Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
Parallel translations
- WEB Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh,’ when Yahweh has not spoken.
- KJV And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
- NKJV Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken.
- NASB And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
- NLT And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them.
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
The prophets cover the rulers' sins with whitewash, false visions, and lies falsely attributed to God. They mask evil with counterfeit revelation.
Overview
The false prophets 'plaster' over the leaders' crimes with empty reassurances, claiming 'Thus says the Lord' when He has not spoken. This is a grave sin, falsely invoking God's name to legitimize wickedness. It shows how deceptive religion can shield injustice rather than confront it, a warning to test every claim against God's true word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 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.
- Ezek 13:10–16Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
- Jer 23:25–32“I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
- Isa 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- Jer 28:2“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
- Jer 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- 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 8:10–11Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
- Zeph 3:4Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.
- Ezek 13:22–23Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,
- Ezek 21:29while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
- Jer 23:21I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
- Jer 29:8–9For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.
- Ezek 22:25The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
- Jer 37:19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’?
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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 22:28 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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