Ezekiel 13:2

Eze 13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

Ver. 2. Prophesy against the prophets.] Illis enim crania mala feruntur accepts. See Jer 23:32-33; Jer 23:38.

That prophesy out of their own hearts.] Whose prophecies came by the will of man, {2Pe 1:21} and not cum privilegio. with by right.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eze 13:2-4. Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel — So they called themselves, as if none but they had been worthy of the name of Israel’s prophets, who were indeed Israel’s deceivers. Say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts — According to their own fancy, without having received any revelation from God. The true prophets often denounced God’s judgments against the false ones: laying to their charge many misdemeanours in their private life and conversation, and upbraiding them for their unfaithfulness in the office they undertook of declaring God’s will to his people. Wo unto the foolish prophets — Ignorant and wicked, and who, while they wilfully deceived the people, unthinkingly brought destruction upon themselves. Observe, reader, foolish prophets are not of God’s sending: those whom he sends, he either finds or makes fit for his work. Where he gives warrant, he gives wisdom. That follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing — Who utter their own imaginations for true prophecies, and pretend to have visions when they never had any. O Israel, thy prophets, not mine, are like the foxes in the deserts — Hungry and ravening, crafty and guileful: “deceitful workers, (as the apostle styles such persons, 2Co 11:13,) who craftily insinuate false doctrines into weak and unstable minds, and greedily catch at any appearance of advantage to themselves.” — Lowth.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

After their own fantasy, and not as having the revelation of the Lord, Jer. 23:16.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

that prophesy--namely, a speedy return to Jerusalem.

out of . . . own hearts--alluding to the words of Jeremiah (Jer 23:16, Jer 23:26); that is, what they prophesied was what they and the people wished; the wish was father to the thought. The people wished to be deceived, and so were deceived. They were inexcusable, for they had among them true prophets (who spoke not their own thoughts, but as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, Pe2 1:21), whom they might have known to be such, but they did not wish to know (Joh 3:19).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. That prophesy out of their own hearts] Who are neither inspired nor sent by ME. They are prophets out of their own hearts. They have their mission from their own assumption, and proceed in it from their own presumption. Such either go of themselves, or are sent by man. Such prophets, ministers, preachers, and clergy have been a curse to the Church and to the world for some thousands of years.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. prophets of Israel that prophesy] There seems a kind of sarcasm on “prophets of Israel,”—those whom Israel accepts and delights to regard as prophets (Mic_2:11); and a similar sarcasm in “that prophesy.” They prophesied and that without limit: their mouths were always full of “thus saith the Lord” (Eze_13:6). LXX., however, reads rather differently. Jer_18:18 shews how the people regarded their prophets; they had faith in them and believed that Jehovah spoke by them, while such men as Jeremiah they judged to be false prophets: Come, let us devise devices against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Cf. Jer_43:2.

their own hearts] The inspiration of these prophets came from their own hearts or minds—their own thoughts and hopes, and judgment upon the situation in which they were placed. They had nothing higher than human wisdom, while the inspiration of the true prophet came from the spirit of God.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus saith the Lord God, woe unto the foolish prophets,.... The false prophets, as the Targum; who are foolish, as all are who are not sent of God, and furnished by him with wisdom and knowledge, and who prophesy out of their own hearts; for what else but folly can proceed from thence? this must be a great mortification to these prophets to be called foolish, when they reckoned themselves wise men, being vainly puffed up in their fleshly minds, and were accounted so by others; but what is wisdom with men is foolishness with God:

that follow their own spirit; or "walk after it" (c); and not the Spirit of God, who leads into all truth; they pretended to a spirit of prophecy, but it was their own spirit and the dictates of it they followed, and not the Spirit of the Lord; and therefore it is no wonder that they prophesied false things, and led the people wrong; as all such teachers do, who give way to their own fancies and imaginations, and forsake the word of God, and do not implore the assistance and teachings of the blessed Spirit:

and have seen nothing; no vision, as the Syriac version renders it; they pretended to have revelations of things future from the Lord, but they had none; what they saw were vain visions and lying divinations, and were as nothing, and worse than nothing; yea, they said what they never saw.

(c) "qui ambulant post spiritm suum": Pagninus, Calvin, Cocceius, Starckius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Heart; what pleases them, (Haydock) without being inspired. There were always such impostors. These deluded the people at Jerusalem, (Calmet) or at Babylon, ver. 9. (Sanctius) --- They might be distinguished by the sincere: yet caused irreparable injury to the ignorant people. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Prophesy; declare aforehand what I will do.

Against the prophets; against prince and people first, next against prophets and prophetesses; against the former in the foregoing chapters, against the latter in this chapter.

