Condemnation of False Prophets
Jeremiah 23:9-32
Jer.23.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לנבאים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נשבר: VERB,nifal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- בקרבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- רחפו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- עצמותי: NOUN,f,pl,poss1
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- כאיש: PREP
- שכור: ADJ,m,sg
- וכגבר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עברו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- יין: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ומפני: CONJ+PREP
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- קדשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 22:14 (verbal): Offers near-verbal parallels—'all my bones are out of joint' and 'my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast' echo Jeremiah's broken heart and trembling bones.
- Habakkuk 3:16 (verbal): Describes bodily trembling and inner dismay before God—'I hear, and my body trembles... rottenness enters into my bones' parallels Jeremiah's shaken bones and overwhelmed state.
- Jeremiah 4:19 (thematic): A closely related Jeremiah lament (’my anguish, my anguish; my heart is pounding… I cannot be silent’)—same prophetic mood of brokenness and inability to remain calm before God’s message.
- Ezekiel 3:14–15 (structural): Ezekiel’s stunned, immobilized reaction to the prophetic call (spirit lifting him away; he sits astonished among the exiles) parallels Jeremiah’s overwhelmed, dazed comparison to a drunken man in response to the LORD’s word.
- Isaiah 28:7 (verbal): Uses the image of reeling/drunkenness for those overcome by wine; Isaiah’s 'they reel from wine' imagery resonates with Jeremiah’s simile of being like a man overcome by wine because of the LORD’s holy words.
Alternative generated candidates
- To the prophets my heart is broken within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine— because of the LORD and because of his holy words.
- My heart is broken within me because of the prophets; all my bones shake. I am like a man drunk, like a man overcome by wine—because of the LORD and because of his holy words.
Jer.23.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- מנאפים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מלאה: ADV
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- מפני: PREP
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- אבלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יבשו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- נאות: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- מרוצתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וגבורתם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- כן: ADV
Parallels
- Isaiah 24:5-6 (thematic): The earth is defiled by the people's transgressions and therefore mourns/undergoes judgment — parallels Jeremiah's link between social/sexual unfaithfulness and the land's desolation.
- Hosea 4:1-3 (verbal): Accuses Israel of lack of faithfulness, swearing and bloodshed so that the land 'mourns' and beasts suffer — echoes the 'adulterers' motif and the land's lament in Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 12:4 (verbal): Rhetorical complaint about how long the land will mourn and fields wither — a close verbal and thematic parallel within Jeremiah on the land's suffering.
- Deuteronomy 28:20-24 (structural): Covenantal curses for disobedience include drought, withered fields and a cursed land — provides the covenantal cause–effect background for Jeremiah's claim that sin (adultery/idolatry) brings land devastation.
- Ezekiel 36:34-35 (thematic): Speaks of desolate/wilderness land and fertility/restoration; engages the same desert/wilderness imagery but from a promised-restoration perspective, contrasting Jeremiah's depiction of current desolation.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up; their course is evil, and their strength is not what it was.
- For the land is full of adulterers; because of them the land mourns. The pastures of the wilderness are dried up; their glory is spoiled and their strength is not what it once was.
Jer.23.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- גם: ADV
- נביא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- גם: ADV
- כהן: NOUN,m,sg,const
- חנפו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- גם: ADV
- בביתי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+1,sg
- מצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- רעתם: NOUN,f,sg,suff-3mp
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 5:31 (verbal): Directly parallels the complaint that prophets and priests are corrupt — 'the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means' — echoing Jeremiah's charge of profanation in God's house.
- Ezekiel 22:26 (verbal): Ezekiel charges both priests and prophets with profaning holy things and failing their duties, a close verbal and thematic match to Jeremiah's condemnation of priestly and prophetic corruption.
- Micah 3:11 (thematic): Complains that priests and prophets are corrupt for gain ('priests teach for hire, and prophets divine for money'), thematically mirroring Jeremiah's critique of religious leaders' wickedness.
- Hosea 4:6 (thematic): Links priestly failure (lack of knowledge) to judgment — God rejects or punishes religious leaders — paralleling Jeremiah's accusation that priestly/prohetic sin brings divine condemnation.
- Jeremiah 23:14 (structural): Within the same chapter, expands the indictment: prophets of Jerusalem commit deceit and bolster evildoers, a direct continuation and specification of the charge in 23:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- For both prophet and priest have acted corruptly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the LORD.
