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Ezekiel 13:17

in Ezekiel 13

Now, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

KJV

Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

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This verse in Ezekiel 13

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
A rebuke to the false prophetesses, and a declaration that God will confound them, and deliver their victims from their snares. Women were sometimes inspired by the true God, as were Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, and Huldah; but an order of prophetesses was unknown among the people of God, and the existence of such a class in the last days of the kings of Judah was a fresh instance of declension into pagan usages. Eze 13:18-

This site's exposition

against the daughters of thy people

on Ezekiel 13:17-19

The second half turns to women who prophesy out of their own heart, practicing a form of divination bound up with sewn pillows and kerchiefs, objects the commentators generally read as charms used to bind and release, hunting souls for the price of handfuls of barley and pieces of bread. Gill reads the small payment named in verse 19 as its own accusation, souls traded cheaply, the righteous made sad and the wicked kept in false comfort for the price of bread. Wesley notes the chapter treats this trade as no less serious than the men's false visions, judged in the same courtroom.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

on Ezekiel 13:17-23

But it is observable that Israel was never imposed upon by pretenders to prophecy till after they had rejected and abused the true prophets; as, afterwards, they were never deluded by counterfeit messiahs till after they had refused the true Messiah and rejected him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Isa 50:7). daughters--the false prophetesses; alluded to only here; elsewhere the guilt specified in the women is the active share they took in maintaining idolatry (Eze 8:14). It was only in extraordinary emergencies that God bestowed prophecy on women, for example on Miriam, Deborah, Huldah (Ex 15:20;

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאַתָּ֣הand you

    veatahH859 →1094 times

  • בֶן־O son of

    ven-H1121 →4930 times

  • אָדָ֗םhumankind

    ʾadamH120 →551 times

  • שִׂ֤יםset

    simH7760 →584 times

  • פָּנֶ֙יךָ֙face your

    paneikhaH6440 →2123 times

  • אֶל־against

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בְּנ֣וֹת[the] daughters of

    benotH1323 →588 times

  • עַמְּךָ֔people your

    ʾamekhaH5971 →1873 times

  • הַמִּֽתְנַבְּא֖וֹתwho prophesy

    hamitnabeotH5012 →115 times

  • מִֽלִּבְּהֶ֑ןfrom own heart their

    milibehenH3820 →595 times

  • וְהִנָּבֵ֖אand prophesy

    vehinave'H5012 →115 times

  • עֲלֵיהֶֽן׃on them

    ʾaleihenH5921 →5755 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezekiel 13:2“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Tell those who prophesy out of their own imagination: Hear the word of the LORD!6 worksNumbers 16:28Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing:5 worksJudges 4:4Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.4 worksRevelation 2:20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.4 works2 Kings 22:14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.4 worksLuke 2:36There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,3 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 6:2“Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.3 worksIsaiah 3:16–26The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—2 worksEzekiel 21:2“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel2 worksEzekiel 20:46“Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.2 works2 Peter 2:1Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.2 worksIsaiah 4:4when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.2 worksEzekiel 4:3Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.2 worksDaniel 2:9If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Luke 2:36

    There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,

    it leads to

    • Exodus 15:20

      Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • Judges 4:4

      Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Psalms 92:14

      In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,

  • Through

    Revelation 2:20

    But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 2:14

      But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…

    • 1 Kings 16:31

      And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then…

    • 1 Corinthians 10:18–21

      Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?

    • 2 Kings 9:7

      And you are to strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD…

    • Acts 15:29

      You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

About Ezekiel

The Prophet Ezekiel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Ezekiel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 13 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ezekiel 13 →