Ezekiel 13:20

20 For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I to your cushions, by which ye deceive souls flying; and I shall all-break those from (off) your arms, and I shall deliver [the] souls which ye deceive, souls (that ye make) to fly. (For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I am against your wristbands, with which ye hunt souls to make them fly; and I shall rip them off your arms, and I shall deliver, or shall set free, the souls which ye hunt to make fly.)

Ezekiel 13:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 13:20

Wherefore thus saith the Lord God, behold, I [am] against
your pillows
Not only had an abhorrence of them, but was determined to destroy them, detect their fallacies, and expose the folly of such actions, and them to shame and contempt: wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make [them] fly;
to the places where they prophesied; into the toils and nets they spread for them, in order to catch them with their divinations and prophecies, and make a gain of them: or, "into the gardens", or "groves" F15; there to commit idolatry, ( Isaiah 65:3 ) ; and I will tear them from your arms;
by which it seems that those pillows were not only put under the arms of those that came to inquire of these female prophets or fortune tellers; but they put them under their own arms, and lay upon them as if they were asleep, and in a trance or ecstasy; and so the kerchiefs or veils were upon their heads, which covered their faces, to show that they were quite retired from the world, and wholly attentive to the visions and revelations they pretended were made them by the Lord; and which they gave out, in this superstitious way, to the credulous people that flocked about them: and will let the souls go, [even] the souls that ye hunt to make [them]
fly;
which were captivated with their superstitions; drawn into their nets and snares; decoyed into the gardens, where they were prevailed upon to sacrifice to idols, and were taken with their soothsaying and lying divinations; these the Lord promises to break the snare for them, and set them at liberty, and preserve them from that ruin and destruction they were ready to come into; see ( Psalms 124:7 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F15 (twxrpl) "in floralia", Junius & Tremellius, Polanus, Starckius; "in floridis hortis", Piscator.

Ezekiel 13:20 In-Context

18 and say thou, The Lord God saith these things, Woe to them that sew together cushions under each cubit of [the] hand, and make pillows under the head of each age, to take souls; and when they deceived the souls of my people, they quickened the souls of them. (and say thou, The Lord God saith these things, Woe to those who sew bands for each wrist, and put veils on the heads of everyone, to hunt souls, or lives; and while they hunt the souls of my people, yet they keep their own souls safe.)
19 And they defouled me to my people, for an handful of barley, and for a gobbet of bread, that they should slay souls that die not, and quicken souls that live not; and they lied to my people, believing to leasings. (And they defiled me among my people, for a handful of barley, and for a piece of bread, so that they kill souls that should not die, and enliven souls that should not live; and they lied to my people, who believed the lies.)
20 For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I to your cushions, by which ye deceive souls flying; and I shall all-break those from (off) your arms, and I shall deliver [the] souls which ye deceive, souls (that ye make) to fly. (For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I am against your wristbands, with which ye hunt souls to make them fly; and I shall rip them off your arms, and I shall deliver, or shall set free, the souls which ye hunt to make fly.)
21 And I shall all-break your pillows, and I shall deliver my people from your hand (And I shall rip up your veils, and I shall deliver my people from out of your hands); and they shall no more be in your hands, to be robbed; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.
22 For that that ye made falsely the heart of a just man to mourn, whom I made not sorry; and ye strengthened the hands of a wicked man, that he should not turn again from his evil way, and live. (Because ye falsely made the heart of the just, or of the righteous, to mourn, whom I have not made sorrowful; and ye strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that they would not turn from their evil ways, and live.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.