And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city;
- KJV Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
- NKJV And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,
- NASB Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wrongdoing and give evil advice in this city,
- NLT The Spirit said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God identifies these men as those who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel. It names the leaders' sin of misleading the city.
Overview
These princes are charged with plotting evil and steering Jerusalem with godless advice. Counsel shapes a nation, and corrupt counsel leads people astray from God. Their influence makes them especially culpable for the city's coming ruin. In contrast, Christ is called Wonderful Counselor, whose guidance leads to life rather than destruction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 30:1“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
- Ps 52:2Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Ps 2:1–2Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
- Jer 5:5I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.” But they too, with one accord, had broken the yoke and torn off the chains.
- Isa 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
- Mic 2:1–2Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Ps 36:4Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Jer 18:18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
- Esth 8:3And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 11:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.