Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3
27:16 I also told the priests and all the people, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to what your prophets are saying. They are prophesying to you that 12 the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon very soon. 13 But they are prophesying a lie to you.
13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 13:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: 14 ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing! 13:4 Your prophets have become like jackals among the ruins, O Israel. 13:5 You have not gone up in the breaks in the wall, nor repaired a wall for the house of Israel that it would stand strong in the battle on the day of the Lord. 13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. 15 They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; 16 yet they expect their word to be confirmed. 17 13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?
13:8 “‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, 18 I am against you, 19 declares the sovereign Lord. 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council 20 of my people, nor be written in the registry 21 of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
1 tn Heb “when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering.”
2 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: “When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: ‘Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.’ So they stood aside and departed.”
3 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Obadiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “to kill me.”
6 tn Heb “he makes the kingdom or the nation swear an oath.”
7 tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”
8 tn The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See IBHS 508 §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.
9 tn Heb “oracle of the
10 sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.
11 tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”
12 tn Heb “don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you….” The sentence has been broken up for the sake of English style and one level of embedded quotes has been eliminated to ease complexity.
13 sn This refers to the valuable articles of the temple treasury which were carried off by Nebuchadnezzar four years earlier when he carried off Jeconiah, his family, some of his nobles, and some of the cream of Judean society (2 Kgs 24:10-16, especially v. 13 and see also vv. 19-20 in the verses following).
14 tn Heb “from their mind.”
15 sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.
16 sn The
17 tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”
18 tn The word h!nn@h indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
19 tn Or “I challenge you.” The phrase “I am against you” may be a formula for challenging someone to combat or a duel. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:201-2, and P. Humbert, “Die Herausforderungsformel ‘h!nn#n' ?l?K>,’” ZAW 45 (1933): 101-8.
20 tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the
21 tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).