Of Israel, because approved of Israel, encouraged by Israel, and followed; but not prophets of the Lord, he sent them not. Whether these were in Babylon, or in Jerusalem, some inquiry is made; probably these false prophets were in both places.

That prophesy; foretell what is pleasing to the Jews, a sudden return out of captivity, with the vessels of the Lord’s house, and prosperity in their own land.

Out of their own hearts; but all their promising words are of themselves, out of their own deceiving hearts, not from God, and so all will be lies.

Hear ye the word of the Lord; cease to deceive my people, and attend now to what God speaks of you.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Prophets of Israel that prophesy — Dr. Davidson sees a kind of sarcasm in this phrase. The false prophets were indeed prophets of Israel, though not prophets of Jehovah. The people eagerly grasped their smooth sayings as true and repudiated Jeremiah and Ezekiel as the false prophets (Jer_18:18; Jer_43:2).

Prophesy out of their own hearts — Their own wish to be popular and please the people (Eze_13:19; Jer_23:16) colors their message. They are the mouthpiece of the people, Ezekiel speaks the word which is opposed to his natural desire. These men speak the smooth things which their own selfish hope suggests and their own human judgment seeks to sustain (Mic_3:8; compare Jer_28:8-9).

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 2, 3. Son of man, prophesy, etc. The sin of the men whom Ezekiel denounced was that they prophesied out of their own hearts, (Jer_14:14 Jer_23:16, Jer_23:26) and followed their own spirit instead of the Spirit of Jehovah. All was human and of the earth. Not a single fact in the future, not a single eternal law governing both the future and the past, was brought to light by it. To one who was conscious that he had a message which he had not devised himself, and which he had not been taught by men; (Gal_1:12) that he had no selfish by-ends in what he said and did; that he was risking peace, reputation, life itself, for the truth revealed to him, nothing could be more repulsive than this claim to have seen a vision of Jehovah, by men who bad in reality seen nothing. For foolish prophets, read, with the stronger Hebrew, the prophets, the fools, the words deriving their force from a kind of paronomasia of alliteration. The nabiim are also the n"balim.

HOMILETICS.

Prophesying against the prophets.

I THEY WHO TEACH OTHERS NEED THEMSELVES TO BE TAUGHT. No man is a perfect fountain of original knowledge. The teacher must not only be a scholar in his early days, he must be a learner all through his life. Moreover, in regard to his own experience he needs light and help. He is not merely a voice for other souls. He too has a soul which may be in darkness, even while he is striving to illumine his hearers. There is great danger in the professionalism of the pulpit. It comes to be taken for granted too readily that familiarity in handling the words of eternal life presupposes a healthy possession of that life. Preachers hear but few sermons. We want missionaries to the pulpit of our land, that the leaders of the people"s religion may be led by the truth of God.

II THEY WHO TEACH OTHERS MAY BE WHOLLY WRONG THEMSELVES. The professional prophets of Israel were many of them false prophets. They were not simply blind and m error. They made lying pretences to an inspiration which they did not possess, and they flattered people with vain visions which they bad themselves cunningly devised. Their"s was guilt of deepest dye. The teacher may fall into error unintentionally, for he is a fallible man; and then his mistake will not be culpable. But deception and moral failure are fatal sins. Surely every one who stands in the responsible position of a leader of others has a double motive tot searching his own soul to see that he is not a false prophet.

III THEY WHO TEACH OTHERS WILL BE CALLED TO ACCOUNT BY GOD. God has been watching the false prophets, and now Ezekiel is sent with a special message to them. What, then, is the advantage of prostituting the high mission of a servant of God for the sake of popular favour? The flatteries of a deluded multitude will not save the deceiver when he is called to account by his great Master. Nay, those flatteries will turn to curses when the victims of his base deception have their eyes open to the snare which he has laid for them. Of all pursuits, that of preaching simply for popularity is the most dangerous and degrading.

IV THEY WHO TEACH OTHERS ONLY THEIR OWN IDEAS IN THE NAME OF GOD ARE THE MOST FALSE TEACHERS. The prophets of Jerusalem did not only flatter the people with popular teaching, they carried that teaching out of their own hearts, and then ascribed it to God. Now, the prophet was an inspired man, or he was nothing. His sole business was to declare the Divine message saith the Lord." But in speaking only out of his own heart he knew that he had no such message. Yet by professing to be a prophet he claimed to be giving it. Here was his great sin. He was forging the name of God for his own inventions (see ver. 6). Similar is the sin of the preacher in a Christian pulpit who uses that vantage ground to expound his own private ideas to the neglect of, or even in opposition to, the teachings of the Bible, and yet on the authority of the Christian ministry. This is treason against Christ.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That prophesy - Out of their own deceiving hearts, not from God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.