Ezekiel 13:10-16

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  13:12 When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

13:13 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury. 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 – 13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem ⁶  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

Ezekiel 13:1

False Prophets Denounced

13:1 Then the word of the Lord came to me:

Ezekiel 22:11-13

22:11 One ⁷  commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates ⁸  his sister – his father’s daughter ⁹  – within you. 22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; ¹⁰  you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, ¹¹  declares the sovereign Lord. ¹² 

22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together ¹³  at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed ¹⁴  they have done among you.

Ezekiel 22:23

22:23 The word of the Lord came to me:

Jeremiah 5:30-31

5:30 “Something horrible and shocking

is going on in the land of Judah:

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.

The priests exercise power by their own authority. ¹⁵ 

And my people love to have it this way.

But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes! ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 6:13

6:13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all of them practice deceit.

Lamentations 2:14

נ (Nun)

2:14 Your prophets saw visions for you

that were worthless lies. ¹⁷ 

They failed to expose your sin

so as to restore your fortunes. ¹⁸ 

They saw oracles for you

that were worthless ¹⁹  lies.

Lamentations 4:13

מ (Mem)

4:13 But it happened ²⁰  due to the sins of her prophets ²¹ 

and the iniquities of her priests,

who poured out in her midst

the blood of the righteous.

Lamentations 4:2

ב (Bet)

4:2 The precious sons of Zion

were worth their weight in gold –

Alas! – but now they are treated like ²²  broken clay pots,

made by a potter. ²³ 

Lamentations 2:1-3

The Prophet Speaks:

א (Alef)

2:1 Alas! ²⁴  The Lord ²⁵  has covered

Daughter Zion ²⁶  with his anger. ²⁷ 

He has thrown down the splendor of Israel

from heaven to earth;

he did not protect ²⁸  his temple ²⁹ 

when he displayed his anger. ³⁰ 

ב (Bet)

2:2 The Lord ³¹  destroyed ³²  mercilessly ³³ 

all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. ³⁴ 

In his anger he tore down

the fortified cities ³⁵  of Daughter Judah.

He knocked to the ground and humiliated

the kingdom and its rulers. ³⁶ 

ג (Gimel)

2:3 In fierce anger ³⁷  he destroyed ³⁸ 

the whole army ³⁹  of Israel.

He withdrew his right hand ⁴⁰ 

as the enemy attacked. ⁴¹ 

He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; ⁴² 

it consumed everything around it. ⁴³ 

[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.

[13:16]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[22:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man.”

[22:11]  ⁸ tn The verb is the same one used in verse 10b and suggests forcible sexual violation of the woman.

[22:11]  ⁹ sn Sexual relations with one’s half-sister may be primarily in view here. See Lev 18:9; 20:17.

[22:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.

[22:12]  ¹¹ sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.

[22:12]  ¹² tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.

[22:13]  ¹³ sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).

[22:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”

[5:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”

[5:31]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”

[2:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “emptiness and whitewash.” The nouns שָׁוְא וְתָפֵל (shv’ vÿtafel) form a nominal hendiadys. The first noun functions adjectivally, modifying the second noun that retains its full nominal sense: “empty whitewash” or “empty deceptions” (see following translation note on meaning of תָּפֵל [tafel]). The noun תָּפֵל (tafel, “whitewash”) is used literally in reference to a white-washed wall (Ezek 13:10, 11, 14, 15) and figuratively in reference to false prophets (Ezek 22:28).

[2:14]  ¹⁸ tc The Kethib שְׁבִיתֵךְ (shÿvitekh) and Qere שְׁבוּתֵךְ (shÿvutekh), which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss here and elsewhere (Ps 85:1 Heb 85:2; 126:4; Job 42:10), are struggling with the root. The ancient versions take it from ָָשׁבָה (shavah) meaning “captivity.” Such a meaning is not tenable for the Job passage, which along with a similar phrase in the Sefire inscription suggest that the proper meaning is “to restore someone’s fortunes.”

[2:14]  ¹⁹ tn The nouns שָׁוְא וּמַדּוּחִים (shav’ umaddukhim, lit., “emptiness and enticements”) form a nominal hendiadys. The first functions adjectivally, modifying the second noun that retains its nominal sense: “empty enticements” or “false deceptions.” The noun מַדּוּחַ (madduakh), meaning “enticement” or “transgression” is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT). It is related to the verb נָדָח (nadakh, “to entice, lead astray”) which is often used in reference to idolatry.

[4:13]  ²⁰ tn These words do not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied to make sense of the line. The introductory causal preposition מִן (min) (“because”) indicates that this phrase – or something like it – is implied through elision.

