.

False Prophets Condemned

13 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets(A) of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination:(B) ‘Hear the word of the Lord!(C) This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish[a] prophets(D) who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!(E) Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair(F) it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.(G) Their visions are false(H) and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent(I) them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words.(J) Have you not seen false visions(K) and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken?

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you,(L) declares the Sovereign Lord. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying(M) divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records(N) of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.(O)

10 “‘Because they lead my people astray,(P) saying, “Peace,”(Q) when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,(R) 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones(S) hurtling down,(T) and violent winds will burst forth.(U) 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”

13 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones(V) and torrents of rain(W) will fall with destructive fury.(X) 14 I will tear down the wall(Y) you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation(Z) will be laid bare. When it[b] falls,(AA) you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.(AB)”’

17 “Now, son of man, set your face(AC) against the daughters(AD) of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them(AE) 18 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own? 19 You have profaned(AF) me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread.(AG) By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.(AH)

20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds.(AI) 21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.(AJ) 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies,(AK) when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives,(AL) 23 therefore you will no longer see false visions(AM) or practice divination.(AN) I will save(AO) my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.(AP)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 13:3 Or wicked
  2. Ezekiel 13:14 Or the city