Ezekiel 14:9

But if the prophet is enticed to speak a message, then it was I the LORD who enticed him, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses Ezekiel and the exilic community concerning false prophets who deliver messages to idolatrous inquirers. The declaration functions as a judicial warning within a broader oracle on divine judgment.

The words — The verb יְפֻתֶּה (ye.fu.Teh) means "he will be deceived" or "enticed," directly paralleled by the divine form פִּתֵּ֔יתִי (pi.Tei.ti) "I have deceived." Both derive from the root H6601, denoting a binding or deluding action.

The thread — The motif of God permitting deception as judgment recurs in Jeremiah 4:10 and Ezekiel 20:25, where divine statutes lead to ruin. Ezekiel 14:10 extends this framework by equating the punishment of the inquirer with that of the prophet.

Why it lands — The text asserts that God sovereignly allows delusion as a judicial response to persistent idolatry. Readers must acknowledge the shared culpability of those who seek guidance from compromised spiritual sources.

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

וְהַנָּבִ֤יאve./ha./na.Vi'and/ the/ prophet כִֽי־khi-if יְפֻתֶּה֙ye.fu.Tehhe will be deceived וְדִבֶּ֣רve./di.Berand/ he will speak דָּבָ֔רda.Vara word אֲנִ֤י'a.NiI יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahweh פִּתֵּ֔יתִיpi.Tei.tiI have deceived אֵ֖ת'et<obj.>הַנָּבִ֣יאha./na.Vi'the/ prophet הַה֑וּאha./Hu'<the>/ that וְנָטִ֤יתִיve./na.Ti.tiand/ I will stretch out אֶת־'et-<obj.>יָדִי֙ya.D/ihand/ my עָלָ֔יו'a.La/von/ him וְהִ֨שְׁמַדְתִּ֔יוve./Hish.mad.Ti/vand/ I will destroy/ him מִתּ֖וֹךְmi./Tokhfrom/ among עַמִּ֥י'a.M/ipeople/ my יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Yis.ra.'ElIsrael

King James Version

And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 4:10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”
Ezekiel 20:25 I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.
2 Samuel 12:11 This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.
1 Kings 22:20 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one suggested this, and another that.
Job 12:16 True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
Psalms 81:11 But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
Isaiah 5:25 Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lie like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Isaiah 9:12 Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have devoured Israel with open mouths. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Isaiah 9:21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.