Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Ezekiel 13:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD” at Ezekiel 13:18 within “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives.”
Read It With
- Ezekiel 13:17–23
Read Ezekiel 13:18 with 13:17–23. By itself, “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, exilic horizon, visionary movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Ezekiel addresses women portrayed as prophesying from themselves, using ritual bands and veils, profaning God's name for gain, disheartening the righteous, and encouraging the wicked.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “False Prophets Whitewash a Weak Wall with Peace” into “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives.” Its non-interchangeable contribution is: Ezekiel addresses women portrayed as prophesying from themselves, using ritual bands and veils, profaning God's name for gain, disheartening the righteous, and encouraging the wicked. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD” at Ezekiel 13:18 within “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives.”
Follow the Context
- The unit begins at 13:17 with the address, action, vision, lament, or measurement named in its title.
- Ezekiel addresses women portrayed as prophesying from themselves, using ritual bands and veils, profaning God's name for gain, disheartening the righteous, and encouraging the wicked.
- By 13:23 the movement reaches its stated warning, promise, response, or transition before the next unit begins.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
The accusation against women prophets does not authorize misogyny, witch hunts, or violence against spiritual practitioners.
What Remains True
The unit condemns life-ensnaring, gain-seeking prophecy rather than female speech as such. In Ezekiel 13:18, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD” at Ezekiel 13:18 within “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Evaluate conduct and claims without gender stigma or mob punishment. This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD” at Ezekiel 13:18 within “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives.”
Teach It Back
Explain Ezekiel 13:18's precise role in Ezekiel 13:17–23: The prophetic word through Ezekiel presses the question “And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD” at Ezekiel 13:18 within “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives.” State how “Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring Lives” controls the line, keep this uncertainty visible—The oracle does not condemn women as teachers, validate witch hunts, or permit violence against spiritual practitioners.—trace role to contextual meaning to enduring truth to application, and reject one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ezekiel 13:17–23 — Women Prophets Are Accused of Ensnaring LivesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 13:17–23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 13:17–23
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 13:17–23
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies
Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and Theological Themes: responsibility, allegory, history, and Jerusalem judgment; applied to Ezekiel 13:17–23
Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 2 and Part 3 study guides: sign acts, responsibility, allegory, chapters 16 and 23, and Jerusalem's fall; applied to Ezekiel 13:17–23
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