Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
- BSB This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet 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 2:14Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.
- Jer 23:28–32The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
- Hos 9:7The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.
- Ezek 34:2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
- Jer 23:1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
- Prov 15:14The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
- Matt 23:13–29But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
- Ezek 13:18And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
- Prov 15:2The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
- Luke 11:42–47But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
- 1 Cor 9:16For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
- Ezek 13:6–7They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
- 1 Tim 6:4He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
- Zech 11:15And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
- Luke 11:40Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
- Luke 11:52Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
- 2 Tim 3:9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
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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
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