Jeremiah 23:36

36 But you will never again say, 'The message of the Lord,' because the only message you speak is your own words. You have changed the words of our God, the living God, the Lord All-Powerful

Jeremiah 23:36 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:36

And the burden of the Lord shall be mentioned no more
Or the word of the Lord under that name, speaking of it in a ludicrous and scoffing manner: for every man's word shall be his burden;
every flout, scoff, and jeer of his, at the word of God, shall fall heavily upon him, with weight upon his conscience, and press him with guilt to the lowest hell; or, however, a heavy punishment for his sin shall light upon him: or, as the words may be rendered, "for his word is a burden to everyone" ^F21; that is, the word of the Lord is reckoned by everyone a burden; and with them a burden and the word of the Lord are synonymous terms; which ought not to be, and was offensive to the Lord; and therefore he forbids the use of such a phrase, and threatens to punish for it; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of
hosts, our God;
derided them, and put a wrong sense upon them; and which is aggravated by their being the words of "the living God", who is the true God and his words true; and he lives and is able to resent and punish any ill usage of him, and ill treatment of his words; and not the oracles of lifeless idols: and they are the words of "the Lord of hosts", of all armies above and below, and so was able to make them good: and besides, they were the words of "our God", the God of Israel; who had in all ages kept his covenant with them, performed his promises to them, and had done great and good things for them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 (wrbd vyal hyhy avmh yk) "quia onus erit unicuique verbum suum", Schmidt; "[vel] verbum ejus, nempe, Dei", Dieu.

Jeremiah 23:36 In-Context

34 A prophet or a priest or one of the people might say, 'This is a message from the Lord.' That person has lied, so I will punish him and his whole family.

35 This is what you will say to each other: 'What did the Lord answer?' or 'What did the Lord say?'

36 But you will never again say, 'The message of the Lord,' because the only message you speak is your own words. You have changed the words of our God, the living God, the Lord All-Powerful

37 This is how you should speak to the prophets: 'What answer did the Lord give you?' or 'What did the Lord say?'

38 But don't say, 'The message from the Lord.' If you use these words, this is what the Lord says: Because you called it a 'message from the Lord,' though I told you not to use those words