Ezekiel 13:6-7

13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ¹  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ²  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ³  13:7 Have you not seen a false vision and announced a lying omen when you say, “the Lord declares,” although I myself never spoke?

Jeremiah 23:21

23:21 I did not send those prophets.

Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ⁴ 

I did not tell them anything.

Yet they prophesied anyway.

Jeremiah 28:2

28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁵  says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude ⁶  to the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah 28:15

28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! ⁷ 

Jeremiah 29:8-9

29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁸  says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination ⁹  deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream. 29:9 They are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ¹⁰  But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 37:19

37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that ¹²  the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

¹ sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.

² sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14; 23:21.

³ tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”

⁴ tn Heb “Yet they ran.”

⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

⁶ sn See the study note on 27:2 for this figure. Hananiah is given the same title “the prophet” as Jeremiah throughout the chapter and claims to speak with the same authority (compare v. 2a with 27:21a). He even speaks like the true prophet; the verb form “I will break” is in the “prophetic perfect” emphasizing certitude. His message here is a contradiction of Jeremiah’s message recorded in the preceding chapter (compare especially v. 3 with 27:16, 19-22 and v. 4 with 22:24-28). The people and the priests are thus confronted with a choice of whom to believe. Who is the “true” prophet and who is the “false” one? Only fulfillment of their prophecies will prove which is which (see Deut 18:21-22).

⁷ tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”

⁸ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”

⁹ sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.

¹⁰ tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”

¹¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹² tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.