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13:17 "Now
you,
son of
man,
set your
face
against the
daughters of your
people who are
prophesying from
their own
inspiration.
Prophesy
against
them |
| |
| Now
you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people
(4:3;
20:46;
21:2)
(Isa3:16-26;
4:4)
God instructs Ezekiel to put on a bold countenance and to fearlessly to denounce them (Ez
3:8, 9;
Isa 50:7). Here we note that the formula, “your
people,” of Ezekiel 3:11
("go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and
tell them, whether they listen or not, 'Thus says the Lord GOD")
reappears.
who are prophesying from
their own inspiration
(literally "heart"). Prophesy against them
(Lu2:36;
2Pe2:1) (Rev2:20)
The source of their "inspiration" was their own wicked heart.
The section which follows (v17-23) throws
an interesting side light on the position of women in the religious life of
Israel. For good as well as for evil, their influence was stronger in Israel
than in most of the pagan nations. Miriam was the first prophetess
mentioned in (Ex
15:20) and was followed by Deborah (Jdg4:4).
Huldah was used by God along with the book of the Law to catalyze
King Josiah’s reformation (2 Ki22:14-20;
2Chr34:22). The prophetess Noadiah
led the opposition to Nehemiah, trying to frighten him (Neh6:14)
In the New Testament we meet godly Anna "a prophetess...the
daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years,
having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a
widow to the age of eighty-four. And she never left the temple, serving
night and day with fastings and prayers." (Lu2:36-37)
Philip "had four virgin daughters who were
prophetesses" (Acts
21:8-9). In (1Co11:5)
we read that "every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or
prophesying, disgraces her head; for she is one and the same with her
whose head is shaved." Lastly, and sadly, the church at Thyatira
tolerated "the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess,
and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray, so that they commit acts
of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols." (Rev2:20).
Although women are rebuked in other OT
passages, this is the only OT text where false prophetesses are specifically
mentioned. Jezebel is called a false prophetess in
Rev. 2:20.
From the context, it appears that the ”prophetesses“
Ezekiel was to denounce were more like mediums, fortune tellers, witches or sorceresses. As Barnes notes
a general category (see individual exceptions above) "of
prophetesses
was unknown among the people of God and the existence of such a class in the
last days of the kings of Judah was a fresh instance of declension into
pagan usages." |
|
13:18 and
say,
'Thus
says the
Lord
GOD,
"Woe to the women who
sew magic
bands on
all
wrists
* and
make
veils for the
heads of persons of
every
stature to
hunt
down
lives! Will you
hunt
down the
lives of My
people, but
preserve the
lives of
others for yourselves? |
AMP:
And say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew pillows to all
armholes and fasten magic, protective charms to all wrists, and deceptive
veils upon the heads of those of every stature to hunt and capture human
lives! Will you snare the lives of My people to keep your own selves alive?
Barnes:
...“Woe to the women that” put charms on every finger-joint, that set veils
upon heads of every height to ensnare souls. “Will ye” ensnare “the souls of
my people,” and keep your own souls alive|
K-D:
And say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Woe to those who sew coverings
together over all the joints of my hands, and make caps for the head of
every size, to catch souls! Ye catch the souls of my people, and keep your
souls alive.
NLT:
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for you women
who are ensnaring the souls of my people, both young and old alike. You tie
magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think
you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves? |
| and say, `Thus
says the Lord GOD, "Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists
and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to hunt down
lives (souls) (10,16;
Je4:10;
6:14;
2Ti4:3) (22:25;
Ep4:14;
2Pe2:14) Barnes notes that "Most ancient
interpreters and many modern interpreters have understood the “pillows” (or
charms) and “kerchiefs” (or veils), as appliances to which the sorcerers had
resort in order to attract notice. The veil was a conspicuous ornament in
the east - women whatever their “stature” (or, height) putting them on - and
it was worn by magicians in order to seem more mysterious and awful."
"Magic
bands" occurs in the OT
only in this passage and so the exact nature of these paraphernalia as well
as the significance attached to their use can no longer be established with
certainty. The activities attributed to these women suggest that they were
more like witches, sorcerers or fortune tellers than prophets.
