Jeremiah 5:13

13 The prophets are all windbags. They speak nothing but nonsense.'"

Jeremiah 5:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 5:13

And the prophets shall become wind
Their prophecies shall vanish into air; they shall become of no effect; they shall never be accomplished: and the word is not in them;
not the word of the Lord; he never spoke by them; they speak of themselves; they never were inspired or commissioned by him to say what they do: thus shall it be done unto them; the same evils they say shall befall us shall come upon them; they shall perish by the sword or famine; we have reason to believe that our predictions are as good as theirs, and will be fulfilled: or, "thus let it be done to them" F25; as they have prophesied shall be done to us; and so are an imprecation. The Targum interprets the whole of the false prophets, as if they were the words of the Lord concerning them, which is,

``but the false prophets shall be for nothing, and their false prophecy shall not be confirmed; this revenge shall be taken of them;''
and so Kimchi interprets it of the prophets that prophesied peace to them, and said that the above mentioned should not come upon them; and Jarchi takes the last clause to be the words of the prophet to them that say the above words; namely, that thus it shall be done to them, what the Lord has said.
FOOTNOTES:

F25 (Mhl hvey hk) "sic fiat illis"; so some in Vatablus; "sic eveniat ipsis", Cocceius.

Jeremiah 5:13 In-Context

11 They've betrayed me over and over again, Judah and Israel both." God's Decree.
12 "They've spread lies about God. They've said, 'There's nothing to him. Nothing bad will happen to us, neither famine nor war will come our way.
13 The prophets are all windbags. They speak nothing but nonsense.'"
14 Therefore, this is what God said to me, God-of-the-Angel-Armies: "Because they have talked this way, they are going to eat those words. Watch now! I'm putting my words as fire in your mouth. And the people are a pile of kindling ready to go up in flames.
15 "Attention! I'm bringing a far-off nation against you, O house of Israel." God's Decree. "A solid nation, an ancient nation, A nation that speaks another language. You won't understand a word they say.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.