Jeremiah 23:16

16 The LORD proclaims: Don't listen to the prophets who are speaking to you; they are deceiving you. Their visions come from their own hearts, not from the LORD's mouth.

Jeremiah 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:16

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto the words of
the prophets that prophesy unto you
Do not hear them; stop your ears at what they say; give no credit to them. The Targum is,

``do not receive the words of the false prophets that prophesy unto you:''

they make you vain;
they filled their heads with vain and empty things, and their hearts with vain hopes, which deceived them; so the Targum,

``they deceive you;''

they taught them vain things, and made them vain and sinful in their lives and conversations; and therefore were not to be hearkened to: they speak a vision of their own heart, [and] not out of the mouth of
the Lord;
what they imagined they saw was a device of their own hearts, and what was agreeable to them, which must be bad enough; a produce of their own brains; an invention of their own; mere doctrines of men, and not such as come from the mouth of God, are his revealed will, and according to his word; and therefore not to be hearkened to; for nothing is to be heard and received, in matters of religion, but what is according to the revelation of God's will in his word; see ( Isaiah 8:20 ) . The Targum is,

``they speak to you the wickedness of their hearts, and not by the word of the Lord.''

Jeremiah 23:16 In-Context

14 In the prophets of Jerusalem I saw something horrible: They commit adultery and tell lies. They encourage evildoers so that no one turns from their wickedness. In my eyes, they are no better than Sodom; its people are like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims concerning the prophets: I'm going to feed them bitter food and give them poison to drink. Wickedness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.

16 The LORD proclaims: Don't listen to the prophets who are speaking to you; they are deceiving you. Their visions come from their own hearts, not from the LORD's mouth.

17 They keep saying to those who scorn God's message, "All will go well for you," and to those who follow their own willful hearts, "Nothing bad will happen to you."

18 But who has stood in the LORD's council to listen to God's word? Who has paid attention to his word and announced it?