Ezekiel 13:2
in Ezekiel 13“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!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of Jehovah:
KJV
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
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This verse in Ezekiel 13
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThat prophesy out of their own hearts - Who are neither inspired nor sent by Me. They are prophets out of their own hearts. They have their mission from their own assumption, and proceed in it from their own presumption. Such either go of themselves, or are sent by man. Such prophets, ministers, preachers, and clergy have been a curse to the Church and to the world for some thousands of years.
This site's exposition
Then the word of the LORD came to me
on Ezekiel 13:1-3
The word turns to their prophets, “those who prophesy out of their own imagination” while claiming to speak for the Lord. The woe is aimed at “the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.” They invented the source itself, calling it the word of the LORD.
This site's exposition
out of their own imagination
The prophets of Israel speak from their own imagination, the charge Jeremiah 23:16 had already laid against the prophets of Jerusalem. Barnes holds that the exiles heard it as a word for others. The LORD now sends it to them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
If the Word of God accuses me, I will try to be converted.
The word of the present can agree with those who teach in the church, as long as they do not teach other than what the truth demands.
If I find in Moses and the prophets the thought of Christ, I speak not according to my own heart but from the Holy Spirit.
The Ishmaelites represent those who are a law unto themselves, who yield to their own capricious hearts and evil desires. Ezekiel expresses the same thought: "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets that prophesy their own thought and do whatever their spirit impels." We, however, must not follow our own inclinations and be labeled Ishmaelites, "obedient to themselves," but rather be called Ishmael, "obedient to God."
(Chapter 13, Verses 1, 2) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God. This is what we have added: 'who prophesy,' and say to those who prophesy from their own heart, which the Septuagint omitted, and because it is not found in Hebrew, they added, 'and you shall prophesy' and say to them. This is a message against false prophets who deceived the people and, against God's commands, prophesied something else. And let it not bother anyone that they are called prophets, for Holy Scripture has this custom, that it names each one of its prophecies and speeches a prophet, just as the prophets are called Baal, and the prophets of idols, and the prophets of confusion. Hence the apostle Paul also calls a Greek poet a prophet: A certain one of their own prophets said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons (Titus 1). And in Hosea we read: Like a prophet driven mad, a man carrying the Spirit (Hosea 9:7). But whatever was said to the people of Israel at that time is now applied to the Church: so that the holy prophets may be the apostles and apostolic men. But the false and mad prophets are all heretics, whose leaders invent falsehoods from their own hearts; and those who are led astray by them believe in the lies of others.
4 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
If anyone reading the gospel fits its proper sense to the gospel without understanding that the Lord speaks, he is a false prophet speaking according to his own heart in the gospel.
False prophets are teachers of the church whose words or life do not properly accord with the doctrine that they preach.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
that prophesy--namely, a speedy return to Jerusalem. out of . . . own hearts--alluding to the words of Jeremiah (Jer 23:16, 26); that is, what they prophesied was what they and the people wished; the wish was father to the thought.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the word of nevuah from before Hashem was with me, saying:
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. 4 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֕ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הִנָּבֵ֛א | hinave' | prophesy | H5012 → | 115 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נְבִיאֵ֥י | neviei | [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַנִּבָּאִ֑ים | hanibaim | who are prophesying | H5012 → | 115 times |
| וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִנְבִיאֵ֣י | linviei | to [the] prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| מִלִּבָּ֔ם | milibam | from own heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
| שִׁמְע֖וּ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| דְּבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֕םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הִנָּבֵ֛אprophesy
hinave'H5012 →115 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
נְבִיאֵ֥י[the] prophets of
nevieiH5030 →314 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַנִּבָּאִ֑יםwho are prophesying
hanibaimH5012 →115 times
וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
לִנְבִיאֵ֣יto [the] prophets
linvieiH5030 →314 times
מִלִּבָּ֔םfrom own heart their
milibamH3820 →595 times
שִׁמְע֖וּhear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
דְּבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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 22:28Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 13:6–7
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Ezekiel 13:10–16
Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
- Ezekiel 13:6–7
Through
Ezekiel 22:25The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 13:19
You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 6:9
Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.
- Ezekiel 13:19
Through
Ezekiel 13:17Now, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them
it leads to
- Judges 4:4
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
- Judges 4:4
Through
Isaiah 9:15The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:10
For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, O prophets; He has covered your heads, O seers.
- Isaiah 29:10
Through
Jeremiah 37:19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:28
But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O…
- Jeremiah 28:10–17
Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
- Jeremiah 2:28
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 15 (PS 82); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 2:2 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 2:1.