Psalms

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Psalm 24

1 A psalm of David. The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. 2 For he set its foundation upon the seas, and established it upon the ocean currents.⁠ 3 Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? 4 The one whose deeds are blameless who has clean hands and a pure heart^*, who does not lie,⁠ or make promises with no intention of keeping them.⁠ 5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them. 6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah) 7 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors.⁠ Then the majestic king will enter.⁠ 8 Who is this majestic king? The Lord who is strong and mighty. The Lord a mighty man in battle.⁠ 9 Look up, you gates. Rise up, you eternal doors. Then the majestic king will enter. 10 Who is this majestic king? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. He is the majestic king. (Selah)

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 13:22 and Psalm 24:4

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Psalm 24 and Ezekiel 12 use a rare word meaning “falsehood” or “vanity” connected to idolatry. In the psalm it describes those unfit to approach God, while in Ezekiel it exposes false prophets whose words are empty and idolatrous.

Passages

Ezekiel 13:22

Hebrew Bible

21 I will tear off your headbands and rescue my people from your power; they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22 This is because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies (although I have not grieved him), and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil conduct and preserve his life. 23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Psalm 24:4

Hebrew Bible

3 Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? 4 The one whose deeds are blameless who has clean hands and a pure heart^*, who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them. 5 Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them. 6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah)

600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Beginning with 13:1, Ezekiel directly addresses false prophets. The motive statements for their judgments (Ezekiel 13:8, 19, 22) focus on two key issues. The first is the character of their prophetic words. As opposed to Ezekiel’s, which are truly received from YHWH, their prophecies, visions, and inquiries are שָׁוְא, false/vain and כָּזָב, deceitful/lying. The primary meaning of שָׁוְא is “falsehood” or “deceit,” but there are also strong connections to vanity and uselessness as seen in the associations made between the term and idolatry (Psalm 31:7; Jonah 2:9; Jeremiah 18:15 and Psalm 24:4). Given the judgment of those who would inquire of YHWH while still keeping hold of their idolatry in the closing frame of this section (Ezekiel 14:1–11), perhaps the association with idolatry is broadly applicable here as well. This would fit well with the theme that they are to be judged because their source of knowledge is not YHWH ..."

Michael Thigpen, Divine Motive in the Hebrew Bible: A Comprehensive Survey and Analysis (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2015), 113–114.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Ezekiel 13:22 and Psalm 24:4

Summary

Passages

Ezekiel 13:22

Psalm 24:4

References

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