Ezekiel Chapter 13
Showing all 23 verses for Ezekiel Chapter 13.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, "
"The LORD spoke to Ezekiel."
I speak to you not through noise but through what settles true and useful in your quiet moments - test everything you hear, including from me, against whether it produces honesty and love.
"Son 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; "
"Ezekiel is told to speak out against Israel's prophets - the ones who invent their own predictions out of their own imaginations - and tell them to listen to what's actually true."
Don't let anyone - including a religious leader - tell you what you want to hear and call it my voice. I want you thinking clearly and honestly, not comforted by lies.
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! "
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: disaster is coming for the foolish prophets who follow nothing but their own imagination and haven't actually seen or received anything real."
Test your own convictions honestly. Are you following something real, or just your own fear, ego or wishful thinking dressed up as certainty? I'd rather you sit with real doubt than perform a confidence you don't have.
"O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. "
"Israel, your prophets are like jackals scavenging among ruins in the desert."
Ask what you actually contribute to the people around you - are you building anything, or just scavenging opportunity from other people's difficulties? Real love invests in others' good, it doesn't feed off their misfortune.
"Ye 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. "
"You prophets haven't stood in the gaps in the wall, or repaired the defences, so that Israel could hold its ground in the coming crisis."
When someone you care about is heading for real trouble, don't just tell them what's easy to hear - stand in the gap for them, say the hard true thing even if it costs you their approval. That's what real care looks like.
"They 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. "
"They've seen empty nonsense and told lies while claiming, "The LORD says..." - but the LORD never sent them; yet they got people hoping their predictions would actually come true."
Be honest about the difference between "I believe" and "I know for certain" - and never let people build their hope on your certainty if you don't actually have grounds for it. Misplaced trust hurts people badly when it collapses.
"Have 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? "
"Haven't you seen empty, false visions and spoken lying predictions, saying "The LORD says" when I never spoke a word?"
Own what you say. If you're guessing, say you're guessing. Speaking with false certainty to sound impressive or authoritative is a kind of dishonesty that damages the people who trust you.
"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD. "
"So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: because you have spoken empty lies and had false visions, watch - I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD."
There are real consequences to using someone else's trust to deceive them, especially for personal gain. I'm not interested in punishing people out of spite, but I do care fiercely about protecting people from being exploited by those who claim to speak for good.
"And 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. "
"My power will come down on the prophets who see empty visions and tell lying predictions: they won't belong to my people's community, won't be recorded in Israel's registry, and won't enter the land of Israel - and you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD."
What you build your life on will eventually show. If you've built your influence on flattery and lies, that foundation won't carry you into whatever comes next - real, lasting belonging is earned through honesty and care, not manipulation.
"Because, 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: "
"Because - yes, because - they misled my people by saying "Peace!" when there was no peace: someone builds a flimsy wall, and others slap on whitewash to make it look solid."
Don't paper over the cracks in your life or someone else's - a relationship, a habit, a decision - just to keep the peace for now. Real peace comes from facing what's actually true and dealing with it, not from a comforting coat of paint over rot.
"Say 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. "
"Tell the ones plastering it with cheap whitewash that it will collapse: there'll be a torrential downpour, and you, giant hailstones, will fall, and a violent storm wind will tear it apart."
Sooner or later, life's storms reveal what was actually solid and what was only surface. Build your life on what's real and true now, so that when pressure comes, you're not left standing on something that was only ever whitewash.
"Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? "
"Look - when the wall falls, won't people say to you, "Where's that whitewash you covered it with now?""
When you're tempted to smooth things over with a comfortable lie, ask yourself what happens when the truth eventually surfaces anyway - because it usually does. Better to be the honest one now than the exposed one later.
"Therefore 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. "
"So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will tear it apart with a violent storm in my fury, and there will be a flooding downpour in my anger, and giant hailstones in my fury, to destroy it completely."
I feel strongly about protecting the vulnerable from being deceived by people who should have protected them. If you've ever been lied to by someone you trusted, know that this kind of betrayal is taken seriously, not shrugged off.
"So 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. "
"So I will tear down the wall you covered with cheap whitewash and bring it crashing to the ground, so its foundation is exposed - it will fall, and you will be destroyed along with it; then you will know that I am the LORD."
What you build your reputation and comfort on, you'll eventually be measured by. If your influence rests on comforting lies, its collapse will catch you too - so build instead on things that can bear real weight: honesty, humility, genuine care.
"Thus 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; "
"I will spend my fury completely on the wall and on those who covered it with cheap whitewash, and I will say to you, "The wall is gone, and so are those who covered it" -"
Illusions you or others have built to avoid facing hard truths will eventually run out of road. It's kinder - to yourself and everyone around you - to let go of the comfortable lie before it collapses on its own timing.
"To 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. "
"- that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesied about Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign LORD."
True care sometimes sounds like bad news before it sounds like good news. If someone only ever tells you what's comfortable, ask whether they're really looking out for you, or just avoiding the discomfort of telling you the truth.
"Likewise, 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, "
"Now you, son of man, turn and confront the women of your people who invent prophecies out of their own imagination - speak out against them too."
Manipulating others for advantage is wrong whoever does it - I don't grade people's honesty on a curve because of their position or identity. Everyone is called to the same standard of truthful, caring dealing with others.
"And 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? "
"Say: this is what the Sovereign LORD says: disaster is coming to the women who sew magic charms onto wrists and make veils for people of every height, in order to trap souls! Will you hunt down the souls of my people while claiming to keep your own souls safe?"
Watch for anyone - including yourself - who trades on other people's fear or hope for control or profit. Real care sets people free to think and choose; manipulation traps them for someone else's benefit.
"And 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? "
"Will you disgrace me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread, killing people who shouldn't die and keeping alive people who shouldn't live, by lying to my people who believe your lies?"
Ask what you're really trading away, and for what, when you bend the truth to please or profit from someone. Small rewards rarely justify the real damage dishonesty causes to people who trusted you.
"Wherefore 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. "
"So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: watch - I am against your magic charms, with which you hunt souls like trapped birds, and I will tear them off your arms and set free the souls you've been hunting like birds."
If you feel trapped by someone's control over your fears or hopes, know that real freedom is possible and is on your side, not theirs. What binds people through fear or false hope can be torn away, and you don't have to accept it as permanent.
"Your 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. "
"I will also tear off your veils, and rescue my people from your control, so they'll no longer be caught in your grip - then you will know that I am the LORD."
You are not permanently anyone's possession, however tightly they've held on to your fear or hope. There is always a way out towards something that actually wants your good, not your dependence.
"Because 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: "
"Because you have discouraged the honest-hearted with lies when I hadn't caused them any grief, and you've strengthened the resolve of the wicked so they wouldn't turn from their wicked ways, by promising them they'd live -"
Don't discourage someone who's genuinely trying to do right, and don't reassure someone who needs to hear a hard truth about changing their path. Real love tells people what actually helps them grow, not what keeps them comfortable in the wrong place.
"Therefore 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. "
"So you will no longer see empty visions or practise divination, because I will rescue my people from your control - and you will know that I am the LORD."
However long a lie has held sway over you or people you love, it doesn't get the last word. What's genuinely true and good outlasts manipulation - keep your hope fixed there, not on however things look right now.