Discovery BoxJeremiah 23:14-16
Context23:14 But I see the prophets of Jerusalem 1
doing something just as shocking.
They are unfaithful to me
and continually prophesy lies. 2
So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,
with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. 3
I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,
and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. 4
23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, 5
have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: 6
‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering
and drink the poison water of judgment. 7
For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason 8
that ungodliness 9 has spread throughout the land.’”
23:16 The Lord who rules over all 10 says to the people of Jerusalem: 11
“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. 12
Jeremiah 23:21-32
Context23:21 I did not send those prophets.
Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. 13
I did not tell them anything.
Yet they prophesied anyway.
23:22 But if they had stood in my inner circle, 14
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 15 that I am some local deity
and not the transcendent God?” 16 the Lord asks. 17
23:24 “Do you really think anyone can hide himself
where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. 18
“Do you not know that I am everywhere?” 19
the Lord asks. 20
23:25 The Lord says, 21 “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!’ 22 23:26 Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds. 23 23:27 How long will they go on plotting 24 to make my people forget who I am 25 through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors 26 did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal. 27 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! 28 I, the Lord, affirm it! 29 23:29 My message is like a fire that purges dross! 30 It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! 31 I, the Lord, so affirm it! 32 23:30 So I, the Lord, affirm 33 that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me. 34 23:31 I, the Lord, affirm 35 that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, ‘The Lord declares….’ 36 23:32 I, the Lord, affirm 37 that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. 38 I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. 39 I, the Lord, affirm it!” 40
Jeremiah 27:15
Context27:15 For I, the Lord, affirm 41 that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you 42 listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” 43
Jeremiah 28:15
Context28:15 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! 44
Jeremiah 29:8-9
Context29:8 “For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 45 says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination 46 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. 47 But I did not send them. I, the Lord, affirm it!’ 48
Jeremiah 29:31
Context29:31 “Send a message to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘The Lord has spoken about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. “Shemaiah has spoken to you as a prophet even though I did not send him. He is making you trust in a lie. 49
Isaiah 30:10-11
Context30:10 They 50 say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”
and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right! 51
Tell us nice things,
relate deceptive messages. 52
30:11 Turn aside from the way,
stray off the path. 53
Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel.” 54
Isaiah 30:2
Context30:2 They travel down to Egypt
without seeking my will, 55
seeking Pharaoh’s protection,
and looking for safety in Egypt’s protective shade. 56
Isaiah 2:9-11
Context2:9 Men bow down to them in homage,
they lie flat on the ground in worship. 57
Don’t spare them! 58
2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,
hide in the ground.
Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, 59
from his royal splendor!
2:11 Proud men will be brought low,
arrogant men will be humiliated; 60
the Lord alone will be exalted 61
in that day.
[23:14] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[23:14] 2 tn Or “they commit adultery and deal falsely.” The word “shocking” only occurs here and in 5:30 where it is found in the context of prophesying lies. This almost assures that the reference to “walking in lies” (Heb “in the lie”) is referring to false prophesy. Moreover the references to the prophets in 5:13 and in 14:13-15 are all in the context of false prophesy as are the following references in this chapter in 23:24, 26, 32 and in 28:15. This appears to be the theme of this section. This also makes it likely that the reference to adultery is not literal adultery, though two of the false prophets in Babylon were guilty of this (29:23). The reference to “encouraging those who do evil” that follows also makes more sense if they were preaching messages of comfort rather than messages of doom. The verbs here are infinitive absolutes in place of the finite verb, probably used to place greater emphasis on the action (cf. Hos 4:2 in a comparable judgment speech.)
[23:14] 3 tn Heb “So they strengthen the hands of those doing evil so that they do not turn back from their evil.” For the use of the figure “strengthen the hands” meaning “encourage” see Judg 9:24; Ezek 13:22 (and cf. BDB 304 s.v. חָזַק Piel.2). The vav consecutive on the front of the form gives the logical consequence equivalent to “so” in the translation.
[23:14] 4 tn Heb “All of them are to me like Sodom and its [Jerusalem’s] inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
[23:15] 5 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[23:15] 6 tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the
[23:15] 7 tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.
[23:15] 8 tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.
[23:15] 9 sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the
[23:16] 10 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[23:16] 11 tn The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:16] 12 tn Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the
[23:21] 13 tn Heb “Yet they ran.”
[23:22] 14 tn Or “had been my confidant.” See the note on v. 18.
[23:23] 15 tn The words “Do you people think” at the beginning of this verse and “Do you really think” at the beginning of the next verse are not in the text but are a way of trying to convey the nature of the rhetorical questions which expect a negative answer. They are also a way of trying to show that the verses are still connected with the preceding discussion addressed to the people (cf. 23:16, 20).
[23:23] 16 tn Heb “Am I a god nearby and not a god far off?” The question is sometimes translated as though there is an alternative being given in v. 23, one that covers both the ideas of immanence and transcendence (i.e., “Am I only a god nearby and not also a god far off?”). However, the hey interrogative (הַ) at the beginning of this verse and the particle (אִם, ’im) at the beginning of the next show that the linkage is between the question in v. 23 and that in v. 24a. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.d both questions in this case expect a negative answer.