[4:13]  ²¹ tn There is no main verb in the verse; it is an extended prepositional phrase. One must either assume a verbal idea such as “But it happened due to…” or connect it to the following verses, which themselves are quite difficult. The former option was employed in the present translation.

[4:2]  ²² tn Heb “they are regarded as.”

[4:2]  ²³ tn Heb “the work of the hands of a potter.”

[2:1]  ²⁴ tn See the note at 1:1.

[2:1]  ²⁵ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:1]  ²⁶ sn Chapter 2 continues the use of feminine epithets (e.g., “Daughter Zion”), although initially portraying Jerusalem as an object destroyed by the angered enemy, God.

[2:1]  ²⁷ tn The verb יָעִיב (ya’iv) is a hapax legomenon (a term that appears only once in Hebrew OT). Most lexicons take it as a denominative verb from the noun עָב (’av, “cloud,” HALOT 773 s.v. II עָב; BDB 728 s.v. עוּב): Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from עוֹב (’ov) meaning “cover with a cloud, make dark” (HALOT 794 s.v. עוב) or “becloud” (BDB 728 s.v.): “the Lord has covered Daughter Zion with the cloud of His anger.” This approach is followed by many English versions (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV). However, a few scholars relate it to a cognate Arabic verb “to blame, revile” (Ehrlich, Rudolph, Hillers): “the Lord has shamed Daughter Zion in His anger.” Several English versions adopt this (NRSV, NJPS, CEV). The picture of cloud and wrath concurs with the stanza’s connection to “day of the Lord” imagery.

[2:1]  ²⁸ tn The common gloss for זָכַר (zakhar) is “remember.” זָכַר (zakhar) entails “bearing something in mind” in a broader sense than the English gloss “remember.” When God “bears someone in mind,” the consequences are beneficial for them. The implication of not regarding his footstool is to not esteem and so not care for or protect it.

[2:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the footstool of His feet.” The noun הֲדֹם (hadom, “footstool”), always joined with רַגְלַיִם (raglayim, “feet”) is always used figuratively in reference to the dwelling place of God (BDB 213 s.v. הֲדֹם). It usually refers to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem (Isa 60:13; Lam 2:1) or to the ark as the place above which the Lord is enthroned (Pss 99:5; 132:7; 1 Chr 28:2).

[2:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in the day of His anger.” As a temporal reference this phrase means “when he displayed his anger.” The Hebrew term “day,” associated with the “day of the Lord” or “day of his wrath” also functions as a title in a technical sense.

[2:2]  ³¹ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:2]  ³² tn Heb “has swallowed up.”

[2:2]  ³³ tc The Kethib is written לֹא חָמַל (lo’ khamal, “without mercy”), while the Qere reads וְלֹא חָמַל (vÿlo’ khamal, “and he has shown no mercy”). The Kethib is followed by the LXX, while the Qere is reflected in many Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate). The English versions are split between the Kethib: “The Lord swallowed all the dwellings of Jacob without mercy” (cf. RSV, NRSV, NIV, TEV, NJPS) and the Qere: “The Lord swallowed all the dwellings of Jacob, and has shown no mercy” (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). As these words occur between a verb and its object (חָמַל [khamal] is not otherwise followed by אֵת [’et, direct object marker]), an adverbial reading is the most natural, although interrupting the sentence with an insertion is possible. Compare 2:17, 21; 3:43. In contexts of harming, to show mercy often means to spare from harm.

[2:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “all the dwellings of Jacob.”

[2:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the strongholds.”

[2:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “He brought down to the ground in disgrace the kingdom and its princes.” The verbs חִלֵּל…הִגִּיע (higgi’…khillel, “he has brought down…he has profaned”) function as a verbal hendiadys, as the absence of the conjunction ו (vav) suggests. The first verb retains its full verbal force, while the second functions adverbially: “he has brought down [direct object] in disgrace.”

[2:3]  ³⁷ tc The MT reads אַף (’af, “anger”), while the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate) reflect אַפּוֹ (’appo, “His anger”). The MT is the more difficult reading syntactically, while the ancient versions are probably smoothing out the text.

[2:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “cut off, scattered.”

[2:3]  ³⁹ tn Heb “every horn of Israel.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3, 17; Ezek 29:21) (BDB 901 s.v. 2), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” Cutting off the “horn” is a figurative expression for destroying warriors (Jer 48:25; Ps 75:10 [HT 11]).

[2:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he caused his right hand to turn back.” The implication in such contexts is that the Lord’s right hand protects his city. This image of the right hand is consciously reversed in 2:4.

[2:3]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “from the presence of the enemy.” This figurative expression refers to the approach of the attacking army.

[2:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “he burned in Jacob like a flaming fire.”

[2:3]  ⁴³ tn Or “He burned against Jacob, like a raging fire consumes all around.”