Ezekiel 14:10
in Ezekiel 14They will bear their punishment—the punishment of the inquirer will be the same as that of the prophet—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall bear their iniquity: the iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of him that seeketh unto him;
KJV
And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
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This verse in Ezekiel 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
God would chastise their sin with a corresponding sin; as they rejected the safe directions of the true light, He would send the pernicious delusions of a false one; prophets would be given them who should re-echo the deceitfulness that already wrought in their own bosom, to their ruin [FAIRBAIRN].
This site's exposition
the prophet be deceived
on Ezekiel 14:9-11
The hardest verse of the section addresses a prophet who is himself deceived into speaking a false word, and the Lord says I the Lord have deceived that prophet, language the bench reads carefully rather than flattening. Henry and Wesley both read this as judicial rather than causative deception, God's active hand in giving over a man already committed to seeking false answers, the same category as Pharaoh's hardened heart, so that the deceiver and the deceived bear the punishment together. The stated purpose closes the unit, that the house of Israel may go no more astray, corrective discipline aimed at future faithfulness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 14, Verse 1 onwards) And the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I be consulted by them?
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Both are sins in him who does them, and so they are not from God; both are punishments to him to whom they are done, and so they are from God. We have a full instance of this in the story of Ahab's prophets, who were deceived by a lying spirit, which God put into their mouths ( 1 Kings xxii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The punishment of the prophet - They are both equally guilty; both have left the Lord, and both shall be equally punished.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Like the iniquity of the inquirer, so will be the iniquity of the prophet Like the iniquity of the one who comes to learn and does not learn, so will be the iniquity of the false prophets.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָשְׂא֖וּ | venaseu | and they will bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| עֲוֹנָ֑ם | ʾavonam | iniquity their | H5771 → | 233 times |
| כַּֽעֲוֹן֙ | kaavon | as [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| הַדֹּרֵ֔שׁ | hadoresh | the enquirer | H1875 → | 164 times |
| כַּעֲוֹ֥ן | kaavon | as [the] iniquity of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| הַנָּבִ֖יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| יִֽהְיֶֽה׃ | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
וְנָשְׂא֖וּand they will bear
venaseuH5375 →656 times
עֲוֹנָ֑םiniquity their
ʾavonamH5771 →233 times
כַּֽעֲוֹן֙as [the] iniquity of
kaavonH5771 →233 times
הַדֹּרֵ֔שׁthe enquirer
hadoreshH1875 →164 times
כַּעֲוֹ֥ןas [the] iniquity of
kaavonH5771 →233 times
הַנָּבִ֖יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
יִֽהְיֶֽה׃it will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Ezekiel 23:49They will repay you for your indecency, and you will bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 9:10
But as for Me, I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. I will bring their deeds down upon their own heads.”
- Ezekiel 7:4
I will not look on you with pity, nor will I spare you, but I will punish you for your ways and for the abominations among you. Then you will know that I am…
- Ezekiel 20:38
And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel.…
- Ezekiel 9:10
Through
Jeremiah 14:15Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine.
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
Through
Numbers 5:31The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”
it leads to
- Leviticus 20:10
If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
- Leviticus 20:10
Through
Ezekiel 14:4Therefore speak to them and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:4
So I will choose their punishment and I will bring terror upon them, because I called and no one answered, I spoke and no one listened. But they did evil in My sight and…
- Ezekiel 14:7
For when any Israelite or any foreigner dwelling in Israel separates himself from Me, sets up idols in his heart, and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the…
- Isaiah 3:11
Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- Isaiah 66:4
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.