Ezekiel 13:17
in Ezekiel 13Now, 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
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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
set your face against the daughters of your people
on Ezekiel 13:17-19
The second half turns to women who “sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils,” objects used “to ensnare their souls.” Their lies cut both ways, for they “have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.”
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
It should have a face that wants to be fixed toward what it is striving to understand, and for this reason the order is always first given to those who want to prophecy to make their face firm.
Soft are the souls and intentions of those leaders who always compose resonant and harmonious words.
(Verse 17 and following) And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own heart, and prophesy against them, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew cushions for all armholes and make veils for the heads of people of every height, to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive?
This face, that is to say the ruling faculty in our soul, if it is not fixed toward what it should understand in the manner that it sees, it announces to its hearers that what it looks at has not in fact been seen.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, When sinners grow very impudent it is time for reprovers to be very bold. How the sin of these false prophetesses is described, and what are the particulars of it. They told deliberate lies to those who consulted them, and came to them to be advised, and to be told their fortune: "You do mischief by your lying to my people that hear your lies (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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;
Set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy - From this it appears that there were prophetesses in the land of Israel, that were really inspired by the Lord: for as a false religion necessarily implies a true one, of which it is the ape; so false prophetesses necessarily imply true ones, whom they endeavored to imitate. That there were true prophetesses among the Jews is evident enough from such being mentioned in the sacred writings. Miriam, the sister of Moses Exo 15:20; Num 12:2; Deborah, Jdg 4:4; Huldah, 2Ki 22:14; Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, Luk 2:36; the four daughters of Philip the deacon, Act 21:9. Calmet observes that there was scarcely a heresy in the primitive Church that was not supported and fomented by seducing women.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בֶן־ | ven- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֗ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| שִׂ֤ים | sim | set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| פָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ | paneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנ֣וֹת | benot | [the] daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| עַמְּךָ֔ | ʾamekha | people your | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַמִּֽתְנַבְּא֖וֹת | hamitnabeot | who prophesy | H5012 → | 115 times |
| מִֽלִּבְּהֶ֑ן | milibehen | from own heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְהִנָּבֵ֖א | vehinave' | and prophesy | H5012 → | 115 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽן׃ | ʾaleihen | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
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.
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
Luke 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,
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,
- Exodus 15:20
Through
Revelation 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.
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.
- Revelation 2:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 3:1 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 3:3.