Ezekiel 22:28
in Ezekiel 22Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And her prophets have daubed for them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, when Jehovah hath not spoken.
KJV
And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.
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This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar,.... Palliated their sins, declared it to be right to shed the blood they did; and seize on the estates of men; but this, though it might for a while satisfy the consciences of these princes, and stop the clamours of the people against them; yet would not last long, but be like the building of a wall with bad stuff, which will not stand; and daubing it with mortar, which will soon wash off.
This site's exposition
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 22:23-29
A second word indicts every order of leadership, prophets, priests who put no difference between the holy and the profane, princes, and the people. Henry reads the fourfold list as deliberate, since the very officers meant to guard holiness are named as its worst offenders.
This site's exposition
whitewash these deeds
The whitewash recalls 13:10, where the false prophets coated a flimsy wall and called it peace. Gill reads it as covering the bloodshed and theft of the officials with a word from God. Henry calls their visions vanity.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 23 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, say to him: You are unclean land, not cleansed on the day of wrath. The conspiracy of the prophets within it, like a roaring lion seizing its prey: they have devoured souls, taken riches and precious things, multiplied widows within it. Its priests have despised my law and defiled my sanctuaries. They have not kept a distance between the holy and the profane, and they have not understood the difference between the unclean and the clean.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They pretend to be seers, but they see vanity; they pretend to be diviners, but they divine lies; they pretend a warrant from Heaven for what they say, and that it is all as true as gospel; they say, Thus saith the Lord God, but it is all a sham, for the Lord has not spoken any such thing.
This prophet is authorized to judge the bloody city, the city of bloods. Jerusalem is so called, not only because she had been guilty of the particular sin of blood-shed, but because her crimes in general were bloody crimes ( ch. vii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Daubed them - Flattered them, in their ways of sin. Untempered mortar - With promises that like ill-tempered mortar, will deceive them, though all seems at present smooth and safe.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Her prophets - Even those who profess themselves to be my prophets, have been unfaithful in the discharge of their office; have soothed the people in their sins, and pretended to have oracles of peace and safety when I had not spoken to them.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּנְבִיאֶ֗יהָ | unevieiha | and prophets its | H5030 → | 314 times |
| טָח֤וּ | tachu | they have plastered | H2902 → | 12 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | for them | ||
| תָּפֵ֔ל | tafel | whitewash | H8602 → | 7 times |
| חֹזִ֣ים | chozim | [they are] seeing | H2372 → | 55 times |
| שָׁ֔וְא | shav' | falsehood | H7723 → | 53 times |
| וְקֹסְמִ֥ים | vekosemim | and [they are] divining | H7080 → | 20 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | for them | ||
| כָּזָ֑ב | kazav | falsehood | H3577 → | 31 times |
| אֹמְרִ֗ים | ʾomerim | [they are] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| וַֽיהוָ֖ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דִבֵּֽר׃ | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
וּנְבִיאֶ֗יהָand prophets its
unevieihaH5030 →314 times
טָח֤וּthey have plastered
tachuH2902 →12 times
לָהֶם֙for them
lahem
תָּפֵ֔לwhitewash
tafelH8602 →7 times
חֹזִ֣ים[they are] seeing
chozimH2372 →55 times
שָׁ֔וְאfalsehood
shav'H7723 →53 times
וְקֹסְמִ֥יםand [they are] divining
vekosemimH7080 →20 times
לָהֶ֖םfor them
lahem
כָּזָ֑בfalsehood
kazavH3577 →31 times
אֹמְרִ֗ים[they are] saying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
וַֽיהוָ֖הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
דִבֵּֽר׃he had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 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
Isaiah 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Ezekiel 13:7–10
Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?
- Amos 7:13
But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
- Jeremiah 11:21
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of Anathoth who are seeking your life and saying, “You must not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by…
- Amos 2:12
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
- Romans 16:18
Through
Jeremiah 28:2“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Jeremiah 27:2–12
This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.
- Ezekiel 13:5–16
You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it would stand in the battle on the Day of the LORD.
- Micah 3:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.