Jeremiah 23:21

23:21 I did not send those prophets.

Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. ¹ 

I did not tell them anything.

Yet they prophesied anyway.

Jeremiah 23:26

23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. ² 

Jeremiah 14:14

14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! ³  I did not send them. I did not commission them. ⁴  I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, ⁵  and the delusions of their own mind.

Ezekiel 13:3

13:3 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing!

Ezekiel 13:6

13:6 They see delusion and their omens are a lie. ⁶  They say, “the Lord declares,” though the Lord has not sent them; ⁷  yet they expect their word to be confirmed. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 13:16

13:16 those prophets of Israel who would prophesy about Jerusalem ⁹  and would see visions of peace for it, when there was no peace,” declares the sovereign Lord.’

Ezekiel 13:23

13:23 Therefore you will no longer see false visions and practice divination. I will rescue my people from your power, and you ¹⁰  will know that I am the Lord.’”

Ezekiel 22:28

22:28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. ¹¹  They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

Micah 2:11

2:11 If a lying windbag should come and say, ¹² 

‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ ¹³ 

he would be just the right preacher for these people! ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “Yet they ran.”

² sn See the parallel passage in Jer 14:13-15.

³ tn Heb “Falsehood those prophets are prophesying in my name.” In the OT, the “name” reflected the person’s character (cf. Gen 27:36; 1 Sam 25:25) or his reputation (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13). To speak in someone’s name was to act as his representative or carry his authority (1 Sam 25:9; 1 Kgs 21:8).

⁴ tn Heb “I did not command them.” Compare 1 Chr 22:12 for usage.

⁵ tn Heb “divination and worthlessness.” The noun “worthlessness” stands as a qualifying “of” phrase (= to an adjective; an attributive genitive in Hebrew) after a noun in Zech 11:17; Job 13:4. This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns are joined by “and” with one serving as the qualifier of the other.

⁶ sn The same description of a false prophet is found in Micah 2:11.

⁷ sn The Lord has not sent them. A similar concept is found in Jer 14:14; 23:21.

⁸ tn Or “confirmed”; NIV “to be fulfilled”; TEV “to come true.”

⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew verb is feminine plural, indicating that it is the false prophetesses who are addressed here.

¹¹ tn Heb “her prophets coat for themselves with whitewash.” The expression may be based on Ezek 13:10-15.

¹² tn Heb “if a man, coming [as] wind and falsehood, should lie”; NASB “walking after wind and falsehood”; NIV “a liar and a deceiver.”

¹³ tn Heb “I will foam at the mouth concerning wine and beer.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “he would be the foamer at the mouth for this people.”