Jeremiah 23:16

16 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Ye do not hearken unto the words Of the prophets who are prophesying to you, They are making you vain things, A vision of their own heart they speak, Not from the mouth of Jehovah.

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 And in prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing, Committing adultery, and walking falsely, Yea, they strengthened the hands of evil doers, So that they have not turned back Each from his wickedness, They have been to me -- all of them -- as Sodom, And its inhabitants as Gomorrah

15 Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, concerning the prophets: Lo, I am causing them to eat wormwood, And have caused them to drink water of gall, For, from prophets of Jerusalem Hath profanity gone forth to all the land.

16 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Ye do not hearken unto the words Of the prophets who are prophesying to you, They are making you vain things, A vision of their own heart they speak, Not from the mouth of Jehovah.

17 Saying diligently to those despising The word of Jehovah: Peace is for you, And [to] every one walking in the stubbornness of his heart they have said: Evil doth not come in unto you.

18 For who hath stood in the counsel of Jehovah, And seeth and heareth His word? Who hath regarded My word, and hearkeneth?