Ezekiel 13:10-11

13:10 “‘This is because they have led my people astray saying, “All is well,” ¹  when things are not well. When anyone builds a wall without mortar, ²  they coat it with whitewash. 13:11 Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones ³  will fall and a violent wind will break out. ⁴ 

Ezekiel 13:14-15

13:14 I will break down the wall you coated with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. When it falls you will be destroyed beneath it, ⁵  and you will know that I am the Lord. 13:15 I will vent my rage against the wall, and against those who coated it with whitewash. Then I will say to you, “The wall is no more and those who whitewashed it are no more –

Ezekiel 22:28

22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ⁶  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

[13:10]  ¹ tn Or “peace.”

[13:10]  ² tn The Hebrew word only occurs here in the Bible. According to L. C. Allen (Ezekiel [WBC], 1:202-3) it is also used in the Mishnah of a wall of rough stones without mortar. This fits the context here comparing the false prophetic messages to a nice coat of whitewash on a structurally unstable wall.

[13:11]  ³ tn Heb “and you, O hailstones.”

[13:11]  ⁴ sn A violent wind will break out. God’s judgments are frequently described in storm imagery (Pss 18:7-15; 77:17-18; 83:15; Isa 28:17; 30:30; Jer 23:19; 30:23).

[13:14]  ⁵ tn Or “within it,” referring to the city of Jerusalem.

[22:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.