- For both prophet and priest have acted faithlessly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the LORD.
Jer.23.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דרכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כחלקלקות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- באפלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ידחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ונפלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אביא: VERB,hiphil,impf,1,_,sg
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שנת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- פקדתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 73:18-19 (verbal): Uses the same image of the wicked set in 'slippery places' and being made to fall—very close verbal and thematic parallel about sudden ruin.
- Proverbs 4:19 (verbal): Speaks of the way of the wicked as 'deep darkness' and their stumbling—a similar pairing of darkness and stumbling as metaphors for moral/eschatological judgment.
- Isaiah 8:22 (thematic): Describes people looking and finding only distress, darkness and gloom—connects the motif of darkness as the circumstance of divine judgment and bewilderment.
- Amos 8:9 (thematic): Portrays sudden cosmic darkening at the time of the Lord's visitation—echoes the theme of abrupt calamity and judgment associated with God's appointed time.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore their way shall be like slippery places in darkness; they shall be driven on and fall in them, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their visitation, declares the LORD.
- Therefore their way shall be to them as slippery places in the darkness; they shall be thrust and fall in them— for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD.
Jer.23.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובנביאי: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,pl,construct
- שמרון: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- תפלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הנבאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בבעל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויתעו: VERB,qal,yiqtol,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- את: PRT,acc
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 17:16 (verbal): Describes Israel worshiping Baal and other gods and the leaders/prophets leading the people astray—language and charge parallel to prophets of Samaria prophesying by Baal and misleading Israel.
- 1 Kings 18:21 (allusion): Elijah's challenge to Israel over Baal worship evokes the conflict with prophets of Baal in Samaria; thematically parallels Jeremiah's condemnation of prophets who 'prophesied by Baal.'
- Jeremiah 23:16 (structural): Immediate parallel in the same oracle: a denunciation of false prophets whose words cause the people to stray and refuse true divine counsel—continuation of the charge against misleading prophets.
- Ezekiel 13:3-4 (thematic): Ezekiel condemns false prophets who follow their own spirit and mislead the people—a similar prophetic critique of leaders who give false revelations and cause error.
- Micah 3:5 (thematic): Micah condemns prophets who mislead Israel and pronounce false visions; parallels Jeremiah's accusation that prophets in Samaria prophesied for Baal and led Israel astray.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.
- I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.
Jer.23.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובנבאי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ראיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- שערורה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נאוף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- והלך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- בשקר: PREP
- וחזקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- מרעים: VERB,qal,ptc,,m,pl
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- שבו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מרעתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כלם: PRON,3,m,pl
- כסדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישביה: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
- כעמרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 6:13-14 (verbal): Same book and context: prophets and priests in Jerusalem 'deal falsely' and proclaim 'peace, peace' when there is no peace—condemnation of false leadership that enables evil.
- Micah 3:5-7 (thematic): Prophets who lead the people astray and promise false assurances; like Jer.23:14, the prophetic office is portrayed as enabling injustice and preventing repentance.
- Ezekiel 13:18-23 (thematic): Denunciation of false prophets/prophetesses who give false visions and lies and lead people into harm—parallels Jeremiah's charge of lying prophets and corrupt practices.
- Ezekiel 16:49-52 (allusion): God compares Jerusalem's wickedness to Sodom and Gomorrah; echoes Jeremiah's explicit likening of the city's prophets/people to Sodom and its inhabitants to Gomorrah.
- Hosea 4:12-14 (verbal): Uses sexual/harlotry imagery for Israel's unfaithfulness and criticizes priests/prophets for corrupting the people—parallels Jeremiah's 'commit adultery' metaphor and prophetic culpability.
Alternative generated candidates
- And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a detestable thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers so that no one turns from his wickedness. All of them are to me like Sodom, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.
- And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a detestable thing: adultery and walking in falsehood—they strengthen the hands of evildoers so that no one turns from his wickedness. All of them are to me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
Jer.23.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- מאכיל: VERB,hiph,ptc,3,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- לענה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והשקתים: VERB,hiph,ptc,3,m,pl
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- מאת: PREP
- נביאי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יצאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- חנפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut.29.18 (verbal): Uses the image of 'wormwood' (Heb. laʿanah) and bitter/poisonous influence to describe a corrupting root; echoes Jeremiah's metaphor of feeding prophets wormwood.
