Ezekiel 20:49

Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Ezekiel addresses the exiled house of Israel immediately after declaring a judgment that will be publicly visible. He voices his own frustration as the people dismiss his prophetic utterances as mere entertainment.

The words — מְמַשֵּׁ֥ל (me.ma.Shel) translates literally as “making a parable” or “speaking in allegories.” Combined with אֹמְרִ֣ים ('o.me.Rim) “they are saying,” it records the audience’s explicit accusation that his messages lack substantive truth.

The thread — This pattern of dismissing prophetic speech as figurative appears in John 16:25 and Matthew 13:13, where Jesus acknowledges his own use of parables. It directly echoes Ezekiel 17:2, where the prophet is commanded to pose riddles and parables to Israel.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to evaluate whether they treat divine warning as abstract narrative or as binding reality. It demands a clear-eyed response to whether one engages the message or merely categorizes it as entertainment.

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

וָאֹמַ֕רva./'o.Marand/ I said אֲהָ֖הּ'a.Hahalas!אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.NaiO Lord יְהוִ֑הYah.wehYahweh הֵ֚מָּהHe.mahthey אֹמְרִ֣ים'o.me.Rim[are] sayingלִ֔יL/iof/ meהֲלֹ֛אha./Lo'¿/ not מְמַשֵּׁ֥לme.ma.Shelmaking a parable מְשָׁלִ֖יםme.sha.Limparables הֽוּא׃ פHu'[is] he

King James Version

Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?

Cross-references

John 16:25 I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. An hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you this way, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
Ezekiel 17:2 “Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
Matthew 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
Acts 17:18 Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.