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This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.
Ezekiel 13:3 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
  • KJV Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
  • NKJV Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
  • NASB This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing!
  • NLT This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!’

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

Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.

Overview

God pronounces a 'woe' on prophets who claim visions while having received none. Their folly is treating personal impulse as the Spirit's voice. The warning stands against all who speak for God presumptuously, a danger the church must still guard against.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Lam 2:14The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
  • Jer 23:28–32Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
  • Hos 9:7The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and hostility.
  • Ezek 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
  • Jer 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
  • Prov 15:14A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
  • Matt 23:13–29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
  • Ezek 13:18and 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?
  • Prov 15:2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
  • Luke 11:42–47Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
  • 1 Cor 9:16Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
  • Ezek 13:6–7They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
  • 1 Tim 6:4he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,
  • Zech 11:15And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
  • Luke 11:40You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?
  • Luke 11:52Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
  • 2 Tim 3:9But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

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 13:3YouTube · 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 13:3 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.