< Ezekiel 13 >

1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, you are to prophesy against the prophets of Israel who right now are busy prophesying. Tell those who make up their own prophecies: Listen to the word of the Lord!
“Son of man, prophesy to the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and you shall say to those who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord:
3 This is what the Lord God says: Disaster is coming to these foolish prophets who follow their own ideas. They haven't seen anything.
Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets, who are following their own spirit, and who see nothing.
4 Israel, your prophets are like foxes that live in the ruins.
Your prophets, O Israel, were like foxes in the deserts.
5 They didn't go and help repair the gaps in the wall that defends the people of Israel so that it would stand secure during the battle on the Day of the Lord.
You have not gone up against the adversary, and you have not established a wall for the house of Israel, so as to stand in battle on the day of the Lord.
6 The visions they see are false, and the prophecies they give are lies. They claim, ‘This is what the Lord says,’ when the Lord didn't send them. Even so they still expect their message to be fulfilled!
They see emptiness, and they foretell falsehoods, saying, ‘The Lord says,’ though the Lord has not sent them. And they continued to affirm what they said.
7 Isn't it a false vision that you people saw? Isn't it a prophecy of lies when you announce, ‘This is what the Lord says,’ even though I haven't said anything?
Have you not seen a futile vision and spoken a lying divination? And yet you say, ‘The Lord says,’ though I have not spoken.
8 So this is what the Lord God says: Since you've spoken lies and claimed to see false visions, then watch out, because I'm against you, declares the Lord God.
Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have spoken emptiness and have seen falsehoods, therefore: behold, I am against you, says the Lord God.
9 I will punish the prophets who see false visions and give prophecies that are lies. They will not belong to the assembly of my people or be listed in the register of Israelites, and they won't be allowed to enter the country of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.
And my hand will be over the prophets who are seeing emptiness and divining lies. They shall not be in the council of my people, and they shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel. Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.
10 They have deceived my people by saying, ‘We shall have peace,’ when there won't be any peace. It's like they're putting a coat of whitewash on an unstable wall of loose stones that the people have built.
For they have deceived my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ and there is no peace. And they have built a wall, but they have covered it in clay without straw.
11 So tell those people whitewashing the wall that it's going to collapse. Rain will come pouring down. I will send hailstones crashing down on it. A windstorm will blow hard against it.
Say to those who spread mortar without mixing, that it will fall apart. For there will be an inundating rain, and I will cause full-grown hailstones to rush down from above, and a windstorm to dissipate it.
12 Don't you think that when the wall collapses people are going to ask you, ‘What happened to the whitewash you painted it with?’
So then, behold: when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you: ‘Where is the mortar with which you covered it?’
13 So this is what the Lord God says: In my furious anger I'm going to send a windstorm, pouring rain, and hailstones to destroy the wall.
Because of this, thus says the Lord God: And I will cause a violent wind to burst forth in my indignation, and there will be an inundating rain in my fury, and great hailstones in wrath, to consume.
14 I will demolish the wall you whitewashed, knocking it to the ground to reveal its foundations. The city is going to fall, and you're going to be destroyed with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
And I will destroy the wall that you have covered without tempering it. And I will level it to the ground, and its foundation will be revealed. And it will fall and be consumed in its midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord.
15 Once the wall and those who whitewashed it have experienced my anger, I will tell you: The wall is no more, and those who whitewashed it are no more,
And I will fulfill my indignation against the wall, and against those who cover it without mixing the mortar, and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and those who covered it are no more:
16 those ‘prophets’ of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and claimed to have seen a vision of peace for her when there wasn't going to be any peace, declares the Lord God.
the prophets of Israel, who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord God.
17 Now, son of man, you are to oppose those Israelite women who make up prophecies in their own minds. Prophesy against them
And as for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy from their own heart. And prophesy about them,
18 and tell them that this is what the Lord God says: Disaster is coming to the women who sew bracelets of magic charms for their wrists and make veils for all kinds of people to wear as ways to trap and exploit them. Do you think you can trap the lives of my people yet still keep your own?
and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew together little pillows under every forearm, and who make little cushions for the heads of every stage of life, in order to capture souls. And when they have seized the souls of my people, they became the life of their souls.
19 You have disgraced me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people who believe in you, you have killed those who shouldn't have died and let others live who shouldn't.
And they violated me among my people, for the sake of a handful of barley and a fragment of bread, so that they would kill the souls that should not die, and enliven the souls that should not live, lying to my people who believe in falsehoods.
20 So this is what the Lord God says: Watch out! I condemn the magic charms you use to trap people like birds, and I will rip them off your arms. I will set free those you have trapped.
Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your little pillows, with which you catch flying souls. And I will tear them away from your arms. And I will release the souls that you are capturing, the souls that should fly.
21 I will also rip off your veils and rescue my people from your power, so that they will no longer be your victims. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
And I will tear away your little cushions. And I will free my people from your hand. And they shall no longer be a prey in your hands. And you shall know that I am the Lord.
22 Because you have discouraged good people with your lies, even though I didn't have anything against them, and because you have encouraged the wicked that they shouldn't give up from their evil ways to save their lives,
For by deception you have caused the heart of the just to grieve, whom I would not sadden. And I have strengthened the hands of the impious, so that he would not be turned back from his evil way and live.
23 from now on you won't claim these false visions or practice magic. I will rescue my people from your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
Therefore, you shall not see emptiness, and you shall not divine divinations, any more. And I will rescue my people from your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

< Ezekiel 13 >