Jeremiah 14:13

Lying Prophets

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets ¹say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place. ’”

Jeremiah 14:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 14:13

Then said I, Ah, Lord God!
&c.] Being grieved at heart for the people, because he was forbid to pray for them, and because the Lord had resolved on the ruin of them; and the rather he pitied them, because they were deceived by the false prophets, and therefore he tries to excuse them, and lay the blame upon them, as follows: behold, the prophets say unto them;
that is, the false prophets, as the Targum; Jeremiah does not call them so, being willing to make the best of it: ye shall not see the sword;
the sword of the enemy drawn in your country, or fall by it: neither shall ye have famine;
by which it appears, that it was not yet come, only foretold; the contrary to which is here affirmed: but I will give you assured peace in this place;
so they spoke as from the Lord, and in his name, with all the confidence imaginable; assuring the people that they should have peace and prosperity, and be in the utmost safety in Jerusalem; and that neither famine nor sword would come to them, nor in the least hurt them. In the Hebrew text it is, "peace of truth" ^F12; that is, true peace, firm and lasting. The Septuagint render it "peace and truth"; see ( Isaiah 39:8 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (tma Mwlv) "pacem veritatis", Montanus, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 14:13 In-Context

11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.

12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ”

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place. ’”

14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.

15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.

Cross References

• 1. 14:13 [ch. 4:10; 6:14]