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Texts -- Jeremiah 23:9-40 (NET)

Context
Oracles Against the False Prophets
23:9 Here is what the Lord says concerning the false prophets : My heart and my mind are deeply disturbed . I tremble all over . I am like a drunk person , like a person who has had too much wine , because of the way the Lord and his holy word are being mistreated. 23:10 For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. They live wicked lives and they misuse their power . So the land is dried up because it is under his curse . The pastures in the wilderness are withered . 23:11 Moreover , the Lord says , “Both the prophets and priests are godless . I have even found them doing evil in my temple ! 23:12 So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery . They will stumble and fall headlong . For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them.” The Lord affirms it! 23:13 The Lord says, “I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something that was disgusting . They prophesied in the name of the god Baal and led my people Israel astray . 23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking . They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies . So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil , with the result that they do not stop their evildoing . I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom , and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah . 23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all , have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason that ungodliness has spread throughout the land .’” 23:16 The Lord who rules over all says to the people of Jerusalem: “Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes . They are reporting visions of their own imaginations , not something the Lord has given them to say . 23:17 They continually say to those who reject what the Lord has said , ‘Things will go well for you!’ They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts , ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’ 23:18 Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle so they could see and hear what he has to say ? Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said ? 23:19 But just watch ! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm ! Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked . 23:20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has fully carried out his intended purposes . In days to come you people will come to understand this clearly . 23:21 I did not send those prophets . Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway. 23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle , they would have proclaimed my message to my people. They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways and stop doing the evil things they are doing . 23:23 Do you people think that I am some local deity and not the transcendent God ?” the Lord asks . 23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks . “Do you not know that I am everywhere ?” the Lord asks . 23:25 The Lord says, “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying . They are saying , ‘I have had a dream ! I have had a dream !’ 23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies . They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds . 23:27 How long will they go on plotting to make my people forget who I am through the dreams they tell one another ? That is just as bad as what their ancestors did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal . 23:28 Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream . Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully . What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain ! I, the Lord , affirm it! 23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces ! I, the Lord , so affirm it! 23:30 So I, the Lord , affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me. 23:31 I, the Lord , affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare , ‘The Lord declares ….’ 23:32 I, the Lord , affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies . I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. I, the Lord , affirm it!” 23:33 The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, when one of these people , or a prophet , or a priest asks you, ‘What burdensome message do you have from the Lord?’ Tell them, ‘You are the burden , and I will cast you away . I, the Lord , affirm it! 23:34 I will punish any prophet , priest , or other person who says “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” I will punish both that person and his whole family .’” 23:35 So I, Jeremiah, tell you, “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative , ‘How did the Lord answer ? Or what did the Lord say ?’ 23:36 You must no longer say that the Lord’s message is burdensome . For what is ‘burdensome ’ really pertains to what a person himself says . You are misrepresenting the words of our God , the living God , the Lord who rules over all . 23:37 Each of you should merely ask the prophet , ‘What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say ?’ 23:38 But just suppose you continue to say , ‘The message of the Lord is burdensome .’ Here is what the Lord says will happen: ‘I sent word to you that you must not say , “The Lord’s message is burdensome .” But you used the words “The Lord’s message is burdensome ” anyway. 23:39 So I will carry you far off and throw you away . I will send both you and the city I gave to you and to your ancestors out of my sight . 23:40 I will bring on you lasting shame and lasting disgrace which will never be forgotten !’”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Sin

    [nave] SIN. Index of Sub-Topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-Topics; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to, Defining, and Illustrating; Confession of; Consequences of, Entailed Upon Children; Conviction of; Forgiveness of; Fruits of; Kn...

  • MICAIAH

    [isbe] MICAIAH - mi-ka'-ya, mi-ki'-a (mikhayahu, "who is like Yah?"; Meichaias): A frequently occurring Old Testament name occasionally contracted to MICA or MICAH (which see). In the King James Version it is usually spelled "Micha...

  • CRIME; CRIMES

    [isbe] CRIME; CRIMES - krim, krimz: This. term is used in English as the equivalent of the Hebrew mishpaT, "judgment," "verdict" (Ezek 7:23); zimmah, "a heinous crime" (Job 31:11); 'asham = "a fault," "sin" (Gen 26:10, English Vers...

  • Minister

    [nave] MINISTER, a sacred teacher. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Call of; Character and Qualifications of; Charge Delivered to; Courage of; Duties of; Duties of the Church to; Emoluments of; Faithful, Instanc...