This practice may have came from
Babylonian magic rituals, in which magical knots and bands were bound to
various parts of the body to ward off evil spirits or to heal diseases,
functioning almost like ”good-luck charms“. The ”veils“ were long drapes
that were placed on ”their heads“ and that covered the prophetesses’ bodies,
possibly to convey the impression of mystery. The magic bands and veils
probably served to ensnare people ("souls") and these methods were
especially effective in times of uncertainty and turmoil, when frauds and
charlatans seem to prey on the fears of the gullible.
Will you hunt down the lives
(souls)
of My people, but preserve the
lives of others for yourselves?
|
|
13:19 "For
handfuls of
barley and
fragments of
bread, you have
profaned Me to My
people to
put to
death
some
who should not
die and to
keep
others
alive
who should not
live, by your
lying to My
people who
listen to
lies.""' |
Barnes:
and will ye profane my name “among my people for handfuls of barley and
pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to” keep alive
“the souls that should not live, by lying to my people” who listen to “a
lie?
NLT:
You turn my people away from me for a few handfuls of barley or a piece of
bread. By lying to my people who love to listen to lies, you kill those who
should not die, and you promise life to those who should not live. |
| For handfuls of
barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned
(defile, pollute, desecrate) Me to My people
(20:39;
22:26) (1Sa2:16,17;
Pr28:21;
Mic3:5,11;
Mal1:10;
Ro16:18;
1Pe5:2;
2Pe2:2,3) To pollute or
profane is the opposite of to sanctify. It is to bring God down
to the sphere of the common, the false, the unworthy
Some commentators interpret the barley
and bread as used in divination while others interpret this as payment as
payment for the divination. In some cultures barley was used in occult
practices either as an offering to the spirits or as a means of trying to
determine the future. Whatever the case, these prophetesses were employing
fraudulent practices as a hoax and were making a living off the fears of
others. God said they were really lying to My people. Their lies profaned
Him for these prophetesses pretended to speak for Him.
Expositor's Bible Commentary adds that
"Hittite practices and later Syrian rituals demonstrate that divination
was carried out with barley bread either as part of the pagan sacrificial
ritual or as a means of determining whether the victim would live or die.
The prophetesses, therefore, profaned God by misrepresentation. Though
appearing to be God's prophetesses, they polluted his name when they used
occult practices."
Divination by wheat (aleuromancy) and
divination by barley (alphitomancy) are noted in pagan literature.
to put to death some who should not
die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people
who listen to lies. (22;
Pr19:27;
Ro14:15;
1 Co8:11) (Je23:14,17)
The results of the prophetesses’ work ran counter to Israel’s best
interests. They killed those who should not have died and have spared those
who should not live. The prophetesses should have exposed and
denounced evil practices in Jerusalem (cf.
2 Kings 22:13-20). Contrast the work
of the true prophet as a watchman as described in (Ezek
3:16-21).
Although the brunt of this prophecy is
against the false prophetesses, God notes that His people are not guiltless
as they also listen
to (shama') lies. The "shama'" they should have
remembered to hearken to was "Hear (shama'),
O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart"
(Deut
6:4-6)
In Jeremiah God says "Also among the
prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of
adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of
evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them
have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah." (Je23:14) |
|
13:20 Therefore,
thus
says the
Lord
GOD,
"Behold, I am
against your magic
bands by
which you
hunt
lives
there as
birds and I will
tear them from your
arms; and I will
let them
go,
even those
lives
whom you
hunt as
birds. |
Barnes:
Wherefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I will come upon your charms,
where ye are ensnaring the souls like birds and I will tear them from your
arms and will let the souls go free, even the souls which ye are ensnaring
like birds.
