Ezekiel 33:31

31 They show up, as people tend to do, and sit in your company. They listen to you speak, but don't do a thing you say. They flatter you with compliments, but all they care about is making money and getting ahead.

Ezekiel 33:31 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 33:31

And they come unto thee as the people cometh
As the people of God, who came to the prophets's house to hear him preach the word, and explain it for their spiritual profit and edification these came when they did, and as early and constantly, and with seeming pleasure: and they sit before thee as my people;
with great decency and reverence, and very gravely and demurely, and with seeming devotion, and stay the time out till the whole service is over; as scholars sit at the feet of their masters, to hear and learn their doctrines. So the Targum,

``and they come unto thee as the men the disciples come:''

and they hear thy words, but they will not do them;
they gave him the hearing, and seemed attentive, but did not understand what they heard, at least did not put it in practice; they were only hearers, and not doers of the word, and like to the foolish man in ( Matthew 7:26 Matthew 7:27 ) : for with their mouth they show much love:
by the motions of their lips while hearing, and other gestures, as well as by what they said afterwards, they seemed pleased and delighted with what they heard; made huge encomiums upon it, and spoke much in the praise of the preacher. The Targum is the reverse,

``they made game with their mouth.''

But their heart goeth after their covetousness;

``after the money they had taken away by force,''

as the Targum; after the world, and the things of it; after their secular affairs, so that they wished the sermon over, that they might be at them; or, however, did not so diligently attend to what was said, but the cares of the world choked the word, and made it unfruitful to them; these were like the seed that fell among thorns, the thorny ground hearers, ( Matthew 13:22 ) ( Amos 8:5 ) .

Ezekiel 33:31 In-Context

29 "They'll realize that I am God when I devastate the country because of all the obscenities they've practiced.

30 "As for you, son of man, you've become quite the talk of the town. Your people meet on street corners and in front of their houses and say, 'Let's go hear the latest news from God.'

31 They show up, as people tend to do, and sit in your company. They listen to you speak, but don't do a thing you say. They flatter you with compliments, but all they care about is making money and getting ahead.

32 To them you're merely entertainment - a country singer of sad love songs, playing a guitar. They love to hear you talk, but nothing comes of it.

33 "But when all this happens - and it is going to happen! - they'll realize that a prophet was among them."