- Jer.14.14 (verbal): Another passage in Jeremiah condemning prophets who 'prophesy lies' and speak what God has not sent — closely parallels 23:15's charge that Jerusalem's prophets have spread profaneness.
- Ezek.13.3-4 (thematic): Condemns 'false prophets' who see false visions and give lying divination, and announces divine judgment on them — thematically parallel to Jeremiah's denunciation of misleading prophets.
- Mic.3.5-7 (thematic): Speaks against prophets who lead the people astray, prophesy for money and promise 'peace' where there is no peace — parallels Jeremiah's critique of prophetic corruption spreading through the land.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: I will feed them bitter food and give them poisoned drink. For from the prophets of Jerusalem wickedness has gone out into all the land.
- Thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink; for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone forth into all the land.
Jer.23.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אל: NEG
- תשמעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- על: PREP
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מהבלים: ADJ,m,pl
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- חזון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- ידברו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- מפי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 14:14 (verbal): God declares that the prophets prophesy lies in his name and that he did not send them—language and accusation closely mirror Jeremiah 23:16.
- Ezekiel 13:6 (thematic): Condemns prophets who see false visions and proclaim 'oracle of the LORD' though not sent by him—same critique of self‑generated, spurious visions.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Provides the legal/theological test for false prophecy (prophets speaking what God has not commanded are false), the background for Jeremiah's rejection of these prophets.
- 1 Kings 22:22-23 (thematic): Narrative where misleading prophets pronounce false assurances and God allows a lying spirit—an example of deceptive prophecy and its consequences comparable to Jeremiah's charge.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the LORD of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you—they make you futile; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.
- Thus says the LORD of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you—they fill you with emptiness; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.
Jer.23.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אמרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אמור: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- למנאצי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- הלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בשררות: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2mp
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezek.13:10-16 (verbal): Condemns prophets who cry 'Peace, peace' when there is no peace—explicitly parallels the phrase and the charge of false assurances to the people.
- Jer.5:31 (thematic): Speaks of prophets who prophesy falsely and give the people comforting words, so that 'no calamity comes'—same critique of misleading, self‑serving prophecy.
- Zech.10:2 (thematic): Describes diviners and false spokesmen who speak empty words and give false hope; parallels the theme of leaders/prophets misleading the people with assurances.
- Matt.7:15-16 (thematic): Jesus' warning about false prophets who deceive by outward speech and promises—parallel concern with deceptive prophetic speech and the need to judge by outcomes ('fruits').
Alternative generated candidates
- They say to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, 'No harm shall come upon you.'
- They say, "Say to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you';" and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart they say, "No disaster will come upon you."
Jer.23.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- עמד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בסוד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וירא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- וישמע: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דברו: INF,qal,inf+3ms
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- הקשיב: VERB,hifil,perf,3,m,sg
- דברו: INF,qal,inf+3ms
- וישמע: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 40:13 (verbal): Both verses use a rhetorical question about who can stand as counselor to the LORD (or direct his Spirit), underscoring that humans cannot claim access to or mastery of God's counsel.
- Jeremiah 23:21-22 (structural): Immediate context: Jeremiah contrasts true prophetic commission with false prophecy, explicitly stating that false prophets did not 'stand in my counsel'—a direct extension of 23:18's theme.
- Ezekiel 13:3 (thematic): Ezekiel condemns prophets who prophesy from their own spirit rather than from Yahweh, paralleling Jeremiah's critique that these speakers did not stand in the LORD's council and therefore spoke falsely.
- Deuteronomy 29:29 (thematic): Affirms that 'the secret things belong to the LORD' and that humans have only what God chooses to reveal—echoing Jeremiah's emphasis that access to God's counsel is not a human possession to be claimed by false prophets.
- 1 Corinthians 2:11 (thematic): Paul observes that only the Spirit of God knows God's thoughts, paralleling Jeremiah's point that no human has standing in God's council to 'hear' or appropriate his word apart from God's revelation.
Alternative generated candidates
- For who has stood in the council of the LORD, that he should see and hear his word? Who marked his word and heard it?
- For who has stood in the council of the LORD, that he should perceive and hear his word? Who gave heed and listened?
Jer.23.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- סערת: NOUN,f,sg,construct
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- חמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יצאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- וסער: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מתחולל: VERB,hitp,ptc,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רשעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יחול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Nahum 1:3-4 (verbal): Both passages use whirlwind/storm language for Yahweh's coming judgment—'his way is in whirlwind and storm' closely echoes Jeremiah's 'the storm of the LORD... a whirling tempest' and the burst of wrath upon the wicked.
