Ezekiel 13:7
in Ezekiel 13Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Have ye not seen a false vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, in that ye say, Jehovah saith; albeit I have not spoken?
KJV
Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
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This verse in Ezekiel 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseUnder the guise of prophets, this speech is against heretics, who speak empty words and see falsehood, and they persist in establishing their own doctrine. May the Lord Himself come against them and rise up, and may He stretch out His hand against them to strike, and may He not hold back in sparing them. And He threatens that they will not be among the assembly of the people of the Lord in the future, nor in His Church, but in the synagogue of the devil, nor will they be written in the house of Israel.
This site's exposition
They see false visions and speak lying divinations
on Ezekiel 13:6-7
“They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.” The lie raises a hope that must fail. Verse 7 asks, “Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination,” when the LORD has not spoken.
This site's exposition
even though I have not spoken
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 gave Israel the test for a prophet who speaks a word the LORD has not commanded. A word that fails to come to pass marks him as false, and the law sentenced him to death. These prophets stood under that law.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Pray for us that our words may not be false.
This is what we are looking for, that the Lord will be present as a witness to my words, that he may himself confirm what is said by witness of his holy Scriptures.
(Versed 4 et sequentia) Your prophets, Israel, will be like foxes in the desert. You did not go up to face the enemy or build a wall for the house of Israel to stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord. They see false visions and speak deceptive divinations, saying, 'The Lord declares,' when the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their words. Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination when you say, 'The Lord declares,' though I have not spoken?' LXX: Like foxes in the deserts are your prophets, O Israel ((Add. they were or will be)). They did not stand in the firmament, and they gathered flocks over the house of Israel. Those who say in the day of the Lord did not rise: seeing falsehoods, divining vanities, those who say, says the Lord, and the Lord did not send them: and they began to stir up discourse. Did you not see false visions, and speak vain divinations? And you said, says the Lord, and I did not speak. Let us first speak according to the Hebrew. The prophets of Israel are like foxes, committing thefts of domestic birds every day: those who live, according to Aquila and the Septuagint, in the deserts; according to Symmachus and Theodotion, in walls and ruins: who cannot advance opposite, nor oppose a wall for the house of Israel. We read that Aaron stood in the middle against the fire devouring the people of Israel, and opposed a wall for the salvation of the people (Num. XVI). It is also said of Jeremiah, 'Do not confront the Lord, nor stand against His wrath with persevering prayer' (Jer. 7). Just as a wall is set against an enemy and is usually met head-on by the adversary, so the will of God is weakened by the prayers of the saints. Therefore, Moses is also told, 'Let me alone, and I will destroy this people' (Exod. 32:10), which shows that he had the power to hold back. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): You have see a vain vision and spoken a lying divination, which had no divine original and would have no effect, but would certainly be disproved by the event; the words are changed (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Have ye not seen a vain vision,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲל֤וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מַֽחֲזֵה־ | machazeh- | a vision of | H4236 → | |
| שָׁוְא֙ | shav' | worthlessness | H7723 → | 53 times |
| חֲזִיתֶ֔ם | chazitem | have you seen | H2372 → | 55 times |
| וּמִקְסַ֥ם | umiksam | and divination of | H4738 → | |
| כָּזָ֖ב | kazav | falsehood | H3577 → | 31 times |
| אֲמַרְתֶּ֑ם | ʾamartem | have you said? | H559 → | 5305 times |
| וְאֹֽמְרִים֙ | veomerim | and [you were] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַאֲנִ֖י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דִבַּֽרְתִּי׃ ס | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
הֲל֤וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
מַֽחֲזֵה־a vision of
machazeh-H4236 →
שָׁוְא֙worthlessness
shav'H7723 →53 times
חֲזִיתֶ֔םhave you seen
chazitemH2372 →55 times
וּמִקְסַ֥םand divination of
umiksamH4738 →
כָּזָ֖בfalsehood
kazavH3577 →31 times
אֲמַרְתֶּ֑םhave you said?
ʾamartemH559 →5305 times
וְאֹֽמְרִים֙and [you were] saying
veomerimH559 →5305 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַאֲנִ֖יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
דִבַּֽרְתִּי׃ סI have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 13:6They 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:8
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from…
- Jeremiah 28:15
Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- Ezekiel 22:28
Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- Jeremiah 37:19
Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?
- Ezekiel 21:29
while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
- Jeremiah 29:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; 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 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 2:5.