Jeremiah 23:11

11 “Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple,” says the LORD .

Jeremiah 23:11 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:11

For both prophet and priest are profane
Being guilty of the afore mentioned sins. The Targum is,

``the scribe and the priest;''

and such were the scribes and priests in the time of our Lord; they played "the hypocrite" ^F17, as some render the word here; and are often charged with the sin of hypocrisy, and called hypocrites, ( Matthew 22:18 ) ( Matthew 23:13-15 Matthew 23:23 Matthew 23:25 Matthew 23:27 Matthew 23:29 ) ; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord;
where they officiated in holy things, or should have done so; where the one should have instructed the people, and the other offered sacrifices for them, according to the will of God; there they committed wickedness, which was an aggravation of their sin, as was the case of Eli's sons, ( 1 Samuel 2:22-24 ) ; perhaps the same sin was committed by these men; or idolatry may be meant; setting up images, and building altars for them in the house of God; see ( Jeremiah 7:30 ) ; or carrying on traffic and merchandise, whereby the temple was made a house of merchandise, as it was in the times of Christ, ( John 2:14-16 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (wpnx) "hypocritae fuerunt", Vatablus, Montanus; "hypocritas agunt", Piscator; "hypocrisin exercent", Schmidt, Cocceius.

Jeremiah 23:11 In-Context

9 My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and my bones tremble. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the LORD has spoken against them.

10 For the land is full of adultery, and it lies under a curse. The land itself is in mourning— its wilderness pastures are dried up. For they all do evil and abuse what power they have.

11 “Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple,” says the LORD .

12 “Therefore, the paths they take will become slippery. They will be chased through the dark, and there they will fall. For I will bring disaster upon them at the time fixed for their punishment. I, the LORD, have spoken!

13 “I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil, for they prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people of Israel into sin.