- Isaiah 29:6 (verbal): Isaiah speaks of being visited by the Lord 'with thunder... with storm and tempest,' paralleling Jeremiah's storm-imagery for divine visitation and punishment.
- Psalm 18:7-15 (thematic): The Psalm depicts the LORD's wrath in cosmic/theophanic terms—earthquake, storm, smoke, and tempest—similar thematic imagery of divine judgment overwhelming enemies.
- Joel 2:2 (thematic): Joel's portrayal of 'a day of darkness... a day of clouds and thick darkness' uses storm/apocalyptic imagery for the day of the LORD's judgment, paralleling Jeremiah's tempest as punitive visitation on the wicked.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth in fury, a sweeping tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
- Behold, the storm of the LORD goes forth—a fierce wind is sent forth; it will swirl upon the head of the wicked.
Jer.23.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- ישוב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אף: ADV
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- עשתו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- הקימו: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,pl
- מזמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- באחרית: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,const
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תתבוננו: VERB,hitpael,imprf,2,m,pl
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- בינה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 33:11 (verbal): Speaks of 'the counsel of the LORD' and 'the thoughts of his heart' enduring—parallel language about God's purposes standing and being accomplished.
- Isaiah 46:10 (thematic): God declares the end from the beginning and affirms that his counsel will stand—echoes the idea that God's plans will be carried out in the latter days.
- Isaiah 14:24 (verbal): 'As I have thought, so shall it come to pass'—a direct affirmation that the LORD's purposes will be fulfilled, matching Jeremiah's assertion that God will accomplish the thoughts of his heart.
- Jeremiah 29:11 (thematic): God's declared 'thoughts' and plans for the future—connects to Jeremiah 23:20's focus on God's intentions and their ultimate realization for the future.
- Habakkuk 2:3 (thematic): The vision has an appointed/definite time and will surely come to pass—parallels the 'latter days' timing and certainty of God's executing his plans in Jeremiah 23:20.
Alternative generated candidates
- The anger of the LORD will not return until he has performed and accomplished the purposes of his heart; in the last days you will understand it with insight.
- The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the purposes of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
Jer.23.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- שלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- רצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- דברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- אליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- נבאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:25 (verbal): Near-identical wording and charge: prophets prophesy though God did not send them; repeats the same complaint against false prophets.
- Jeremiah 14:14 (verbal): YHWH declares that the prophets prophesy lies and that He did not send them—directly parallels the claim that their message is not from God.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Legal test for true prophecy and judgment on a prophet who presumes to speak in God's name when not sent—provides the normative background for identifying false prophets.
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (thematic): Condemns prophets who see false visions and prophesy from their own spirit rather than from the LORD, echoing Jeremiah's denunciation of unauthorized prophecy.
- 1 Kings 22:21-23 (thematic): Narrative where a lying spirit causes prophets to speak misleading words—illustrates the phenomenon of prophets speaking without divine commissioning and the problem of deceptive prophecy.
Alternative generated candidates
- I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
- I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
Jer.23.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- עמדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בסודי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,1
- וישמעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- וישבום: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+3,m,pl
- מדרכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,3,pl
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ומרע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מעלליהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Ezekiel 3:17-19 (verbal): Ezekiel frames the prophet as a watchman charged to warn the wicked so they may 'turn from his way'—language and obligation closely parallel Jeremiah's 'turn them from their evil way.'
- Ezekiel 33:7-9 (thematic): The watchman motif: if the prophet warns and the people repent, they are spared; if not warned, guilt falls on the prophet. Echoes Jeremiah's emphasis on prophets standing in God's counsel and causing people to turn from evil.
- Jeremiah 23:21 (structural): Immediate chapter-level contrast: Jeremiah 23:21 accuses prophets of speaking without God's sending; verse 23:22 sets the standard—true prophets would stand in God's counsel and lead people to repent.
- Jonah 3:4-10 (thematic): Jonah's prophetic proclamation leads Nineveh to 'turn from their evil way' and avert judgment—an illustrative example of the effect Jeremiah says true prophetic hearing should produce.
- Zechariah 1:3 (thematic): God's call 'Turn ye unto me... and I will return unto you' links hearing God's word with repentance and restoration, resonating with Jeremiah's demand that prophets cause the people to abandon evil.
