Ezekiel 22:25

25 "There is a ¹conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ²devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ³widows in the midst of her.

Ezekiel 22:25 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 22:25

There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof,
&c.] Not of the prophets of the Lord, but of her prophets; such as were agreeable to her, the false prophets. The Targum renders it,

``a company of scribes;''

the interpreters of the law; these entered into a confederacy together against the true prophets, and agreed to prophesy the same things, to flatter the people with peace and prosperity, when sudden destruction was at hand: like a roaring lion ravening the prey;
that roars when hungry, and while it is tearing the prey in pieces; so these false prophets thundered out their menaces against the true prophets, and those that adhered to them; clamouring against them as enemies to the state; and threatening them with accusations to it; and carrying on a judicial process against them: they have devoured souls;
persecuted men to death, that would not give credit to their prophecies; and destroyed the souls of those that did, with their false doctrines and prophecies: they have taken the treasure and precious things;
of those they destroyed; or of others, for prophesying smooth things to them; filthy lucre being the principal thing they had in view: they have made her many widows in the midst thereof;
by persecuting their husbands to death for not believing their prophecies; or by persuading to hold out the siege, under a notion of deliverance; whereby the lives of many were lost by the sword, famine, and pestilence, to whose death they might be said to be accessary.

Ezekiel 22:25 In-Context

23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

24 "Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.'

25 "There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her.

26 "Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27 "Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 11:9; Hosea 6:9
• 2. Jeremiah 2:34; Ezekiel 13:19; Ezekiel 22:27
• 3. Jeremiah 15:8; Ezekiel 22:7