Ezekiel 12:23 kjv
Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.
Ezekiel 12:23 nkjv
Tell them therefore, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel." ' But say to them, ' "The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.
Ezekiel 12:23 niv
Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.
Ezekiel 12:23 esv
Tell them therefore, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.' But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision.
Ezekiel 12:23 nlt
Tell the people, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it.' Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: 'The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfilled!'
Ezekiel 12 23 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezek 13:6 | "They have seen false visions and lying divinations, claiming 'declares the LORD,' but it is not I who have spoken." | Warning against false prophets |
| Jer 14:14 | "The prophets prophesy falsely; I did not send them, nor did I command them; they do not benefit this people at all," declares the LORD. | Condemnation of false prophecy |
| Jer 23:31-32 | "Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: 'Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and give them poisonous water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness has gone out into all the land.'" | Consequences for false prophecy |
| Mic 3:6 | "Therefore night shall be upon you without vision, and darkness without divination. The sun shall go down on these prophets, and the day shall be black over them." | Darkness replaces false visions |
| Zech 13:2-4 | "And in that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. And if anyone tries to prophesy, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, 'You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD,' and his father and his mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies." | Removal of false prophets and idols |
| Matt 7:15 | "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." | Warning about false prophets |
| 1 John 4:1 | "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." | Discernment of spirits and prophets |
| Rev 19:20 | "And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who worked signs with it in its presence by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur." | Ultimate judgment on the false prophet |
| Ezek 12:10 | "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: This message is a burden concerning the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel among whom they are.'" | Introduction of the message |
| Ezek 12:24 | "'For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination among the house of Israel.'" | Reiteration of the main point |
| Isa 30:10 | "who say to the seers, 'Do not see,' and to the prophets, 'Do not prophesy to us what is right, but speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions.'" | Desire for comforting lies |
| Amos 7:16-17 | "Now therefore hear the word of the LORD: You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.' Therefore thus says the LORD: Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by measure..." | Rebuke for telling prophets not to prophesy truth |
| Ezek 22:28 | "Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and prophesying lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken." | False prophets promise peace |
| Acts 20:30 | "and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw the disciples after them." | Internal false teachers |
| 2 Tim 4:3-4 | "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." | Popularity of false teaching |
| Prov 14:8 | "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deception." | Folly of deception |
| Ps 5:6 | "You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man." | God's hatred for liars |
| Isa 9:15-16 | "The aged and the honored man, he is the head, and the prophets who teach lies, he is the tail. For those who guide this people are leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are certainly swallowed up." | Leaders and prophets leading astray |
| Jer 29:8 | "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, nor listen to their dreams that you dream," | Warning against internal deceivers |
| Ezek 13:10 | "Because they have misled my people by saying 'Peace' when there is no peace, and because, when the people build flimsy walls, these prophets cover them with whitewash," | The nature of their lies: false peace |
Ezekiel 12 verses
Ezekiel 12 23 Meaning
The pronouncement declares that the deceptive visions and prophecies proclaimed by the prophets in Israel will no longer come to pass. God is bringing them to an end. Their words, which offer false comfort and are not from Him, will cease to be uttered in the land. This signifies the finality of God's judgment against their deception and the impunity they have enjoyed in speaking lies.
Ezekiel 12 23 Context
This verse is situated within Ezekiel's prophecy during the Babylonian exile. The people of Judah, particularly those left behind in Jerusalem and those in exile, were receiving deceptive messages from false prophets. These prophets were offering a false sense of security and a denial of the impending judgment that God had ordained through the Babylonian invasion. Ezekiel's prophetic ministry was intended to confront these illusions and prepare the people for the reality of God's justice, which had been necessitated by their persistent sin and unfaithfulness. This specific verse announces the cessation of these misleading pronouncements, marking a turning point where the illusions of the false prophets would no longer hold sway, leading to a more direct and sobering confrontation with the truth of God's dealings. The overall theme of this section of Ezekiel is God's judgment on the false prophets who have led Israel astray with their misleading pronouncements.
Ezekiel 12 23 Word Analysis
- וּלֹא (u'lo): "And not." This conjunction introduces a negation, emphasizing the end of a practice.
- תִּהְיֶינָה (tihyeh'nah): "shall be." This is the third person feminine plural future tense of the verb "to be." It refers to the visions and divinations mentioned previously.
- עוֹד ('od): "any more" or "still." This adverb of time indicates the cessation of something.
- חָזוּי (chazuwy): "vision" or "prophetic vision." This noun is masculine singular, but here it is part of a construct state with "sheqer."
- שֶׁקֶר (sheqer): "lie" or "falsehood." This noun signifies untruth or deception. The phrase "chazuwy sheqer" translates to "false vision."
- וּנְבוּאַת (u'nebu'at): "and prophecy." This is a conjunction "u" (and) followed by the feminine singular noun "nebu'ah," meaning prophecy.
- חֻלְּשָׁה (chulleshah): "weakness" or "faintness." In this context, it likely refers to the weakness and invalidity of their prophecies, or a divination that makes one faint or despair because of its falsehood. It carries a sense of being diluted or made feeble by deceit.
- עוֹד ('od): "any more" or "still." Used again to reinforce the complete end of this practice.
- בְּקִרְבּוֹ (b'qirbo): "in the midst of" or "in the heart of." This prepositional phrase, with the masculine singular possessive pronoun "o" (of it, referring to the house of Israel), indicates the location where these false prophecies were prevalent.
Phrase Group Analysis:
- חָזוּי שֶׁקֶר (chazuwy sheqer): This compound term explicitly means "false vision," highlighting the deceptive nature of the pronouncements.
- וּנְבוּאַת חֻלְּשָׁה (u'nebu'at chulleshah): This phrase "and prophecy of weakness/faintness" or "and weakened prophecy" emphasizes the ineffective and misleading quality of the prophets' words. It implies that their prophecies did not deliver strength or truth but rather contributed to spiritual feebleness and delusion.
- לֹא תִּהְיֶינָה עוֹד בְּקִרְבּוֹ (lo tihyeh'nah 'od b'qirbo): This clause asserts that these false visions and prophecies will cease to exist within Israel, marking the end of God's toleration of such deceit.
Ezekiel 12 23 Bonus Section
The Hebrew word for "weakness" or "faintness" here, "chulleshah," suggests a lack of vitality and an unnerving, unsettling quality. It's not just incorrect information, but pronouncements that could sap the spiritual strength and conviction of those who heard them, leaving them vulnerable and unprepared for God's justice. The systematic rejection of the truth, and the preference for comforting falsehoods ("smooth things," Isaiah 30:10), created a spiritual environment ripe for deception, which the prophets Ezekiel confronted. This verse underscores God's sovereignty over prophetic utterances, demonstrating that even the practice of prophecy is subject to His divine decree. The promise of a cessation of these false visions foreshadows a time of renewed spiritual clarity and a true word from God, albeit preceded by severe judgment for those who fostered the deception.
Ezekiel 12 23 Commentary
This verse emphatically states that God is silencing the deceptive messages that have permeated the house of Israel. The era of "false vision" and "weakened prophecy" – utterances that promised peace without merit or offered illusions instead of truth – is over. God is cutting off the source of these lies. This signifies not a revocation of prophetic ability itself, but a decisive end to the prevalence of falsehood being presented as prophecy by those who have misled the people. It's a divine declaration that such manipulative speech will no longer find a foothold or be permitted to deceive. The removal of these false pronouncements is a prelude to the fulfillment of God's true word and judgments, bringing about a sober reckoning rather than continued delusion.