Jeremiah 23:21

21 "I did not send these prophets; yet they ran. I did not speak to them; yet they prophesied

Jeremiah 23:21 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:21

I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran
They might be sent of men, and be encouraged by them; but they were not sent of God: it is not only necessary that men employed in religious affairs should have an external call, in an orderly way, from the church of God; but also an internal call from the Lord himself; he qualifying them with gifts, putting his word into their mouths, and inclining their hearts to publish it; see ( Hebrews 5:4 Hebrews 5:5 ) ; but these false prophets had no mission nor commission from the Lord, nor were they sent on any errand, or with any message from him; and yet they ran;
showed great diligence and zeal, and made haste to tell the people what the Lord had never said to them, but what were the warm imaginations of their own heads and hearts; they ran a race or course of ministry, but it was not good, as in ( Jeremiah 23:10 ) . The Targum adds,

``to do evil:''

I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied;
wherefore what they prophesied was not the word of the Lord, but what they themselves devised; and so was what was false, as the Targum adds: it is a sad character of men when they speak in public neither by the will of God, nor according to the word of God.

Jeremiah 23:21 In-Context

19 Look! The storm of ADONAI, bursting out in fury, a whirling storm, whirling down upon the heads of the wicked

20 ADONAI's anger will not abate till he fully accomplishes the purpose in his heart. In the acharit-hayamim, you will understand everything.

21 "I did not send these prophets; yet they ran. I did not speak to them; yet they prophesied

22 If they have been present at my council, they should let my people hear my words and turn them from their evil way and the evil of their actions.

23 Am I God only when near," asks ADONAI, "and not when far away?