Alternative generated candidates
- If they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people and turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.
- If they had stood in my council and had caused my people to hear my words and to turn them from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds,
Jer.23.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- האלהי: PART
- מקרב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- מרחק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:24 (structural): Immediate literary continuation: contrasts God's nearness/farness with his omnipresence—'Can anyone hide... Do I not fill heaven and earth?,' directly developing the same theme.
- Psalm 139:7-10 (verbal): Expresses the same conviction of God's inescapable presence—'Where shall I go from your Spirit?... if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there'—echoing nearness and pervasive presence.
- Isaiah 57:15 (thematic): Affirms both God's transcendence and immanence: the High and Holy One 'dwells also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,' paralleling the tension of God being near and yet exalted.
- Acts 17:27-28 (allusion): Paul's assertion in Athens that God 'is not far from each one of us' and that 'in him we live and move and have our being' recalls the OT theme of God's simultaneous nearness and universal presence.
Alternative generated candidates
- Am I a God near at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far off?
- Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far off?
Jer.23.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- יסתר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במסתרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אראנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הלוא: PART
- את: PRT,acc
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- מלא: ADJ,m,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:23 (allusion): Immediate rhetorical neighbor: both verses address God's presence/omnipresence—'Am I a God at hand...and not afar off?' echoes the same argument that God perceives and fills all places.
- Psalm 139:7-12 (thematic): Same theme of divine omnipresence and inescapable knowledge ('Where shall I go from your Spirit? ... you are there'); parallels the idea that no one can hide from God.
- Proverbs 15:3 (verbal): Verbal parallel about God's seeing: 'The eyes of the LORD are in every place,' echoing Jeremiah's rhetorical question about hiding from God and God's knowledge of all locations.
- Hebrews 4:13 (thematic): New Testament statement that nothing is hidden from God's sight corresponds to Jeremiah's claim that God fills heaven and earth and therefore sees all.
- 1 Kings 8:27 (structural): Solomon's declaration that 'heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you' parallels Jeremiah's claim that God fills heaven and earth—both affirm divine transcendence combined with pervasive presence.
Alternative generated candidates
- Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I do not see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth, declares the LORD?
- Can anyone hide himself in secret so that I do not see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? declares the LORD.
Jer.23.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- בשמי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- חלמתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- חלמתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:26 (structural): Direct continuation of the denunciation — questions the persistence of prophets harboring deceptive visions in their hearts (same context and discourse).
- Jeremiah 23:27 (verbal): Explicitly explains the source of the false messages: 'prophets of the deceit of their own heart,' echoing the charge against those claiming dreams.
- Jeremiah 23:28 (structural): Sets the prophetic standard — distinguishes true word and true dream from false claims ('Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream'), directly addressing the 'I dreamed' motif.
- Ezekiel 13:6-7 (thematic): Condemns false prophets who offer 'lying visions' and speak in God's name without his word, paralleling Jeremiah's rebuke of dream‑claiming false prophets.
- Deuteronomy 13:1-3 (thematic): Prescribes how to test prophets who produce signs or dreams — warns that signs/dreams do not validate a prophet if they entice to falsehood, thematically related to Jeremiah's critique.
Alternative generated candidates
- I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, 'I dreamed, I dreamed.'
- I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name, saying, "I dreamed, I dreamed."
Jer.23.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- מתי: ADV,int
- היש: PART,exist
- בלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- נבאי: NOUN,m,pl,const
- השקר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ונביאי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- תרמת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- לבם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:16 (thematic): Same context and polemic against false prophets—commands not to listen to those who prophesy dreams and lies in the Lord’s name.
- Jeremiah 29:8-9 (thematic): Warning that prophets and dreamers will lead the people astray with false visions and vain hopes—echoes concern about deceitful prophetic messages.
- Ezekiel 13:2-3 (thematic): Direct denunciation of prophets who utter falsehoods and declare ‘Thus says the Lord’ when they have not been sent—parallels Jeremiah’s charge of prophets prophesying from their own hearts.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Legal criterion for identifying a false prophet (speaking in God’s name without commission); provides the theological standard underlying prophetic critique in Jeremiah.
- Micah 3:5-8 (thematic): Condemns prophets who lead the people with lies and for gain; contrasts true prophetic responsibility with the self-interested false prophecy Jeremiah attacks.
