What is the context?
The Lord now addresses the false prophets mentioned in chapter 12. Ezekiel must speak against people who claim to prophesy while following their own imagination. They use the Lord’s name, but He has neither sent them nor given them the visions they claim.
They are compared to foxes among ruins. Instead of repairing the gaps and helping Israel stand in the day of battle, they have failed to protect the people. Their confident words do not supply what the people need.
The charge goes beyond mistaken optimism. They present their own words as the Lord’s declaration and wait for a message He never gave to be fulfilled.
God declares Himself against them. They will have no place in His people’s council, no entry in Israel’s register and no return to the land. The authority they claimed in His name cannot protect them from His judgment.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry and Wesley understand the central failure as speaking without God’s message while encouraging false confidence. Wesley explains repairing the gaps as the work of preserving the people through prayer, instruction and repentance.
Jeremiah 23:16–22 gives a closely related warning. Its false prophets promise peace to people who refuse God’s ways, while a true word from His council would call them away from wrongdoing.
The passage therefore tests the claimed source and effect of the message. Invoking God’s name does not make a message His, and comforting words can harm people when they prevent an honest response to Him.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.