Jeremiah 23:17

17 They say to those who hate me: 'The Lord says: You will have peace.' They say to all those who are stubborn and do as they please: 'Nothing bad will happen to you.'

Jeremiah 23:17 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:17

They say still unto them that despise me
That despised the word, worship, and ordinances of the Lord; with such mockers and scoffers at religion, such abandoned creatures, they associated themselves; finding that their prophecies and doctrines met with approbation and success among them. The Septuagint version is, "they say to them that put away the word of the Lord"; reject it, and cast it behind their backs; see ( Acts 13:46 ) ; the Lord hath said, ye shall have peace;
all manner of prosperity; that they should dwell in their own land, and not go into captivity, and enjoy the good things of it in peace and prosperity; this they pretended they had from the Lord; which was an aggravation of their sins; not only to tell a lie, but to tell it in the name of the Lord, and in direct opposition to what the true prophets said from the mouth of the Lord, particularly Jeremiah: and they say unto everyone that walketh after the imagination of his
own heart;
which is evil, and that continually, ( Genesis 6:5 ) ; whose course of life is after the lusts of his own wicked heart; and a worse guide than these a man cannot well have: and this is a true character and description of an unregenerate man, who walks after the flesh, and not after the Spirit; after his own carnal heart, and the dictates of it; and not according to the will and word of God: and yet to such, to whom the Lord says, "there is no peace", the false prophets said, no evil shall come upon you;
no evil of punishment for the evil of sin, as the prophets of the Lord had threatened; such as the sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity.

Jeremiah 23:17 In-Context

15 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says about the prophets: "I will make those prophets eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because the prophets of Jerusalem spread wickedness through the whole country."
16 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Don't pay attention to what those prophets are saying to you. They are trying to fool you. They talk about visions their own minds made up, not about visions from me.
17 They say to those who hate me: 'The Lord says: You will have peace.' They say to all those who are stubborn and do as they please: 'Nothing bad will happen to you.'
18 But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels to see or hear the message of the Lord. None of them has paid close attention to his message.
19 Look, the punishment from the Lord will come like a storm. His anger will be like a hurricane. It will come swirling down on the heads of those wicked people
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.