Ezekiel 13

1 Again, the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets who are prophesying in Israel, and say to those who are prophesying out of their own imaginations, 'Listen to the word of Yahweh.

“Son of man, prophesy concerning the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and you have said to those prophesying from their own heart, Hear a word of YHWH!

3 The Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, but who have seen nothing!

Thus said Lord YHWH: Woe to the prophets who are foolish, Who are going after their own spirit, And they have seen nothing.

4 Israel, your prophets have been like jackals in the wastelands.

Your prophets have been As foxes in the wasteland, O Israel.

5 You have not gone to the breaks in the wall around the house of Israel in order to repair it, in order to resist in battle on the day of Yahweh.

You have not gone up into breaches, Nor do you make a wall for the house of Israel, To stand in battle in a day of YHWH.

6 The people have false visions and make false predictions, those who say, “Such and such is Yahweh's declaration.” Yahweh has not sent them, but they nevertheless have made people hope that their messages would come true.

They have seen vanity, and lying divination, Who are saying: A declaration of YHWH, And YHWH has not sent them, And they have hoped to establish a word.

7 Have you not had false visions and made false predictions, you who say, “Such and such is Yahweh's declaration” when I myself have not spoken?'

Have you not seen a vain vision, And spoken a lying divination, When you say, A declaration of YHWH, And I have not spoken?

8 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this, 'Because you have had false visions and have told lies—therefore this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration against you:

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Because you have spoken vanity, and seen a lie, Therefore, behold, I [am] against you, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

9 My hand will be against the prophets who have lying visions and who make false predictions. They will not be in the assembly of my people, or enrolled in the record of the house of Israel; they must not go to the land of Israel. For you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh!

And My hand has been on the prophets, Who are seeing vanity, and who are divining a lie, They are not in the assembly of My people, And they are not written in the writing of the house of Israel, And they do not come to the ground of Israel, And you have known that I [am] Lord YHWH.

10 Because of this, and because they led my people astray and said, “Peace!” when there is no peace, they are building a wall that they will paint with whitewash.'

Because, even because, they caused My people to err, Saying, Peace! And there is no peace, And that one is building a wall, And behold, they are coating it with chalk.

11 Say to those who are whitewashing the wall, 'It will fall down; there will be a downpour of rain, and I will send hailstones to make it fall down, and a windstorm wind to break it down.

Say to those coating with chalk—It falls, There has been an overflowing shower, And you, O hailstones, fall, And a turbulent wind breaks out,

12 See, the wall will fall down. Have others not said to you, “Where is the whitewash that you put on it?”

And behold, the wall has fallen! Does one not say to you, Where [is] the coating that you coated?

13 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: I will bring a windstorm in my rage, and there will be floods of rain in my wrath! Hailstones in my rage will completely destroy it.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: I have broken with a turbulent wind in My fury, And an overflowing shower is in My anger, And hailstones in My fury—to consume.

14 For I will tear down the wall that you have covered with whitewash, and I will demolish it to the ground and lay bare its foundations. So it will fall, and you will be annihilated in the middle of it all. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

And I have broken down the wall that you coated with chalk, And have caused it to come to the earth, And its foundation has been revealed, And it has fallen, And you have been consumed in its midst, And you have known that I [am] YHWH.

15 For I will annihilate in my fury the wall and those who whitewashed it. I will say to you, “The wall exists no more, nor do the people who whitewashed it—

And I have completed My wrath on the wall, And on those coating it with chalk, And I say to you: The wall is not, And those coating it are not,

16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied about Jerusalem and who had visions of peace for her. But there is no peace!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.”'

[These]—the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying concerning Jerusalem, And who are seeing a vision of peace for her, And there is no peace, A declaration of Lord YHWH.

17 So you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own minds, and prophesy against them.

And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who are prophesying out of their own heart, and prophesy concerning them,

18 Say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the women who sew magic charms onto every part of their hand and make veils for their heads of every size, used to hunt down people. Will you hunt down my people but save your own lives?

And you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH: Woe to those sowing [magic] bands for all joints of the arm, And to those making the veils For the head of every stature—to hunt souls, Do you hunt the souls of My people? And do your souls that live remain alive?

19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread, to kill people who should not die, and to preserve the lives of those who should not continue to live, because of your lies to my people who heard you.

Indeed, you pierce Me concerning My people, For handfuls of barley, And for pieces of bread, To put to death souls that should not die, And to keep alive souls that should not live, By your lying to My people—listening to lies.

20 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: I am against the magic charms that you have used to ensnare the people's lives as if they were birds. Indeed, I will tear them from your arms; and the people whom you have trapped like birds—I will let them go free.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Behold, I [am] against your [magic] bands, With which you are hunting there the souls of the flourishing, And I have torn them from off your arms, And have sent away the souls that you are hunting, The souls of the flourishing.

21 I will tear away your veils and rescue my people from your hand, so they will no longer be trapped in your hands. You will know that I am Yahweh.

And I have torn your veils, And delivered My people out of your hand, And they are no longer for a prey in your hand, And you have known that I [am] YHWH.

22 Because you discourage the heart of the righteous person with lies, even though I did not desire his discouragement, and because you encourage instead the actions of the wicked person so that he will not turn from his way to save his life—

Because of paining the heart of the righteous with falsehood, And I have not pained it, And strengthening the hands of the wicked, So as not to turn [him] back from his evil way, To keep him alive,

23 therefore you will no longer have false visions or continue to make predictions, for I will rescue my people out of your hand. You will know that I am Yahweh.'”

Therefore, you do not see vanity, And you do not divine divination again, And I have delivered My people out of your hand, And you have known that I [am] YHWH!”