Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel addresses Israel’s false prophets, condemning them for failing to repair the spiritual wall before the Day of the LORD. He confronts those who claim divine authority while operating independently of God’s commission.
The words — שָׁוְא (shaV') denotes worthlessness, and נְאֻם־יְהוָה (ne'um-Yahweh) literally means the utterance of Yahweh. The text contrasts these terms to show how empty claims are falsely branded as divine speech.
The thread — This accusation recurs in Jeremiah 28:15, Jeremiah 29:8, and Ezekiel 22:28. Each passage warns against prophets who speak without divine authorization and misrepresent God’s message.
Why it lands — The text demands verification of any claim to divine origin against the actual word of God. It requires readers to reject self-appointed authority and recognize that uncommissioned prophecy carries no weight.
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
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- Jeremiah 29:8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.
- Ezekiel 22:28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- Jeremiah 37:19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?
- Ezekiel 21:29 while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
- Jeremiah 14:14 “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.
- Zechariah 10:2 For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
- 1 Kings 22:6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 1 Kings 22:27 and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”
- 1 Kings 22:37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, where they buried him.