New King James Version
Ezekiel 13:4
4O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel.
- 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 prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘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! O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. 5You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. 6They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.
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 walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people.
- Micah 3:5Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare 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 they are ravenous wolves.
- Romans 16:18For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
- 2 Corinthians 11:13For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
- Galatians 2:4And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),
- Ephesians 4:14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
- 1 Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
- Revelation 13:11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
- Revelation 19:20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries