Ezekiel 13:20
““Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Behold, I am against your pillows, with which you hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms. I will let the souls go, even the souls whom you hunt to make them fly.”
What does Ezekiel 13:20 mean?
God is responding here to false prophets and prophetesses who were using spiritual manipulation to control people. The "pillows" and "hunting souls" are metaphors for the deceptive practices they used to trap vulnerable people into their false teachings, essentially binding them spiritually and emotionally. God makes a striking promise: he will tear away their tools of manipulation and set those trapped souls free. This passage speaks powerfully to anyone who has felt spiritually or emotionally controlled by someone claiming to speak for God. It affirms that God himself opposes such abuse and stands on the side of the captive. Just as a loving parent protects a child from someone trying to harm them, God actively works to break the chains of manipulation and restore freedom to those who have been deceived.