Alternative generated candidates
- How long shall there be in the hearts of the prophets the prophets of falsehood, those who prophesy lies and whose deceit is of their own heart?
- How long shall there be in the hearts of the prophets these false visions? How long will their deceitful hearts devise and prophesy lies?
Jer.23.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- החשבים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- להשכיח: VERB,hiph,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- בחלומתם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,3m
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יספרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לרעהו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss3ms
- כאשר: CONJ
- שכחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אבותם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- את: PRT,acc
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- בבעל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (verbal): Explicitly condemns 'one who interprets dreams' and other occult practices as abominations—echoes Jeremiah's critique of dream-based false prophecy leading people astray.
- Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (thematic): Warns that a prophet (even if giving signs) who urges worship of other gods must be rejected—parallels Jeremiah's charge that false prophets cause the people to 'forget my name' for Baal.
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (allusion): Denounces prophets who devise lies and give worthless visions, promising false security; closely parallels Jeremiah's rebuke of dreamers who mislead the people.
- Micah 3:5-7 (thematic): Accuses prophets of prophesying 'for a bribe' and leading Israel astray with false assurances—similar motif of corrupt prophets who cause the people to abandon the true God.
- Hosea 4:12-13 (thematic): Describes Israel consulting objects and being led astray by a spirit of whoredom, abandoning the LORD—comparable image of forgetting God's name and turning to other deities (Baal).
Alternative generated candidates
- Who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams, which they tell one another, just as their fathers forgot my name for Baal.
- Those who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another— as their fathers forgot my name for Baal—
Jer.23.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנביא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- חלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יספר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- חלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואשר: CONJ+PRON,rel
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- ידבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- אמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מה: PRON,int
- לתבן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- הבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezek. 13:6-9 (verbal): Condemns prophets who speak from dreams and self-originated visions—language and critique of 'dream' prophets closely parallel Jeremiah's distinction between dream-tellers and true spokesmen of God.
- Micah 3:6-7 (thematic): Speaks of prophets who lead people astray with visions and dreams and whose messages are unreliable—similar theme of false prophecy and misleading dreams.
- Deut. 13:1-3 (structural): Gives the Torah's test for distinguishing true prophets (their word comes to pass) — provides the legal/theological framework behind Jeremiah's demand that true speakers speak 'My word'.
- Matt. 3:12 (allusion): Imagery of separating wheat from chaff (burning the chaff) echoes Jeremiah's 'straw vs. wheat' metaphor for false versus true prophecy.
- Ps. 1:4 (thematic): The wicked are like chaff/blown straw—uses the same agricultural image to portray worthlessness and judgment, resonant with Jeremiah's straw/wheat contrast.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let the prophet who has a dream tell a dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw to do with the grain? declares the LORD.
- the prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What have straw and grain in common? declares the LORD.
Jer.23.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלוא: PART
- כה: ADV
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- כאש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וכפטיש: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יפצץ: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- סלע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hebrews 4:12 (thematic): Portrays God's word as living, active and powerfully penetrating (sharper than a sword), paralleling Jeremiah's image of the word as a force that breaks and judges.
- Psalm 2:9 (verbal): Speaks of breaking and dashing enemies in pieces (rod of iron/like a potter's vessel), echoing the image of a divine implement that shatters rock.
- Isaiah 5:24 (thematic): Depicts God's judgment as a consuming fire that devours—parallel to Jeremiah's simile 'my word is like fire'.
- Revelation 1:16 (verbal): Describes a sharp two-edged sword coming from the Lord's mouth, evoking the motif of God's word as an instrument of decisive, breaking power.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
- Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Jer.23.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- על: PREP
- הנבאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מגנבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאת: PREP
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
Parallels
- Jeremiah 14:14 (verbal): Jeremiah earlier condemns prophets who 'prophesy lies in my name' and says 'I did not send them,' directly echoing the charge against false or unauthorized prophecy.
- Jeremiah 23:31 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same chapter—God rejects prophets who speak with their 'own tongues' and falsely append 'declares the LORD,' a closely related denunciation of copied or self‑generated prophecy.
- Ezekiel 13:6 (thematic): Ezekiel condemns prophets who 'see false visions' and speak out of their own hearts, paralleling Jeremiah's critique of prophets producing or borrowing false words.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Deuteronomy provides the legal criterion for identifying false prophets—one who speaks in God's name what He has not commanded is a false prophet—serving as the Torah background for Jeremiah's judgment.
