Ezekiel 13:19
New International Version
You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.

New Living Translation
You bring shame on me among my people for a few handfuls of barley or a piece of bread. By lying to my people who love to listen to lies, you kill those who should not die, and you promise life to those who should not live.

English Standard Version
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

Berean Standard Bible
You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

King James Bible
And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

New King James Version
And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?”

New American Standard Bible
For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death some who should not die, and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

NASB 1995
“For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies."’”

NASB 1977
“And for handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

Legacy Standard Bible
For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death souls who should not die and to keep other souls alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

Amplified Bible
You have profaned Me among My people [in payment] for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die and giving [a guarantee of] life to those who should not live, because of your lies to My people who pay attention to lies.”’”

Christian Standard Bible
You profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread; you put those to death who should not die and spare those who should not live, when you lie to my people, who listen to lies.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You profane Me in front of My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread; you kill those who should not die and spare those who should not live, when you lie to My people, who listen to lies.”

American Standard Version
And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And you have polluted my people with a handful of barley and with a piece of bread to kill those souls that did not deserve to die, and to save the life of the those souls that did not deserve to live, and you have lied to the people that hear falsehood

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they have dishonoured me before my people for a handful of barley, and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls which should not die, and to save alive the souls which should not live, while ye speak to a people hearing vain speeches.

Contemporary English Version
They charge my people a few handfuls of barley and a couple pieces of bread, and then give messages that are insulting to me. They use lies to sentence the innocent to death and to help the guilty go free. And my people believe them!

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they violated me among my people, for a handful of barley, and a piece of bread, to kill souls which should not die, and to save souls alive which should not live, telling lies to my people that believe lies.

English Revised Version
And ye have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You dishonor me in front of my people for a few handfuls of barley and a few pieces of bread. You kill people who shouldn't die, and you spare the lives of people who shouldn't live. You lie to my people who are willing to listen.

Good News Translation
You dishonor me in front of my people in order to get a few handfuls of barley and a few pieces of bread. You kill people who don't deserve to die, and you keep people alive who don't deserve to live. So you tell lies to my people, and they believe you."

International Standard Version
You've profaned me among my people for a handful of barley and a morsel of bread. You're causing people to die who shouldn't have to die, and you're causing people to live who shouldn't survive, when you deceive my people who tend to listen to lies."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And ye have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for crumbs of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to My people that hearken unto lies.

Literal Standard Version
Indeed, you pierce Me concerning My people, | For handfuls of barley, | And for pieces of bread, | To put to death souls that should not die, | And to keep alive souls that should not live, | By your lying to My people—listening to lies.

Majority Standard Bible
You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

New American Bible
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread, slaying those who should not be slain, and keeping alive those who should not live, lying to my people, who listen to lies.

NET Bible
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!

New Revised Standard Version
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death persons who should not die and keeping alive persons who should not live, by your lies to my people, who listen to lies.

New Heart English Bible
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die, and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies."

Webster's Bible Translation
And will ye profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

World English Bible
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.’

Young's Literal Translation
Yea, ye pierce Me concerning My people, For handfuls of barley, And for pieces of bread, to put to death Souls that should not die, And to keep alive souls that should not live, By your lying to My people -- hearkening to lies.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The False Prophetesses
18and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their wrists and make veils for the heads of people of every height, in order to ensnare their souls. Will you ensnare the souls of My people but preserve your own? 19You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived. 20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I am against the magic charms with which you ensnare souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. So I will free the souls you have ensnared like birds.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 9:7
"If we do go," Saul replied, "what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?"

Proverbs 28:21
To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

Isaiah 56:11
Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

Jeremiah 23:14
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."

Jeremiah 23:17
They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The LORD says that you will have peace,' and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, 'No harm will come to you.'

Ezekiel 13:20
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I am against the magic charms with which you ensnare souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. So I will free the souls you have ensnared like birds.

Ezekiel 22:25
The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.