[23:23] 17 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:24] 18 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:24] 19 tn The words “Don’t you know” are not in the text. They are a way of conveying the idea that the question which reads literally “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” expects a positive answer. They follow the pattern used at the beginning of the previous two questions and continue that thought. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:24] 20 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:25] 21 tn The words, “The
[23:25] 22 sn To have had a dream was not an illegitimate means of receiving divine revelation. God had revealed himself in the past to his servants through dreams (e.g., Jacob [Gen 31:10-11] and Joseph [Gen 37:6, 7, 9]) and God promised to reveal himself through dreams (Num 12:6; Joel 2:28 [3:1 HT]). What was illegitimate was to use the dream to lead people away from the
[23:26] 23 sn See the parallel passage in Jer 14:13-15.
[23:27] 24 tn The relation of the words to one another in v. 26 and the beginning of v. 27 has created difficulties for translators and commentators. The proper solution is reflected in the NJPS. Verses 26-27 read somewhat literally, “How long is there in the hearts of the prophets who are prophesying the lie and [in the hearts of] the prophets of the delusions of their [own] heart the plotting to cause my people to forget my name…” Most commentaries complain that the text is corrupt, that there is no subject for “is there.” However, the long construct qualification “in the hearts of” has led to the lack of observation that the proper subject is “the plotting to make my people forget.” There are no exact parallels but Jer 14:22; Neh 5:5 follow the same structure. The “How long” precedes the other means of asking a question for the purpose of emphasis (cf. BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.b and compare for example the usage in 2 Sam 7:7). There has also been a failure to see that “the prophets of the delusion of…” is a parallel construct noun after “heart of.” Stripping the syntax down to its barest minimum and translating literally, the sentence would read “How long will the plotting…continue in the hearts of the prophets who…and [in hearts of] the prophets of…” The sentence has been restructured in the translation to conform to contemporary English style but attempt has been made to maintain the same subordinations.
[23:27] 26 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 39).
[23:27] 27 tn Heb “through Baal.” This is an elliptical expression for the worship of Baal. See 11:17; 12:16; 19:5 for other references to their relation to Baal. There is a deliberate paralleling in the syntax here between “through their dreams” and “through Baal.”
[23:28] 28 tn Heb “What to the straw with [in comparison with] the grain?” This idiom represents an emphatic repudiation or denial of relationship. See, for example, the usage in 2 Sam 16:10 and note BDB 553 s.v. מָה 1.d(c).
[23:28] 29 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:29] 30 tn Heb “Is not my message like a fire?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer that is made explicit in the translation. The words “that purges dross” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:29] 31 tn Heb “Is it not like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” See preceding note.
[23:29] 32 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:30] 33 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:30] 34 tn Heb “who are stealing my words from one another.” However, context shows that it is their own word which they claim is from the
[23:31] 35 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:31] 36 tn The word “The
[23:32] 37 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[23:32] 38 tn Heb “with their lies and their recklessness.” This is an example of hendiadys where two nouns (in this case a concrete and an abstract one) are joined by “and” but one is intended to be the adjectival modifier of the other.
[23:32] 39 sn In the light of what has been said this is a rhetorical understatement; they are not only “not helping,” they are leading them to their doom (cf. vv. 19-22). This figure of speech is known as litotes.
[23:32] 40 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[27:15] 41 tn Heb “oracle of the
[27:15] 42 sn The verbs are again plural referring to the king and his royal advisers.
[27:15] 43 tn Heb “…drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying lies.”
[28:15] 44 tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”
[29:8] 45 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[29:8] 46 sn See the study notes on 27:9 for this term.
[29:9] 47 tn Heb “prophesying lies to you in my name.”
[29:9] 48 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[29:31] 49 tn Or “is giving you false assurances.”
[30:10] 50 tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[30:10] 51 tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”
[30:10] 52 tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”
[30:11] 53 sn The imagery refers to the way or path of truth, as revealed by God to the prophet.
[30:11] 54 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[30:2] 55 tn Heb “those who go to descend to Egypt, but [of] my mouth they do not inquire.”
[30:2] 56 tn Heb “to seek protection in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek refuge in the shade of Egypt.”
[2:9] 57 tn Heb “men bow down, men are low.” Since the verbs שָׁחָח (shakhakh) and שָׁפַל (shafal) are used later in this discourse to describe how God will humiliate proud men (see vv. 11, 17), some understand v. 9a as a prediction of judgment, “men will be brought down, men will be humiliated.” However, these prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive appear to carry on the description that precedes and are better taken with the accusation. They draw attention to the fact that human beings actually bow down and worship before the lifeless products of their own hands.
[2:9] 58 tn Heb “don’t lift them up.” The idiom “lift up” (נָשָׂא with לְ, nasa’ with preposition lamed) can mean “spare, forgive” (see Gen 18:24, 26). Here the idiom plays on the preceding verbs. The idolaters are bowed low as they worship their false gods; the prophet asks God not to “lift them up.”
[2:10] 59 tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “get away” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[2:11] 60 tn Heb “and the eyes of the pride of men will be brought low, and the arrogance of men will be brought down.” The repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.
