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Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’ ”
Ezekiel 13:12 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Behold, when the wall has fallen, won’t it be said to you, “Where is the plaster with which you have plastered it?”
  • KJV Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
  • BSB Surely when the wall has fallen, you will not be asked, ‘Where is the whitewash with which you covered it?’
  • NKJV Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’ ”
  • NLT And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, ‘What happened to your whitewash?’

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

When the wall collapses, people will ask, 'Where is the whitewash you applied?'

Overview

The fall of the wall will publicly expose the worthlessness of the prophets' reassurances. Their cosmetic work will be shown to have hidden, not healed, the danger. Judgment unmasks every false comfort for what it really was.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • 2 Kgs 3:13Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother.” The king of Israel said to him, “No, for Yahweh has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
  • Jer 29:31–32“Send to all them of the captivity, saying, ‘Yahweh says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn’t send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie;”
  • Deut 32:37He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge;
  • Lam 2:14–15Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity, to bring back your captivity, but have seen for you false revelations and causes of banishment.
  • Judg 9:38Then Zebul said to him, “Now where is your mouth, that you said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Isn’t this the people that you have despised? Please go out now and fight with them.”
  • Jer 37:19Now where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you, nor against this land?’
  • Judg 10:14Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your distress!”
  • Jer 2:28“But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble: for you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 13:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 13:12 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.