Ezekiel 13:2

2 Mortal, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying; say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: "Hear the word of the Lord!"

Ezekiel 13:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 13:2

Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel
Who called themselves so, and were accounted such by others; though they were not true, but false prophets; and so the Targum calls them: that prophesy;
that is, smooth things to the people; promising a speedy return from the captivity; or that Jerusalem should not be taken by the Chaldeans, and the inhabitants of it, and of the land, be carried captive: and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts;
who were not sent of God, nor spake from him; but of themselves, what came into their heads, and was agreeable to their fancies, imaginations, and carnal hearts; such are false teachers, that go forth without being sent, and teach not according to the word of God, but according to their own carnal reasonings; so the Targum,

``according to the will of their hearts;''
what they pleased themselves: hear ye the word of the Lord;
which came from the Lord himself, and not from man, meaning the following prophecy; so the written word of God should be attended to, both by teachers and hearers, as the only rule of faith and practice; see ( Isaiah 8:20 ) .

Ezekiel 13:2 In-Context

1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying; say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: "Hear the word of the Lord!"
3 Thus says the Lord God, Alas for the senseless prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel.
5 You have not gone up into the breaches, or repaired a wall for the house of Israel, so that it might stand in battle on the day of the Lord.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.