And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him;
Parallel translations
- WEB They will bear their iniquity. The iniquity of the prophet will be even as the iniquity of him who seeks him;
- BSB They will bear their punishment—the punishment of the inquirer will be the same as that of the prophet—
- NKJV And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired,
- NASB And they will bear the punishment for their wrongdoing; as the wrongdoing of the inquirer is, so the wrongdoing of the prophet will be,
- NLT False prophets and those who seek their guidance will all be punished for their sins.
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
Both the false prophet and the one who consulted him will bear their own guilt equally.
Overview
Responsibility falls on deceiver and deceived alike, since both pursued lies over God's truth. Those who seek out teachers to confirm their idolatry share the prophet's guilt. The verse affirms that everyone is accountable for the spiritual sources they choose to trust.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ezek 23:49And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
- Ezek 17:18–20Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.
- Num 5:31Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
- Jer 14:15Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
- Ezek 14:4Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
- Deut 13:1–10If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
- Deut 17:2–7If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
- Rev 19:19–21And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
- Gen 4:13And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- Mic 7:9I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
- Ezek 14:7–8For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:
- Gal 6:5For every man shall bear his own burden.
- Jer 8:11–12For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
- Jer 6:14–15They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
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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 14:10 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.