Bible Strands
Ezekiel 13:17
Now, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord commands Ezekiel to confront the daughters of Israel who deliver prophecies derived from personal imagination. This directive follows an oracle condemning male prophets who falsely promised peace to Jerusalem.
The words — שׂים פָּנֶיךָ (sim panekha) literally means "set your face," a Hebrew idiom for directing focused attention toward a specific target. It pairs with בְּנ֣וֹת (benot), "daughters," to identify the exact group receiving judgment.
The thread — The pattern of confronting those who prophesy from their own imagination appears in Ezekiel 13:2 and stands in contrast to recognized prophetesses like Deborah in Judges 4:4 and Huldah in 2 Kings 22:14.
Why it lands — The text explicitly commands direct confrontation of religious deception rather than passive tolerance. It requires readers to evaluate spiritual claims by their source rather than their perceived outcome.
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
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,
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 13:2 “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!
- Judges 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
- 2 Kings 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
- Revelation 2:20 But 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.
- Luke 2:36 There 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,
- Isaiah 3:16 The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
- Isaiah 4:4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- Ezekiel 4:3 Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
- Ezekiel 20:46 “Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.
- Ezekiel 21:2 “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel