Ezekiel 13:19

Truth and honesty

¹⁷ Now, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them

¹⁸ and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils for the heads of people of every height, in order to ensnare their souls. Will you ensnare the souls of My people but preserve your own?

You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

²⁰ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I am against the magic charms with which you ensnare souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. So I will free the souls you have ensnared like birds.

²¹ I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.
KJV: And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
WEB: You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.’
ASV: And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies.
DARBY: And will ye profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and for morsels of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that listen to lying?
BLB: And you⁺ profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley, and for pieces of bread, by putting to death people who should not die, and keeping alive people who should not live, by your⁺ lying to My people who listen to a lie.

ÅB: Og dere vanhelliger meg hos mitt folk for noen håndfull bygg og for noen stykker brød, for å drepe sjeler som ikke skal dø, og for å holde sjeler i live som ikke skulle leve, idet dere lyver for mitt folk, som gjerne hører på løgn.
OTB: For noen få håndfuller bygg og brødsmuler har dere vanhelliget meg blant mitt folk, ved å drepe dem som ikke skulle dø og holde i live dem som ikke skulle leve, ved å lyve for mitt folk som lytter til løgner.
B1930: Og I vanhelliger mig hos mitt folk for nogen håndfull bygg og for nogen stykker brød, for å drepe sjeler som ikke skal dø, og for å holde sjeler i live som ikke skulde leve, idet I lyver for mitt folk, som gjerne hører på løgn.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Micah 3:5
This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:
Read in context
Proverbs 28:21
To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
Read in context
Ezekiel 20:39
And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.
Read in context
Jeremiah 23:17
They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’
Read in context
Jeremiah 23:14
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
Read in context
Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
Read in context
Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Read in context
Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
Read in context