Treasury of Scripture

And will you pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?

pollute

Ezekiel 20:39
As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

for handfuls

1 Samuel 2:16,17
And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force…

Proverbs 28:21
To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.

Micah 3:5,11
Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him…

to slay

Ezekiel 13:22
Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

Proverbs 19:27
Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

Romans 14:15
But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

to save

Jeremiah 23:14,17
I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah…

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Ezekiel 13
1. The reproof of false prophets
10. and their untempered mortar
17. Of prophecies and their pillows














(19) Handfuls of barley.--It was an ancient custom to bring presents to a prophet on consulting him (1Samuel 9:7-8; 1Kings 14:3); but as barley was a cheap grain, and handfuls a very small quantity, these words show the exceedingly small gains for which these false prophetesses were willing to pervert the truth, and lead the people to destruction. God was "polluted" by attaching His name and authority to that which was not true, and would not come to pass, thus "making Him a liar" like themselves. Like all falsehood, their lies tended both ways--to entice the upright to their ruin, and to give false security to the wicked. It is always impossible that a perversion of the truth, especially in regard to the Divine judgments, can be harmless.

Hear your lies.--Or, hearken to a lie. The words imply a willingness to listen to the pleasing falsehood, and the state of things is that described by Jeremiah 5:31. "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and my people love to have it so."

Verse 19. - Will ye pollute me, etc.? rather, with the Revised Version, ye have profaned, the interrogative form not being continued in the Hebrew. The prophet dwells with scorn on the miserable pay for which the prophetesses were guilty of so great a sin. Not for rewards of divination, like those of Balsam (Numbers 22:7), but for gifts like those bestowed on the harlot or the beggar (l 1 Samuel 2:36; Hosea 3:2) - for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread - they plied their wretched trade. For examples of the lower gifts in kind offered to prophets, compare those of Saul (1 Samuel 9:8), of Jeroboam's wife (1 Kings 14:3), the false prophets in Micah 3:5. And they did this in direct opposition to the will of Jehovah. They "slew," i.e. drew on to destruction, the souls that were meant for life. They "saved the souls alive," i.e. "their own, which were worthy of death." That was the outcome of their "lying" divinations.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You have profaned
וַתְּחַלֶּלְ֨נָה‪‬ (wat·tə·ḥal·lel·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - second person feminine plural
Strong's 2490: To bore, to wound, to dissolve, to profane, to break, to begin, to play

Me
אֹתִ֜י (’ō·ṯî)
Direct object marker | first person common singular
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

among
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

My people
עַמִּ֗י (‘am·mî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

for handfuls
בְּשַׁעֲלֵ֣י (bə·ša·‘ă·lê)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8168: Hollow hand, handful

of barley
שְׂעֹרִים֮ (śə·‘ō·rîm)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 8184: Barley

and scraps
וּבִפְת֣וֹתֵי (ū·ḇip̄·ṯō·w·ṯê)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6595: Fragment, bit, morsel

of bread.
לֶחֶם֒ (le·ḥem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3899: Food, bread, grain

By lying
בְּכַ֨זֶּבְכֶ֔ם (bə·ḵaz·zeḇ·ḵem)
Preposition-b | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 3576: To lie, be a liar

to My people
לְעַמִּ֖י (lə·‘am·mî)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

who would listen,
שֹׁמְעֵ֥י (šō·mə·‘ê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

you have killed
לְהָמִ֤ית (lə·hā·mîṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

those
נְפָשׁוֹת֙ (nə·p̄ā·šō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

who
אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

should not
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

have died
תְמוּתֶ֔נָה (ṯə·mū·ṯe·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

and spared
וּלְחַיּ֥וֹת (ū·lə·ḥay·yō·wṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

those
נְפָשׁ֖וֹת (nə·p̄ā·šō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

who
אֲשֶׁ֣ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

should not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

have lived.�
תִֽחְיֶ֑ינָה (ṯiḥ·ye·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned me among my people (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 13:18
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