Ezekiel 13 11

Ezekiel 13:11 kjv

Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.

Ezekiel 13:11 nkjv

say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down.

Ezekiel 13:11 niv

therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth.

Ezekiel 13:11 esv

say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out.

Ezekiel 13:11 nlt

Tell these whitewashers that their wall will soon fall down. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down.

Ezekiel 13 verses

Ezekiel 13 11 Meaning

Ezekiel 13:11 declares God's coming judgment against the false prophets in Israel. It vividly describes the complete demolition of their deceptive work—the "whitewash" they used to cover a crumbling wall, representing their false messages of peace and security. God, through a deluge of rain, great hailstones, and a stormy wind, will utterly destroy this superficial covering, exposing the underlying rot and bringing down the structure it pretended to mend. This verse underscores the futility of human deceit against divine power and the inevitability of God's righteous judgment against falsehood.

Ezekiel 13 11 Context

Ezekiel 13 focuses entirely on the condemnation of false prophets and prophetesses in Israel, particularly those within Jerusalem, leading up to its destruction. These individuals offered reassuring words of "peace" (šālôm) and "healing" when there was no true peace or repentance, effectively masking the impending judgment of God (v.10). They built a flimsy "wall" of false hope and covered it with a "whitewash" (ṭîḥāh) of soothing lies, preventing the people from acknowledging their sin and returning to the Lord. Verse 11 is God's direct declaration through Ezekiel that He Himself will actively dismantle this deceptive facade. The natural elements mentioned—rain, hailstones, and wind—are instruments of divine wrath, serving to expose and demolish the spiritual instability created by the false prophets, ensuring that the true prophetic word of God prevails over human lies. Historically, this occurred during a period of national crisis as Judah faced Babylonian conquest, with many clinging to false hopes instead of heeding Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's warnings of impending exile.

Ezekiel 13 11 Word analysis

• tell (ʼamar): A divine imperative from God to Ezekiel, emphasizing his role as God's messenger and mouthpiece to deliver a clear, unambiguous warning and pronouncement of judgment. It highlights the direct nature of divine revelation.

• those who daub it (hassaḥîm): This refers to the false prophets, translating as "those who plaster it" or "those who smear it." The Hebrew root sāḥaḥ implies a covering or smearing, here signifying a superficial application. They were not building soundly but merely concealing flaws.

• with whitewash (bəṭîḥāh): The Hebrew word ṭîḥāh means "plaster" or "whitewash." It represents a thin, fragile, and temporary covering used to disguise underlying structural weakness. Spiritually, it signifies deceptive, insincere messages that obscure the truth of God's impending judgment, offering false hope and comfort.

• that it will fall! (tippōl): This declares the certain and inevitable destruction of the false security. The "it" refers to the wall of deception, emphasizing its fragility and vulnerability to God's judgment.

• There will be a deluge of rain (gešem šōṭēph): gešem (rain) combined with šōṭēph (sweeping away, flooding). This signifies an overwhelming and destructive downpour, like a flash flood. It's not ordinary rain but a powerful instrument of divine judgment, illustrating the unstoppable force of God's wrath that will wash away all falsehood.

• and you, O great hailstones (vəʼavnê bārādh gədhōlôth): ʼavnei bārādh (stones of hail) and gədhōlôth (great, large). These are massive, destructive hailstones. They are personified ("O great hailstones"), highlighting them as active agents of God's judgment, directly targeting and breaking apart the plastered wall.

• will fall (tippōl): Repeated for emphasis on the hailstones' impact, signifying their precise and forceful delivery by God.

• and a stormy wind (vərûaḥ sārāh):rûaḥ(wind, spirit)sārāh (stormy, tempestuous). This signifies a violent, destructive gale or hurricane, not just a breeze. It represents another powerful natural force employed by God to completely shatter and dismantle the deceptive work of the false prophets.

• will break it down (tibqā‛ennāh): The verb bāqa‛ means "to cleave, break open, split apart." It conveys total demolition and exposure of the internal decay, indicating the irreversible destruction of the false wall and the lies it represents.

Ezekiel 13 11 Bonus section

The metaphor of a "whitewashed wall" also carries a polemical edge against the self-assured, superficial religiosity of some contemporary Judahite leaders and priests. Just as they might literally cover over crumbling walls with a fresh coat of whitewash to hide structural failures, they were doing the same spiritually: making external appearances seem pious or secure, while inward decay persisted. This outward show, as a cover for internal corruption and moral compromise, directly parallels Jesus' later condemnation of the Pharisees as "whitewashed tombs" (Mt 23:27), beautiful on the outside but full of death within. The repeated destruction by rain, hail, and wind underlines the comprehensive and unavoidable nature of God’s judgment, emphasizing that all human efforts to conceal sin or construct false security without God's truth are utterly futile. This verse not only prophesies the physical downfall of Jerusalem but also condemns the spiritual blindness that led to it.

Ezekiel 13 11 Commentary

Ezekiel 13:11 provides a powerful, multi-faceted image of divine judgment against spiritual deception. The false prophets, represented by "those who daub with whitewash," were covering a decaying spiritual structure with a superficial layer of "peace" where no peace existed. This was a direct contradiction of God's reality. God’s pronouncement is clear: the flimsy covering cannot stand against His determined judgment. The three natural phenomena—deluge of rain, great hailstones, and stormy wind—are not just metaphors for generalized trouble; they are specific, powerful, and utterly destructive forces often associated with divine wrath in Scripture. Each element contributes to a complete demolition, ensuring nothing of the false construction remains. This imagery reinforces that superficial fixes and comforting lies will inevitably crumble under the weight of divine truth and justice, revealing the ruin underneath. The message remains relevant for recognizing and rejecting any teaching that offers superficial peace while ignoring underlying sin and calling people away from genuine repentance and God's true word.