  • Dream

    [nave] DREAM Evanescent, Job 20:8. Vanity of, Eccl. 5:3, 7. Revelations by, Num. 12:6; Job 33:15-17; Jer. 23:28; Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17. The dreams of the butler and baker, Gen. 40:8-23; Pharaoh, Gen. 41:1-36. Interpreted by Jose...

  • Prophets

    [nave] PROPHETS Called Seers, 1 Sam. 9:19; 2 Sam. 15:27; 24:11; 2 Kin. 17:13; 1 Chr. 9:22; 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15; 29:30; Isa. 30:10; Mic. 3:7. Schools of, 1 Kin. 20:35; 2 Kin. 2:3-15; 4:1, 38; 9:1. Kept the chronicles, 1 Chr....

  • BURDEN

    [isbe] BURDEN - bur'-dn. 1. In the Old Testament: In the Old Testament more than one word is rendered "burden." (1) massa', from a root nasa' "he lifted up." Thus literally any load is called massa' (Ex 23:5; Nu 4:15,24,27 ff; 2 Ki...

  • Adultery

    [isbe] ADULTERY - a-dul'-ter-i: In Scripture designates sexual intercourse of a man, whether married or unmarried, with a married woman. 1. Its Punishment: It is categorically prohibited in the Decalogue (seventh commandment, Ex 20...
    [nave] ADULTERY. Gen. 20:3; 2 Sam. 12:14; Job 24:15-17 v. 18.; Job 31:1, 9-12; Prov. 2:16, 18, 19 v. 17.; Prov. 5:3, 4 vs. 5-22.; Prov. 6:24-29, 32, 33; Prov. 7:5-23; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 22:14; Prov. 23:27, 28; Prov. 29:3; Prov. ...

  • Hammer

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. pattish, used by gold-beaters (Isa. 41:7) and by quarry-men (Jer. 23:29). Metaphorically of Babylon (Jer. 50:23) or Nebuchadnezzar. (2.) Heb. makabah, a stone-cutter's mallet (1 Kings 6:7), or of any workman (Judg....
    [isbe] HAMMER - ham'-er: The Hebrew maqqebheth, occurs in Jdg 4:21, where it refers to the mallet (probably wooden) used to drive tent-pins into the ground. The same word occurs in 1 Ki 6:7; Isa 44:12; Jer 10:4 as applied to a work...
    [nave] HAMMER, 1 Kin. 6:7; Isa. 41:7; Jer. 10:4. Figurative Jer. 23:29; 50:23.

  • TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

    [isbe] TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT - || I. EARLIEST FORM OF WRITING IN ISRAEL 1. Invention of Alphabet 2. The Cuneiform 3. References to Writing in the Old Testament 4. Inscriptions after Settlement in Canaan 5. Orthography of the Pe...

  • Fire

    [ebd] (1.) For sacred purposes. The sacrifices were consumed by fire (Gen. 8:20). The ever-burning fire on the altar was first kindled from heaven (Lev. 6:9, 13; 9:24), and afterwards rekindled at the dedication of Solomon's templ...
    [isbe] FIRE - fir ('esh; pur): These are the common words for fire, occurring very frequently. 'Ur, "light" (Isa 24:15 the King James Version; compare the Revised Version (British and American); 31:9, and see FIRES), nur (Aramaic) ...
    [nave] FIRE Used as a signal in war, Jer. 6:1. Furnaces of, Dan. 3:6. Children caused to pass through, 2 Kin. 16:3; 17:17. Miracles coected with: Miraculously descends upon, and consumes, Abraham's sacrifice, Gen. 15:17; David's...

  • Word of God

    [nave] WORD OF GOD Called Book, Psa. 40:7; Rev. 22:19; Book of the Lord, Isa. 34:16; Book of the Law, Neh. 8:3; Gal. 3:10; Good Word of God, Heb. 6:5; Holy Scriptures, Rom. 1:2; 2 Tim. 3:15; Law of the Lord, Psa. 1:2; Isa. 30:9; Or...

  • Wormwood

    [isbe] WORMWOOD - wurm'-wood (la'anah (Dt 29:18; Prov 5:4; Jer 9:15; 23:15; Lam 3:15,19; Am 5:7; 6:12, the King James Version hemlock); apsinthos (Rev 8:11)): What the Hebrew la`anah may have been is obscure; it is clear it was a b...
    [smith] Four kinds of wormwood are found in Palestine-- Artemisia nilotica , A. Judaica , A. fructicosa and A. cinerea . The word occurs frequently in the Bible, and generally in a metaphorical sense. In (Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15; Lament...
    [nave] WORMWOOD, a bitter plant, Deut. 29:18. Figurative Deut. 29:18; Prov. 5:4; Jer. 9:15; 23:15; Lam. 3:19. Symbolical, Rev. 8:11.

