Ezekiel 13

Ezekiel 1–24 consists of oracles of judgment proclaimed before the fall of Jerusalem. Within this section, chapter 13 is directed against false prophets. The closing verses of the preceding chapter, Ezekiel 12, rebuked the people's sayings that "every vision faileth" and that the prophet "prophesieth of the times that are far off." Chapter 13 continues that theme by addressing directly the prophets who spread such sayings.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 The prophets who prophesy "out of their own hearts" are likened to foxes in the deserts. They have neither gone up into the gaps nor made up the hedge so that Israel might stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They are rebuked for speaking vain visions and lying divinations though the LORD has not sent them.
• Verses 8–9 The LORD declares that they shall not be in the assembly of His people, shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel, and shall not enter into the land of Israel.
• Verses 10–16 Saying "Peace" when there is no peace is compared to daubing a flimsy wall with untempered mortar. An overflowing shower, great hailstones, and a stormy wind will bring the wall down and lay bare its foundation, and those who daubed it will perish in its midst.
• Verses 17–19 The women who prophesy out of their own hearts are rebuked. They sew pillows to all armholes and make kerchiefs upon the head to hunt souls, and for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread they deceive the people with lies.
• Verses 20–23 The LORD declares that He will tear the pillows from their arms and tear their kerchiefs, and deliver His people. Because they have made the heart of the righteous sad and kept the wicked from turning back, they shall see no more vanity nor divine divinations.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 13:5 "Ye have not gone up into the gaps": The verse highlights the prophet's responsibility to protect the people in a time of crisis. It is linked to Ezekiel 22:30, where the LORD seeks a man who would "stand in the gap."
• Ezekiel 13:10 "Peace; and there was no peace": This phrase sums up in a single sentence the false prophecy the chapter condemns. Nearly identical words appear in Jeremiah 6:14 and 8:11 (Jeremiah 6).
• Ezekiel 13:22 They made the heart of the righteous sad and kept the wicked from turning from his wicked way and finding life: The theme of the wicked turning and living is developed more fully in Ezekiel 18 and Ezekiel 33.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: A prophet who ministered among the exiles in Babylon. The LORD addresses him as "son of man," a title that in this book marks the prophet as a frail mortal.
• The prophets of Israel: Those who claimed to speak the word of the LORD though the LORD had not sent them. They are not named.
• The women who prophesy: They are portrayed as practicing divination with pillows and kerchiefs. They are not named.
• Jerusalem: The false prophets claimed to have seen visions of peace concerning this city.

Points for Reflection

• The meanings of the Hebrew words rendered "pillows" and "kerchiefs" in verse 18 are uncertain. Interpreters have variously understood them as bands, amulets, coverings, or other objects used in magic.
• What the text condemns in verses 17–23 is prophecy spoken "out of their own heart" and divination. Because women prophets such as Miriam and Deborah also appear in the Old Testament, this passage is commonly read as a rebuke of false prophecy itself rather than of women prophesying.
• In the New Testament, Paul says to the high priest, "thou whited wall" (Acts 23:3, Acts 23). Jesus' image of "whited sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27, Matthew 23) uses a different picture but likewise rebukes outward show. The chapter is also sometimes read alongside the warning to beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15).