English Standard Version
Ezekiel 13:4
4Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel.
Ezekiel 13:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
- New International Version (NIV)Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins.
- New King James Version (NKJV)O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging in the ruins.
Context of Ezekiel 13:4
2"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: 'Hear the word of the Lord!' 3Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. 6They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'Declares the Lord,' when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word.
Read all of Ezekiel 13Ezekiel 13:4 word by word
כְּשֻׁעָלִ֖ים בָּחֳרָב֑וֹת נְבִיאֶ֥יךָ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הָיֽוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 13:4
- Micah 2:11If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink," he would be the preacher for this people!
- Micah 3:5Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.
- Matthew 7:15"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
- Romans 16:18For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
- Galatians 2:4Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—
- Ephesians 4:14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
- 1 Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
- Revelation 13:11Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.
- Revelation 19:20And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 13:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts - The cunning of the fox in obtaining his prey has been long proverbial. These false prophets are represented as the foxes who, having got their prey by great subtlety, run to the desert to hide both themselves and it. So the false prophets, when the event did not answer to their prediction, got out of the way, that they might not be overwhelmed with the reproaches and indignation of the people.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4In the deserts - Foxes find a home among ruins etc. Lamentations 5:18. So the prophets find their profit in the ruin of their country.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5People compare false prophets to jackals that dig in ruins to hunt small animals. These false prophets did not fix the broken walls by urging people to repent, live holy lives, and resist evil. Instead, they gained prestige, and possibly money, by spreading lies that encouraged rebellion. Like jackals, these false prophets were tearing down walls, not building them up (see Nehemiah 4:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. foxes--which cunningly "spoil the vines" (So 2:15), Israel being the vineyard (Psa 80:8-15; Is 5:1-7; 27:2; Jr 2:21); their duty was to have guarded it from being spoiled, whereas they themselves spoiled it by corruptions. in ... deserts--where there is nothing to eat; whence the foxes become so ravenous and crafty in their devices to get food. So the prophets wander in Israel, a moral desert, unrestrained, greedy of gain which they get by craft.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 13:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries