Bible Strands
Ezekiel 13:3
This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit yet have seen nothing.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Yahweh instructs Ezekiel to confront the false prophets of Israel who are delivering messages generated by personal imagination rather than divine commission.
The words — ה֖וֹי (Ho) means "woe!" and הַ/נְּבָלִ֑ים (ha./ne.va.Lim) translates to "the fools," forming the direct declaration of judgment against these individuals.
The thread — The pattern of condemning empty prophecy appears in Lamentations 2:14, Jeremiah 23:28, and Hosea 9:7, where unverified visions and self-generated words are consistently measured against God’s actual revelation.
Why it lands — The verse states that claiming prophetic authority without genuine divine encounter invites condemnation; readers must evaluate spiritual claims by verifying their source against established revelation rather than personal inspiration.
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
Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
Cross-references
- 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.
- Jeremiah 23:28 Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
- Hosea 9:7 The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
- Proverbs 15:14 A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
- Jeremiah 23:1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
- Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
- Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
- Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Ezekiel 13:6 They 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.
- Ezekiel 13:18 and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils for the heads of people of every height, in order to ensnare their souls. Will you ensnare the souls of My people but preserve your own?