The connector Because introduces this verse as the reason for the result in the next verse. Some languages may prefer to restructure these two verses for naturalness (see the model at the end of the discussion on verse 23).

You have disheartened the righteous falsely …: The role of true prophets was to receive messages from God and pass them on to the people. Sometimes the message was comforting and encouraging, sometimes it was threatening and disheartening. Part of God’s message in the time of Ezekiel was that a person was responsible for his or her own sins. In chapter 3 God said wicked people will die because of their sins, but those who turn away from sin will live (see 3.18-21; compare 18.1-32). The false female prophets were passing on to the people what they claimed to be God’s messages, but God says they were not messages from him. The effect they were having was quite the opposite from the effect a true message would have had. Disheartened is literally “caused pain to the heart,” which may be rendered “discouraged” (New Living Translation, New English Bible) or “made sad.” The pain (which could be physical, mental or emotional) that the righteous people felt was inappropriate and unnecessary because it was due to the lies of the women. For righteous see 3.20; it may be rendered “good” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “upright” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), “innocent” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or “honest” (Moffatt). The righteous renders a masculine singular word in Hebrew. As in 3.20, this singular word has an inclusive sense, referring to all good men and women, so it is better to say “righteous people.” The Hebrew word rendered falsely is a noun meaning “falsehood.” Therefore some translations have understood it to be the result of the discouragement of the righteous, that is, the righteous people began to act falsely and sin (so Contemporary English Version). This understanding is not likely. A good model for this clause is “your lies have made honest people feel discouraged” (similarly Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation).

Although I have not disheartened him means the women were acting directly against God’s intention because a true message would have encouraged good people. If the righteous is rendered as a plural, then the pronoun him is better rendered “them” (New Century Version).

And you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his wicked way to save his life: The predictions of the women not only caused distress to the good people in Israel, but they also encouraged the evil people to keep sinning, which led to their deaths. By falsely predicting that Jerusalem was secure against further attack, the women made it possible for wicked people to ignore their own sin because they thought they were safe. Therefore they did not repent and, when God finally punished them, they did not survive. Like the righteous, the wicked renders a masculine singular word in Hebrew, so it may be translated “evil people” (Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .