So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
EZEKIEL 13:14KJVWhat does Ezekiel 13:14 mean?
Ezekiel 13:14 means that God will destroy the false sense of security created by the prophets who misled the people, exposing their lies and leaving them vulnerable. The verse says that God Himself will break down the wall they covered with weak, unreliable mortar, revealing its shaky foundation and causing it to collapse, so everyone will know He is the LORD.
In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel to the people of Israel, specifically addressing false prophets who gave the people false hope. The "wall" is a picture of their deceptive promises, and "untempered morter" means a weak, useless material. God warns that these empty assurances will not stand, and when disaster comes, the truth will be clear to all.
The Hebrew behind Ezekiel 13:14
- "Wall" (קִיר, qir): This word means a physical wall, but here it stands for the false security built by the prophets’ lies. The image helps readers picture how flimsy and unreliable these promises are.
- "Daubed" (טָפַל, ṭāpal): This verb means to smear or plaster, showing that the prophets tried to cover up the wall’s weakness instead of fixing it. It points to a superficial fix rather than a real solution.
- "Untempered" (תָּפֵל, tāp̄ēl): This word means something that is not properly mixed or is worthless. The mortar is not strong enough to hold the wall, so the security it represents is fake.
- "Foundation" (יָסוֹד, yāsōd): This word refers to the base or support of the wall. When God brings down the wall, even its foundation will be exposed, showing that the whole structure was faulty from the start.
Why Ezekiel 13:14 matters
- Ezekiel 13:14 makes it clear that God sees through false appearances and will not let lies stand, even if they seem convincing for a time.
- The verse highlights the danger of trusting in empty promises rather than in what is true and solid, especially when those promises come from people claiming to speak for God.
- This verse fits into a larger warning in Ezekiel 13 against false prophets, showing that their words not only mislead but also leave people unprotected when real trouble comes.