- Matthew 7:15 (thematic): Jesus' warning to 'beware of false prophets' (recognizable by their fruits) parallels the New Testament continuation of the biblical concern about discerning and rejecting false or counterfeit prophecy.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, I am against the prophets who steal my words each from his neighbor.
- Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal words from one another.
Jer.23.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- על: PREP
- הנביאם: NOUN,m,pl,def
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הלקחים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לשונם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- וינאמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:30 (verbal): Immediate context repeats and develops the charge against prophets who 'steal words' from one another and falsely invoke 'declares the LORD'—same language and situation.
- Jeremiah 14:14 (verbal): God condemns prophets who 'prophesy lies in my name' and whom He did not send—same accusation of false prophecy and misuse of the divine formula.
- Ezekiel 13:6-7 (verbal): Condemns prophets who envision lies and say 'Declares the Lord' though God did not send them—very close verbal and thematic parallel to Jeremiah's rebuke.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Legal criterion for identifying a false prophet—one who speaks presumptuously in God's name or whose predictions do not come true—provides the normative background for Jeremiah's critique.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, I am against the prophets who take my words into their mouths, and say, 'Declares the LORD.'
- Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who put words in their mouths and say, "Declares the LORD."
Jer.23.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- על: PREP
- נבאי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- חלמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- שקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויספרום: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl+OBJ:PRON,3,m,pl
- ויתעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- בשקריהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3mp
- ובפחזותם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,3mp
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- שלחתים: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg+PRON_OBJ,3,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- צויתים: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- והועיל: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- יועילו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לעם: PREP
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 14:14 (verbal): Same accusation: prophets prophesy lies and visions whom the LORD did not send or command (almost identical language accusing false dream-prophets).
- Jeremiah 5:30-31 (thematic): Condemns prophets who prophesy falsely and lead the people astray, strengthening wickedness—same theme of deceptive prophecy harming the nation.
- Ezekiel 13:6 (verbal): Speaks of prophets who have seen 'vanity and lying divination' and who declare 'Thus saith the LORD' though he has not sent them—close verbal and conceptual parallel to false dream-prophecy.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (structural): Legal criterion for identifying a false prophet: speaking presumptuously in God’s name when not sent or when predictions fail—provides the covenantal framework behind Jeremiah’s condemnation.
- 1 Kings 22:22-23 (thematic): Narrative example of prophetic deception (a lying spirit influencing prophets) and the phenomenon of prophets delivering messages that mislead rulers/people, illustrating how false prophecy can arise and mislead the nation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray with their lies and their carelessness; and I did not send them, nor did I command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.
- Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray with their lies and recklessness— I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.
Concerning the prophets: my heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine—because of the LORD and because of his holy words.
For the land is full of adulterers; because of them the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up; their conduct is evil and their strength is not right.
For both prophet and priest have acted unfaithfully; even in my house I have found their wickedness, declares the LORD.
Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the dark; they shall be thrust down and fall in them— for I will bring calamity upon them in the year of my reckoning, declares the LORD. And in the prophets of Samaria I have seen an abominable thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a terrifying thing: adultery and walking in falsehood. They strengthen the hands of evildoers so that none turns from his wickedness; all of them are like Sodom to me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink; for from the prophets of Jerusalem wickedness has gone out into all the land. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they utter vanities—visions of their own hearts—they speak not from the mouth of the LORD.
They keep saying to those who despise the word of the LORD, “Peace shall be yours”; and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, “No evil shall come upon you.”
Who has stood in the council of the LORD so as to perceive and hear his word? Who marked his word and heard it?
Behold, the storm of the LORD—his wrath—has gone forth; a sweeping tempest will burst upon the head of the wicked.
The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has done it, until he has carried out the purposes of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
If they had stood in my council and had listened to my words, then they would have turned my people from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.
Am I a God near at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far off?
Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.
I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I dreamed, I dreamed!”
How long shall the prophets have in their hearts visions of falsehood, and the diviners of lies persist in their deception?
Who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams, which they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal.
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; the one who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What has straw to do with grain? declares the LORD.
Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from each other.
Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who take my words into their mouths and say, ‘Declares the LORD.’
Behold, I am against the dream prophets, declares the LORD, who tell their dreams and lead my people astray with their lies and recklessness; and I did not send them, nor did I command them. They shall not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.