Bible Strands
Ezekiel 13:12
Surely when the wall has fallen, you will not be asked, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks through Ezekiel to the false prophets who falsely assured Israel of safety by whitewashing a crumbling wall. This declaration occurs immediately after a warning that divine judgment will bring a violent storm to expose their deception.
The words — The phrase אַיֵּה הַטִּיחַ ('ai.Yeh ha.Ti.ach) translates literally to “where is the plaster?” It captures the rhetorical question that will go unanswered once the wall collapses.
The thread — The verse employs a “Where is…?” rhetorical structure that parallels Deuteronomy 32:37 and Judges 9:38, where the collapse of a claimed refuge or status provokes a demand for its whereabouts. This pattern highlights the sudden accountability that follows broken assurances.
Why it lands — It demands that a reader recognize the futility of relying on human-made coverings when confronted with inevitable judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:37 He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
- Judges 9:38 “Where is your gloating now?” Zebul replied. “You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the people you ridiculed? Go out now and fight them!”
- Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
- 2 Kings 3:13 Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
- 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 Judah.
- Jeremiah 29:31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
- Jeremiah 37:19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?
- Lamentations 2:14 The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.