What is the meaning of Ezekiel 13:19?

You have profaned Me among My people

“ ‘You have profaned Me among My people…’ ” (Ezekiel 13:19a)

• To profane is to treat what is holy as common or contemptible.

• These false prophets dragged God’s name through the mud by claiming divine endorsement for their own fantasies (Jeremiah 23:25–27; Ezekiel 36:22).

• When leaders misrepresent God, His reputation suffers before the watching world (Leviticus 22:31-32; Romans 2:24).

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for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread

“…for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread.” (Ezekiel 13:19b)

• Their price was pitifully small—cheap favors, token gifts, a meal—showing how little they valued truth or God’s honor (1 Samuel 9:7-8; Proverbs 28:21).

• The episode mirrors Esau trading his birthright for stew (Genesis 25:29-34) and Judas selling the Savior for silver (Matthew 26:14-16).

• Money lust blinds the heart (1 Timothy 6:10; Micah 3:11).

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By lying to My people who would listen

“ ‘By lying to My people who would listen…’ ” (Ezekiel 13:19c)

• The audience was willing; they preferred soothing words over hard truth (Isaiah 30:10-11; 2 Timothy 4:3).

• False prophets exploited that appetite, fabricating “visions” of peace when judgment was near (Jeremiah 6:14; Ezekiel 13:6-7).

• God still holds deceivers accountable, even when the crowd begs to be misled (2 Peter 2:1-3).

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you have killed those who should not have died

“ ‘…you have killed those who should not have died…’ ” (Ezekiel 13:19d)

• Their messages crushed the righteous—people who trusted God but were told doom was inevitable for them (Ezekiel 13:22).

• Despair can be deadly; hopeless words can drain life from the innocent (Proverbs 18:21; Matthew 12:37).

• God detests hands that shed innocent blood, whether physically or through soul-destroying lies (Proverbs 6:16-17).

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and spared those who should not have lived

“ ‘…and spared those who should not have lived.’ ” (Ezekiel 13:19e)

• They promised survival to the wicked—“No disaster will come upon you” (Jeremiah 23:17)—thereby enabling rebellion.

• Assuring sinners that judgment will not fall keeps them on the broad road to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14; Revelation 2:20-23).

• True love confronts sin so that people may repent and live (Ezekiel 18:30-32).

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summary

Ezekiel 13:19 exposes mercenary prophets who cheapened God’s name for a bite of food, lied to a willing audience, crushed the faithful, and coddled the wicked. God’s holiness, truth, and justice demand that His messengers value Him above profit, speak His word without distortion, protect the innocent, and call the guilty to repentance.