New Living Translation
Ezekiel 13:3
3This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!’
Ezekiel 13:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
Context of Ezekiel 13:3
1Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2“Son of man, prophesy against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!’ 4“O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging in the ruins. 5They have done nothing to repair the breaks in the walls around the nation. They have not helped it to stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord.
Read all of Ezekiel 13Ezekiel 13:3 word by word
כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה ה֖וֹי עַל־הַנְּבִיאִ֣ים הַנְּבָלִ֑ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֹלְכִ֛ים אַחַ֥ר רוּחָ֖ם וּלְבִלְתִּ֥י רָאֽוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
- Woeהוֹיhôy · woe!H1945
- unto the foolishנָבָלnâbâl · foolishH5036
- prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- that followאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- that followהָלַךְhâlak · to go: followH1980
- their own spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- and have seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
Cross-references for Ezekiel 13:3
- Ezekiel 13:18This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits you women who are ensnaring the souls of my people, young and old alike. You tie magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves?
- Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?
- Jeremiah 23:1“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.
- Matthew 23:13“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.
- Luke 11:42“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
- 1 Corinthians 9:16Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
- Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.
- Lamentations 2:14Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope.
- Hosea 9:7The time of Israel’s punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, “The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!”
- Zechariah 11:15Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd.
- Matthew 23:16“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’
- Luke 11:40Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside?
- 1 Timothy 6:4Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions.
- 2 Timothy 3:9But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.
- Ezekiel 13:6Instead, they have told lies and made false predictions. They say, ‘This message is from the Lord,’ even though the Lord never sent them. And yet they expect him to fulfill their prophecies!
- Jeremiah 23:28“Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!
Commentaries on Ezekiel 13:3
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3That follow nothing - Better in the margin. A true prophet (like Ezekiel) spoke “the word of the Lord,” and declared what he had seen “in the visions of God.” These pretenders are stigmatized in scorn “prophets out of their own hearts,” “seers of what they have not seen.”Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3The basic difference between true and false prophets was clear. False prophets made up their own messages. True prophets spoke the word of the Lord. Now the false prophets would hear a message from the Lord. This message was about their own destruction. These messengers had been deceived, and they had also deceived others. Great sorrow and judgment were coming upon them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. foolish--though vaunting as though exclusively possessing "wisdom" (1Co 1:19-21); the fear of God being the only beginning of wisdom (Psa 111:10). their own spirit--instead of the Spirit of God. A threefold distinction lay between the false and the true prophets: (1) The source of their messages respectively; of the false, "their own hearts"; of the true, an object presented to the spiritual sense (named from the noblest of the senses, a seeing) by the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 13:3
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
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