Bible Glide

Ezekiel 13

Ezekiel 13 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Ezekiel 13 speaks against spiritual leaders who claim to speak for God but are driven by their own ideas. The chapter warns that false messages can weaken God's people, hide real danger, and harm both the righteous and the wicked. It also shows God's firm response against deceit.

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What happens in Ezekiel 13?

God tells Ezekiel to confront the prophets of Israel who speak from imagination instead of truth. They offer false peace, build people up with flimsy words, and leave the nation unprepared for judgment. The chapter uses images of a collapsing wall and destructive storm to show how empty messages will not stand. It then turns to the women who practice deceptive forms of divination, using charms and veils to trap people and profit from lies. God says he will oppose them, expose their fraud, and rescue his people from their influence.

This chapter comes after Ezekiel's warnings about exile and before his later calls for personal responsibility and repentance. In the broader book, it fits within a series of judgments aimed at Judah, where God exposes false hope and calls the people back to truth. Ezekiel's role here is to speak clearly against leaders who mislead the nation.

Themes to notice

  • False prophecyGod rejects messages that claim divine authority but come from human imagination and deceit.
  • False peacePromises of safety without repentance are exposed as weak coverings that cannot hold.
  • God rescuesThe chapter ends with God acting to free his people from those who trap and mislead them.

Questions for Ezekiel 13

  • What signs in this chapter show that the prophets and prophetesses were not speaking for God?
  • Why is the image of a broken wall such a strong picture of false comfort?
  • What does this chapter teach about God's care for people who are harmed by deception?

Read the full text of Ezekiel 13 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Ezekiel 13

Reproof of False Prophets

1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Tell those who prophesy out of their own imagination: Hear the word of the LORD!3This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.4Your prophets, O Israel, are like foxes among the ruins.5You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it would stand in the battle on the Day of the LORD.6They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.7Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?

8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.9My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

10Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,11tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.12Surely when the wall has fallen, you will not be asked, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’

13Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: In My wrath I will release a windstorm, and in My anger torrents of rain and hail will fall with destructive fury.14I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the LORD.15And after I have vented My wrath against the wall and against those who whitewashed it, I will say to you: ‘The wall is gone, and so are those who whitewashed it—16those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw a vision of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.’

Reproof of False Prophetesses

17Now, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them18and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils for the heads of people of every height, in order to ensnare their souls. Will you ensnare the souls of My people but preserve your own?19You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I am against the magic charms with which you ensnare souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. So I will free the souls you have ensnared like birds.21I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.22Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,23therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will deliver My people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

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