Jeremiah 23:6-16

6 "In His days Judah will be saved, And ¹Israel will dwell securely; And this is His ²name by which He will be called, 'The ³LORD our righteousness.'

7 "⁴Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when they will no longer say, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,'

8 ⁵but, 'As the LORD lives, who ⁶brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where * I had driven them.' Then they will live on their own soil."

False Prophets Denounced

9 As for the prophets: My ⁷heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because * of the LORD And because * of His holy words.

10 For the land is full of ⁸adulterers; For the land ⁹mourns because * of the curse. The ¹⁰pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil And their might is not right.

11 "For ¹¹both prophet and priest are polluted; Even in My house I have found their wickedness," declares the LORD.

12 "Therefore their way will be like ¹²slippery paths to them, They will be driven away into the ¹³gloom and fall down in it; For I will bring ¹⁴calamity upon them, The year of their punishment," declares the LORD.

13 "Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an ¹⁵offensive thing: They ¹⁶prophesied by Baal and ¹⁷led My people Israel astray.

14 "Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a ¹⁸horrible thing: The committing of ¹⁹adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of ²⁰evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like ²¹Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah

15 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, 'Behold, I am going to ²²feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.' "

16 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "²³Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are ²⁴leading you into futility; They speak a ²⁵vision of their own imagination, Not ²⁶from the mouth of the LORD.

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Jeremiah 23:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 23

This chapter contains threatenings to the Jewish governors, and to their priests and prophets, on account of their manifold sins; intermixed with gracious promises to the Lord's people, and particularly with a famous promise of the Messiah. The pastors or governors of Israel are charged with scattering and driving away the Lord's flock, for which they are threatened, Jer 23:1,2; and a promise is made of the gathering of the remnant of them, and of setting up other shepherds over them, under whom they should increase, and be comfortable, Jer 23:3,4; particularly the Messiah is promised; as David's righteous Branch; as a prosperous and righteous King; as the author of righteousness to his people, under whom they should have salvation and safety, Jer 23:5,6; so that in comparison of this salvation, the deliverance out of Egypt should not be spoken of, Jer 23:7,8; and then follows a sad complaint of the priests and prophets; of their profaneness, their adultery, swearing, lying, hypocrisy, and deception of the people; for all which they are severely threatened, Jer 23:9-15; wherefore the people are exhorted not to hearken to them, promising them peace and safety; whereas, by attending to the word of God, it might easily be seen that a storm of wrath was gone forth, and was ready to break, and would fall upon the head of the wicked, to the executing of the thoughts and purposes of God's heart, Jer 23:16-20; and the Lord declares he had not sent these prophets, as might be known from their not turning the people from their evil ways, Jer 23:21,22; whose conduct and behaviour could not be hid from the sight of the Lord, nor their prophecies from his ears, which were no other than dreams, and the deceits of their own hearts; and there was as great a difference between them and the word of the Lord, as between chaff and wheat; seeing his word in his hand is of great virtue and efficacy, whereas there was none in theirs, Jer 23:23-29; wherefore the Lord declares himself to be against these prophets, for stealing his word from their neighbour; for making use of his name, when they were not sent by him; and for causing the people to err by their lies, Jer 23:30-32; and both people, priest, and prophet, are severely threatened for jeering and scoffing at the word of the Lord, calling it the burden of the Lord; which phrase they are forbid to use in a sneering way; and should they persist in it, they are told that God would forsake and forget them, and cast them out, and everlastingly punish them, Jer 23:39,40.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 26

1. Deuteronomy 33:28; Jeremiah 30:10; Zechariah 14:11
2. Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:21-23
3. Isaiah 45:24; Jeremiah 33:16; Daniel 9:24; Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 1:30
4. Isaiah 43:18, 19; Jeremiah 16:14, 15
5. Jeremiah 16:15
6. Isaiah 43:5, 6; Ezekiel 34:13; Amos 9:14, 15
7. Jeremiah 8:18; Habakkuk 3:16
8. Jeremiah 9:2; Hosea 4:2, 3; Malachi 3:5
9. Jeremiah 12:4
10. Psalms 107:34; Jeremiah 9:10
11. Jeremiah 6:13; Zephaniah 3:4
12. Psalms 35:6; Proverbs 4:19; Jeremiah 13:16
13. Isaiah 8:22; John 12:35
14. Jeremiah 11:23
15. Hosea 9:7, 8
16. 1 Kings 18:18-21; Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 23:32
17. Isaiah 9:16
18. Jeremiah 5:30
19. Jeremiah 29:23
20. Jeremiah 23:22; Ezekiel 13:22, 23
21. Genesis 18:20; Deuteronomy 32:32; Isaiah 1:9, 10; Jeremiah 20:16; Jeremiah 49:18; Matthew 11:24
22. Deuteronomy 29:18; Jeremiah 8:14; Jeremiah 9:15
23. Jer 27:9, 10, 14-17; 1 John 4:1
24. Matthew 7:15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Galatians 1:8, 9
25. Jeremiah 14:14; Ezekiel 13:3, 6
26. Jeremiah 9:12, 20

Footnotes 1

[a]. Lit "heart"