Jeremiah 23:24

24 Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"[a]-the Lord's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"[b]-the Lord's declaration.

Jeremiah 23:24 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:24

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see
him? saith the Lord
If a man should hide himself in the most secret and hidden places of the earth, and do his works in the most private manner, so that no human eye can see him, he cannot hide himself or his actions from the Lord, who can see from heaven to earth, and through the darkest and thickest clouds, and into the very bowels of the earth, and the most hidden and secret recesses and caverns of it. The darkness and the light are both alike to him; and also near and distant, open and secret places: do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord;
not only with inhabitants, and with other effects of his power and providence; but with his essence, which is everywhere, and is infinite and immense, and cannot be contained in either, or be limited and circumscribed by space and place; see ( 1 Kings 8:27 ) . The Targum is,

``does not my glory fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord;''
both of them are full of his glory; and every person and thing in either must be seen and known by him; and so the false prophets and their lies; in order to convince of the truth of which, all this is said, as appears by the following words.

Jeremiah 23:24 In-Context

22 If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned them back from their evil ways and their evil deeds.
23 "Am I a God who is only near"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"and not a God who is far away?
24 Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"-the Lord's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"-the Lord's declaration.
25 "I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said: I had a dream! I had a dream!
26 How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds?

Footnotes 2

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