Ezekiel 13:3

3 The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, that follow their spirit, and see nothing; (The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, who follow their own spirit, and so see nothing;)

Ezekiel 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 13:3

Thus saith the Lord God, woe unto the foolish prophets
The false prophets, as the Targum; who are foolish, as all are who are not sent of God, and furnished by him with wisdom and knowledge, and who prophesy out of their own hearts; for what else but folly can proceed from thence? this must be a great mortification to these prophets to be called foolish, when they reckoned themselves wise men, being vainly puffed up in their fleshly minds, and were accounted so by others; but what is wisdom with men is foolishness with God: that follow their own spirit;
or "walk after it" F3; and not the Spirit of God, who leads into all truth; they pretended to a spirit of prophecy, but it was their own spirit and the dictates of it they followed, and not the Spirit of the Lord; and therefore it is no wonder that they prophesied false things, and led the people wrong; as all such teachers do, who give way to their own fancies and imaginations, and forsake the word of God, and do not implore the assistance and teachings of the blessed Spirit: and have seen nothing;
no vision, as the Syriac version renders it; they pretended to have revelations of things future from the Lord, but they had none; what they saw were vain visions and lying divinations, and were as nothing, and worse than nothing; yea, they said what they never saw.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (Mxwr rxa Myklh) "qui ambulant post spiritm suum": Pagninus, Calvin, Cocceius, Starckius.

Ezekiel 13:3 In-Context

1 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,
2 Son of man, prophesy thou to the prophets of Israel that prophesy; and thou shalt say to them that prophesy of their heart, Hear ye the word of the Lord. (Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of Israel who prophesy; and thou shalt say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord.)
3 The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, that follow their spirit, and see nothing; (The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, who follow their own spirit, and so see nothing;)
4 Israel, thy prophets were as foxes in desert[s]. (Israel, thy prophets were like foxes in the desert.)
5 Ye ascended not even against, neither again-setted a wall for the house of Israel, that ye should stand in battle in the day of the Lord. (Ye went not even against, nor set again, or fixed, the broken wall for the house of Israel, so that ye could stand in battle on the day of the Lord.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.