Ezekiel 13

¹ The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,

² ‘Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel; prophesy, and say to those who make up prophecies out of their own heads, “Hear the word of Yahweh.

³ The Lord Yahweh says this: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, without seeing anything!

⁴ Like jackals in a ruin, so are your prophets, Israel.

⁵ You have never ventured into the breach; you have never bothered to fortify the House of Israel, to hold fast in battle on the day of Yahweh.

⁶ They have empty visions and give lying prophecies and say: It is Yahweh who speaks, although Yahweh has not sent them; and they are still waiting for their words to come true.

⁷ Can you deny that you have only empty visions, that you utter only lying prophecies when you say: It is Yahweh who speaks, when I myself have not spoken?

⁸ Very well, the Lord Yahweh says this: Because of your empty words and lying visions, I have now set myself against you – it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.

⁹ I am going to stretch my hand over the prophets who have empty visions and give lying predictions; they will not be admitted to the council of my people, their names will not be entered in the Book of the House of Israel, they will not set foot on the soil of Israel; and you will learn that I am the Lord Yahweh,

¹⁰ since they have misled my people by saying: Peace! when there is no peace. Instead of my people rebuilding the wall, these men come and slap on plaster.

¹¹ Tell these plasterers: It will rain hard, it will hail, it will blow a gale,

¹² and down will come the wall. Will not people ask: Where is the plaster you slapped on it?

¹³ Well then, the Lord Yahweh says this: I am going to unleash a stormy wind in my anger, torrential rain in my wrath, hailstones in my destructive fury.

¹⁴ I mean to shatter the wall you slapped with plaster, to throw it down and lay its foundations bare. It will fall and you will perish under it; and so you will learn that I am Yahweh.

¹⁵ When I have exhausted my anger against the wall and those who plastered it, I shall say to you: The wall is gone, and so are those who slapped it over with plaster,

¹⁶ these prophets of Israel who prophesy about Jerusalem and have visions of peace for her when there is no peace – it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.”

¹⁷ ‘And you, son of man, turn to the daughters of your people who make up is prophecies out of their own heads; prophesy against them.

¹⁸ Say, “The Lord Yahweh says this: Trouble is coming to the women who sew frills round wrists,[*a] who make veils for people of all sizes, the better to ensnare lives! You ensnare the lives of the men of my people while looking after your own.

¹⁹ You dishonour me in front of my people for a few handfuls of barley, a few bits of bread, killing those who ought not to die and sparing those who ought not to live, lying to my people who love to listen to lies.

²⁰ Well then, the Lord Yahweh says this. We shall see about these frills you use for snaring lives like birds. I intend to rip them off your arms, and free those lives you try to snare like birds.

²¹ I am going to rip your veils to pieces and rescue my people from you; they will no longer be fair game for you. And so you will learn that I am Yahweh.

²² Since you distress with lies the heart of the upright man whom I would never distress, and since you encourage the wicked man not to give up his wicked ways and find life again,

²³ very well, you will have no more empty visions, and you will not make any more predictions. I mean to rescue my people from you, and then you will learn that I am Yahweh.”‘