  • LIE; LYING

    [isbe] LIE; LYING - li, (sheqer (usually, e.g. Isa 9:15; Zec 13:3), or kazabh verb (Job 34:6; Mic 2:11); pseudos (Jn 8:44; Rev 21:27), "to speak falsely," "to fabricate," "to make a false statement"; pseudomai, in Acts 5:3,1): 1. L...

  • PROPHESYINGS, FALSE

    [isbe] PROPHESYINGS, FALSE - prof'-e-si-ingz: The distinction between the true and the false prophecy and prophets is very difficult to state. Broadly speaking, the false prophesying related itself to the national ideal independent...

  • God

    [nave] GOD. List of Sub-Topics Miscellany; Unclassified Scriptures Relating to; Access to; Compassion of; Creator; Creator of Mankind; Eternity of; Faithfulness of; Fatherhood of; Favor of; Foreknowledge of; Glory of; Goodness of...

  • NEBUCHADNEZZAR, OR NEBUCHADREZZAR

    [smith] (may Nebo protect the crown), was the greatest and most powerful of the Babylonian kings. His name is explained to mean "Nebo is the protector against misfortune." He was the son and successor of Nabopolassar, the founder of ...

  • Whirlwind

    [isbe] WHIRLWIND - hwurl'-wind (cuphah (Prov 1:27; 10:25; Isa 5:28; 17:13; 66:15; Hos 8:7; Am 1:14; Nab 1:3), ca`ar (Hab 3:14; Zec 7:14; Hos 13:3; Ps 58:9; Dan 11:40), ce`arah (2 Ki 2:1; Job 38:1; 40:6; Isa 40:24; 41:16; Zec 9:14))...
    [nave] WHIRLWIND Destructive, Prov. 1:27. From the south in the land of Uz, Job 37:9; in the valley of the Euphrates, Isa. 21:1; in the land of Canaan, Zech. 9:14. From the north, Ezek. 1:4. Elijah translated in, 2 Kin. 2:1, 11....

  • REVELATION, 3-4

    [isbe] REVELATION, 3-4 - III. The Modes of Revelation. 1. Modes of Revelation: Theophany may be taken as the typical form of "external manifestation"; but by its side may be ranged all of those mighty works by which God makes Himse...

  • OMNIPRESENCE

    [isbe] OMNIPRESENCE - om-ni-prez'-ens: 1. Non-Occurrence of the Term in Scripture: Neither the noun "omnipresence" nor adjective "omnipresent" occurs in Scripture, but the idea that God is everywhere present is throughout presuppos...
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Questions

  • Matthew 7:13-23 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few...
  • I'm going to copy some articles on this subject, but let me give you my summation of all of them. In the Old Testament, the firstborn son was the one who normally received a double inheritance, and was the one who would inher...
  • I've heard and read the same statement a number of times, but have never troubled myself to look up each passage. I'm not surprised that looking up "heaven" and "hell" in a concordance would give you contradictory results. T...

Sermon Illustrations

Kinds of false prophets:; An Attribute of God alone; Symbols in Scripture; Characteristics of False Prophets

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 139:7 Evidently the confining awareness of God's omniscience led David to try to escape from the Lord. His two rhetorical questions in this verse express his inability to hide from God (cf. Jer. 23:24).139:8-10 David gave hyp...
  • This section introduces judgment into the mood of hope that pervades this section describing Israel's glorious future (65:17-66:24). Oppressors of the godly remnant will not prosper nor will those who depend on externals for ...
  • Jeremiah's purpose was to call his hearers to repentance in view of God's judgment on Judah, which would come soon from an army from the north (chs. 2-45). Judgment was coming because God's people had forsaken Yahweh and had ...
  • I. Introduction ch. 1A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3B. The call of Jeremiah 1:4-191. The promise of divine enablement 1:4-102. Two confirming visions 1:11-19II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2-45A. Warnings of judgment on...
  • 1:4 The prophet now began speaking to his readers and telling them what the Lord had said to him. Throughout this book, an indication that the Lord had told Jeremiah something is often the sign of a new pericope, as here (cf....
  • Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to the Judahites in view of their sins and the consequences of those sins.
  • 4:5 The Lord instructed Jeremiah to call for the people of Judah to assemble in the main cities. Blowing the trumpet in Israel's history and in the ancient Near East was a call to assemble and take cover in fortified cities, ...
  • 9:10 The Lord took up a lamentation on behalf of the land that suffered because of His people's sin. The coming invasion would leave the land deserted even by beasts and birds. The rest of this message indicates that the inva...
  • This pericope contains one of Jeremiah's "confessions,"a self-revelation of the prophet's own struggles to cope with God's actions (cf. 10:23-24; 15:10-12, 15-21; 17:9-11, 14-18; 18:18-23; and 20:7-18).219The heart of this on...
  • This section of the book contains some of Jeremiah's messages concerning Judah's kings (21:1-23:8) and false prophets (23:9-40) that he delivered closer to the time of Jerusalem's invasion than the previous chapters.300Beginn...
  • "After the oracles against wicked kings, there is a promise of a righteous one, the Shoot of David."313Jeremiah just announced that none of Coniah's descendants would ever rule as kings. Now he went on to clarify that a David...
  • Having given a true prophecy about the future, Jeremiah proceeded to announce God's judgment on the false prophets who were misleading His people with false prophecies (cf. v. 1). This section consists of six different messag...
  • 25:30 Jeremiah was also to announce that God would prepare to judge all the inhabitants of the earth (v. 29). As a lion announces its intent to attack with a roar, so Yahweh would one day announce His attack on earth dwellers...
  • These chapters contrast the true prophet of Yahweh with the false prophets. Distinguishing between them was difficult for Jeremiah's contemporaries, but their essential difference is clear. The true prophets proclaimed the Lo...
  • Jeremiah's symbolic act of wearing a yoke led to another symbolic act, the breaking of that yoke. Jeremiah's act brought a false prophet into direct confrontation with the true prophet.28:1 The following event took place in t...
  • 30:23-24 The Lord's wrath would break forth on the wicked like a severe storm. It would not slacken until the Lord accomplished all His purpose (cf. 23:19-20). Therefore the carelessly sinful should feel no false sense of sec...
  • The Book of Consolation contained messages of future hope for Judah (chs. 30-33). Now Jeremiah returned to document her present judgment. Chapters 34-45 continue the theme of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem from chapters 2-29...
  • This chapter belongs after chapter 36 chronologically, either after 36:8 or 36:32. It serves as an appendix to the historical incidents recorded there. Perhaps the writer or final editor placed it here to show that Yahweh exe...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: Collier Macmillan Publishers; and New York: Macmillan Publishers Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The Archaeology of Palestine. Revis...
  • This chapter follows quite naturally from the previous one. There God corrected the mistaken views of His people, and here He rebuked those who were responsible for those views. In this section God pronounced judgment on the ...
  • 16:44-47 Other people would quote the proverb, "Like mother, like daughter,"in regard to Jerusalem. She was like her Hittite "mother"who was also idolatrous and selfish. And she was like her older (larger) sister, Samaria, an...
  • 7:1 We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had (2:1; 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept."In referring to the experience as a dream' (sing.) Daniel wa...
  • In the section that follows, the relationship between Israel and Yahweh becomes even clearer. The mention of Baals and Israel's feasts makes this obvious. Hosea's relationship with Gomer recedes into the background.2:8 Israel...
  • Amos asked seven rhetorical questions in verses 3-6 to help the Israelites appreciate the inevitability of their judgment. In each one the prophet pointed out that a certain cause inevitably produces a certain effect. The fiv...
  • "The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justic...
  • The first part of this oracle focused particularly on the true King who would come and exercise sovereignty over the nations (ch. 9). Now the emphasis changes to the people of the King, the Israelites, who will return to the ...
  • 13:1 In that day God would open a fountain for the complete spiritual cleansing of the Israelites, both for their moral sins and for their ritual uncleanness (cf. Ezek. 47). The figure of a fountain pictures abundant cleansin...
  • This pericope describes the character of the kingdom's subjects and their rewards in the kingdom.236"Looked at as a whole . . . the Beatitudes become a moral sketch of the type of person who is ready to possess, or rule over,...
  • Peter proceeded to emphasize that the witness of the apostles, as well as the witness of Scripture, came from God. He did this to help his readers see that their choice boiled down to accepting God's Word or the word of men w...
  • 2:1 "The people"in view are God's people in Old Testament times, the times to which Peter had just been referring (1:19-22). False prophets in Old Testament times sought to lead God's people away from the revelations of the t...
  • Next a great star (meteor or comet?) fell from heaven on the fresh water sources on earth.316It too was on fire (vv. 7, 8). The ancients sometimes used "torch"(this Greek word, lampas) to describe a meteor shooting through th...
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