Ezekiel 33:31

KJV1611 – Modern English

And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְיָב֣וֹאוּ אֵ֠לֶיךָ כִּמְבוֹא־עָ֞ם וְיֵשְׁב֤וּ לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ עַמִּ֔י וְשָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶת־דְּבָרֶ֔יךָ וְאוֹתָ֖ם לֹ֣א יַֽעֲשׂ֑וּ כִּֽי־עֲגָבִ֤ים בְּפִיהֶם֙ הֵ֣מָּה עֹשִׂ֔ים אַחֲרֵ֥י בִצְעָ֖ם לִבָּ֥ם הֹלֵֽךְ׃

Transliteration

wə-yāḇôʾû unto you kiməḇôʾ-ʿām and wə-yēšəḇû before you ʿammî and wə-šāməʿû ʾeṯ-dəḇāreḵā and wə-ʾôṯām not lōʾ yaʿăśû for kî-ʿăḡāḇîm with their mouth bəp̄îhem they hēmmâ ʿōśîm after ʾaḥărê their gain biṣəʿām their heart libbām hōlēḵ

Grammar Details

• *wə-yāḇôʾû*: conjunction + imperfect, 3rd person plural - and they come/will come
• *kiməḇôʾ-ʿām*: preposition + construct infinitive + noun - as [the] coming of people
• *wə-yēšəḇû*: conjunction + imperfect, 3rd person plural - and they sit/will sit
• *ʿammî*: noun, masculine singular construct with 1st person singular suffix - my people
• *wə-šāməʿû*: conjunction + perfect, 3rd person plural - and they hear/listen to
• *ʾeṯ-dəḇāreḵā*: direct object marker + noun, masculine plural construct with 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your words
• *wə-ʾôṯām*: conjunction + direct object marker with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - and them
• *lōʾ yaʿăśû*: negative particle + imperfect, 3rd person plural - they do not do
• *kî-ʿăḡāḇîm*: conjunction + noun, masculine plural - for lustful desires/sensual songs
• *bəp̄îhem*: preposition + noun, masculine singular construct with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - in their mouth
• *hēmmâ ʿōśîm*: pronoun, 3rd person masculine plural + participle, masculine plural - they are doing
• *ʾaḥărê*: preposition - after
• *biṣəʿām*: noun, masculine singular construct with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their gain/profit
• *libbām*: noun, masculine singular construct with 3rd person masculine plural suffix - their heart
• *hōlēḵ*: participle, masculine singular - is walking/going

Word Meanings

• *ʿăḡāḇîm*: lustful desires/sensual songs/love songs
• *biṣəʿām*: gain/profit/dishonest gain/covetousness
• *libbām hōlēḵ*: their heart goes/their heart is directed toward

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express love, but their hearts pursue unjust gain.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And they come{H935} unto thee as the people{H5971} cometh,{H3996} and they sit{H3427} before{H6440} thee as my people,{H5971} and they hear{H8085} thy words,{H1697} but do{H6213} them not; for with their mouth{H6310} they show{H6213} much love,{H5690} but their heart{H3820} goeth{H1980} after{H310} their gain.{H1215}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And they come{H935}{(H8799)} unto thee as the people{H5971} cometh{H3996}, and they sit{H3427}{(H8799)} before{H6440} thee as my people{H5971}, and they hear{H8085}{(H8804)} thy words{H1697}, but they will not do{H6213}{(H8799)} them: for with their mouth{H6310} they shew{H6213}{(H8802)} much love{H5690}, but their heart{H3820} goeth{H1980}{(H8802)} after{H310} their covetousness{H1215}.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  These come vnto the, after ye maner of a greate people: yee my people syt downe before the, and heare thy wordes, but they do not therafter: For in their mouthes they shewe themselues, as though they were feruent, but their herte goeth after their owne couetous lucre.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  For they come vnto thee, as the people vseth to come: and my people sit before thee, and heare thy wordes, but they will not doe them: for with their mouthes they make iestes, and their heart goeth after their couetousnesse.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  They come vnto thee as the people vseth to come, and my people syt before thee, and heare thy wordes, but they do not therafter: for in their mouthes they make a iest of them, and their heart goeth after their couetousnes.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, [but] their heart goeth after their covetousness.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  They come to you as the people comes, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don't do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And they come in unto thee as the coming in of a people, And they sit before thee -- My people, And have heard thy words, and they do them not, For doting loves with their mouth they are making, After their dishonest gain their heart is going.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And they come to you as my people come, and are seated before you as my people, hearing your words but doing them not: for deceit is in their mouth and their heart goes after profit for themselves.

• World English Bible (2000)

  They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don't do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  They come to you in crowds, and they sit in front of you as my people. They hear your words, but do not obey them. For they talk lustfully, and their heart is set on their own advantage.

Referenced Verses

• Isa 29:13 : 13 Therefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
• Ps 78:36-37 : 36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. 37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant.
• Matt 13:22 : 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
• Luke 11:28 : 28 But he said, On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
• Jas 1:22-24 : 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
• Jas 2:14-16 : 14 What does it profit, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?
• Luke 6:48-49 : 48 He is like a man who built a house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that hears, and does not, is like a man who without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
• Isa 28:13 : 13 But the word of the LORD was to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
• Ezek 8:1 : 1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.
• Ezek 14:1 : 1 Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
• Ezek 20:1-9 : 1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 Then came the word of the LORD to me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Have you come to inquire of me? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. 4 Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Make them know the abominations of their fathers: 5 And say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I am the LORD your God; 6 In the day that I lifted up my hand to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had spied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: 7 Then I said to them, Cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 8 But they rebelled against me, and would not listen to me: they did not cast away every man the abominations of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 Therefore I caused them to go out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man does, he shall even live in them. 12 Moreover I also gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they did not walk in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man does, he shall even live in them; and they greatly polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I acted for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Yet also I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 16 Because they despised my judgments, and did not walk in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless my eye spared them from destroying them, nor did I make an end of them in the wilderness. 18 But I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: 19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And hallow my sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. 21 Nevertheless the children rebelled against me: they did not walk in my statutes, nor kept my judgments to do them, which if a man does, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and acted for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. 23 I lifted up my hand to them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; 24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. 25 Therefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they should not live; 26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb, that I might make them desolate, so that they might know that I am the LORD. 27 Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land, for which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provoking of their offering: there also they made their sweet savor, and poured out there their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? And its name is called Bamah to this day. 30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit you harlotry after their abominations? 31 For when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, you pollute yourselves with all your idols, even to this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. 32 And what comes into your mind shall not happen, that you say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
• Ezek 22:27 : 27 Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
• Matt 6:24 : 24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
• Matt 7:24-27 : 24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.
• Jer 6:16-17 : 16 Thus says the LORD, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Listen to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not listen.
• Jer 23:33-38 : 33 And when this people, or a prophet, or a priest, shall ask you, saying, 'What is the burden of the LORD?' you shall then say to them, 'What burden? I will even forsake you, says the LORD.' 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people who shall say, 'The burden of the LORD,' I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall you say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, 'What has the LORD answered?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 36 And the burden of the LORD you shall mention no more; for every man's word shall be his burden, for you have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 38 But since you say, 'The burden of the LORD'; therefore, thus says the LORD: Because you say this word, 'The burden of the LORD,' and I have sent to you, saying, 'You shall not say, The burden of the LORD';
• Jer 43:1-7 : 1 And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2 Then Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, You speak falsely: the LORD our God has not sent you to say, Do not go into Egypt to live there: 3 But Baruch the son of Neriah sets you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that had returned from all nations, where they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; 6 Even men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 So they came into the land of Egypt: for they did not obey the voice of the LORD: thus they came even to Tahpanhes.
• Jer 44:16 : 16 As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you.
• Matt 19:22 : 22 But when the young man heard this saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
• Luke 12:15-21 : 15 And he said to them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses. 16 And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room to store my crops? 18 And he said, This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your rest, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said to him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you; then whose shall those things be, which you have provided? 21 So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
• Luke 16:14 : 14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they ridiculed him.
• Acts 10:33 : 33 Immediately therefore I sent to you; and you have done well that you have come. Now therefore we are all present before God, to hear all things commanded you by God.
• Eph 5:5 : 5 For this you know, that no sexually immoral, unclean, or greedy person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
• 1 Tim 6:9-9 : 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil: which while some coveted after, they have strayed from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
• Luke 8:21 : 21 And he answered and said to them, My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God, and do it.
• Luke 10:39 : 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word.
• 1 John 3:17-18 : 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his compassion from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
• Deut 5:28-29 : 28 And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me; and the LORD said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you: they have spoken well all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!