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 those who should not have lived.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Lord speaks through Ezekiel to false prophetesses who exploit vulnerable listeners for food, directly addressing their actions in the same judgment sequence as Ezekiel 13:18 and 13:20.

The words — תְּחַלֶּלְ֨נָה (te.cha.leL.nah) translates literally as "you have profaned," and שְׂעֹרִים (se.'o.Rim) means "barley."

The thread — The theme of spiritual leaders trading falsehood for material gain appears in Proverbs 28:21, Micah 3:5, and Jeremiah 23:14.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear rejection of spiritual exploitation and a recognition that divine judgment targets those who trade lies for food.

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

וַתְּחַלֶּלְ֨נָהva./te.cha.leL.nahand/ you have profaned אֹתִ֜י'o.T/i<obj.>/ me אֶל־'el-to עַמִּ֗י'a.M/ipeople/ my בְּשַׁעֲלֵ֣יbe./sha.'a.Leifor/ handfuls of שְׂעֹרִים֮se.'o.Rimbarley<s>וּבִפְת֣וֹתֵיu./vi/f.To.teiand/ for/ fragments of לֶחֶם֒le.Chembread לְהָמִ֤יתle./ha.Mitby/ putting to death נְפָשׁוֹת֙ne.fa.shOtpersons אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwho לֹֽא־lo'-not תְמוּתֶ֔נָהte.mu.Te.nahthey will die וּלְחַיּ֥וֹתu./le./chai.Yotand/ by/ preserving alive נְפָשׁ֖וֹתne.fa.Shotpersons אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwho לֹא־lo'-not תִֽחְיֶ֑ינָהtich.Yei.nahthey will live בְּכַ֨זֶּבְכֶ֔םbe./Kha.zev./Khemwhen/ speak falsehood/ you לְעַמִּ֖יle./'a.M/ito/ people/ my שֹׁמְעֵ֥יsho.me.'Ei[who] listen to כָזָֽב׃ סkha.Zav<of> falsehood

King James Version

And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

Cross-references

Proverbs 28:21 To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
Micah 3:5 This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:
Jeremiah 23:14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
Jeremiah 23:17 They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’
Ezekiel 20:39 And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.
Ezekiel 22:26 Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
1 Samuel 2:16 And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”
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 can come upon us.”
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.
Proverbs 19:27 If you cease to hear instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.