NLT:
"And so the Sovereign LORD says: I am against all your magic charms, which
you use to ensnare my people like birds. I will tear them from your arms,
setting my people free like birds set free from a cage. |
|
Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against your magic bands by
which you hunt lives there as birds
(8,9,15,16)
and I will tear them from your
arms; and I will let them go, even those lives whom you hunt as birds
Keil and Delitzsch translate this
as "I send away (set free) the souls, which ye have caught, as flying
ones, i.e., so that they shall be able to fly away at liberty." |
|
13:21 "I
will also
tear off your
veils and
deliver My
people from your
hands, and they will
no
longer be in your
hands to be
hunted; and you will
know that I am the
LORD.
|
| Barnes:
“Your veils also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and
they shall be no more in your hand to be ensnared; and ye shall know that I
am the Lord.” |
| I will also tear
off your veils and deliver My people from your hands:
their tricks would be exposed to the
contempt of the people.
and they will no longer be in
your hands to be hunted:
from being hunted, ensnared, and deceived by them
and you will know that I am
the LORD: Remember that
the majority of the occurrences of this phrase are found in Ezekiel (click
here for 45 verses). God will judge their sin but He will also
make sure they know Him in their judgment. |
|
13:22 "Because
you
disheartened the
righteous with
falsehood when I did
not
cause him
grief, but have
encouraged
* the
wicked not to
turn from his
wicked
way and
preserve his
life,
|
AMP
Because with lies
you have made the righteous sad and disheartened, whom I have not made sad
or disheartened, and because you have encouraged and strengthened the hands
of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way and be saved
[in that you falsely promised him life],
ICB: By your lies you
caused the heart of the person who did right to be sad. I did not make him
sad. You have encouraged the evil person not to stop being evil. And that
would have saved his life.
K-D: Because ye grieve
the heart of the righteous with lying, when I have not pained him; and
strengthen the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his evil
way, to preserve his life.
YLT:
Because of paining the heart of the righteous with falsehood, And I have not
pained it, And strengthening the hands of the wicked, So as not to turn back
from his evil way, To keep him alive, |
| Because you
disheartened
(more literally "paining the heart") the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him grief
(to feel pain) (9:4;
Jer4:10;
14:13-17;
23:9,14;
La2:11-14) Here God describes the
ministry of these false prophetesses, and its effects. Assuming these women
were at least to some degree practicing fortune telling, any troubled
individual who received an unfavorable forecast would be subject to
discouragement and despair.
but have encouraged the wicked not
to turn from his wicked way
(Jer23:14;
27:14-17;
28:16;
29:32) This is
similar to the lamentation that the false prophets "have not exposed your
iniquity so as to restore you from captivity" (Lam2:24)
They had encouraged the wicked to expect a bright future, and saw no need to
repent to avoid death.
and preserve his life,
(Jer23:14;
27:14-17;
28:16;
29:32) (16;
Ge3:4,5;
Jer6:14;
8:11;
23:17;
2Pe2:18,19) A more scathing denunciation
could not have been uttered than this; these women strove to overturn the
moral order, to encourage the rebellious, and to depress the just and godly! |
|
13:23 therefore,
you women will
no
longer
see
false
visions or
practice
divination, and I
will
deliver My
people out of your
hand. Thus you will
know that I am the
LORD." |
| |
therefore, you
women will no longer see false visions or practice divination
(6-16;
12:24;
Dt 18:20;
Mic3:6;
Zec13:3;
2 Ti 3:9) The God of truth and
rectitude declared himself opposed to these seducers of His people. The
symbols of their delusive arts were to be stripped from them. Their
hypocrisy would be unveiled, and their lies exposed. The means by which they
had ensnared men would be taken from them. Their reputation and their power
would be destroyed, and their influence would come to an end.
and I will deliver My people out of
your hand. (21;
34:10;
Mt24:24;
Mk13:22;
1 Co11:19;
Jude24;
Rev12:9,11;
Rev13:5,8;
15:2) Certainly this was true in the
restoration after the 70 years in Babylon (near future fulfillment), but
will be fully true in Messiah’s kingdom (far future fulfillment)
Thus you will know that I am the
LORD." (9,21;
14:8;
15:7) When God judged the prophetesses the
people would realize that these women had lied and the prophetesses would be
forced to admit their sin against the LORD. Once again we note that
judgment was designed to bring people to a knowledge of Jehovah. |
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