Jeremiah 23:16

16 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to his people: “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the LORD !

Jeremiah 23:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 23:16

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto the words of
the prophets that prophesy unto you
Do not hear them; stop your ears at what they say; give no credit to them. The Targum is,

``do not receive the words of the false prophets that prophesy unto you:''

they make you vain;
they filled their heads with vain and empty things, and their hearts with vain hopes, which deceived them; so the Targum,

``they deceive you;''

they taught them vain things, and made them vain and sinful in their lives and conversations; and therefore were not to be hearkened to: they speak a vision of their own heart, [and] not out of the mouth of
the Lord;
what they imagined they saw was a device of their own hearts, and what was agreeable to them, which must be bad enough; a produce of their own brains; an invention of their own; mere doctrines of men, and not such as come from the mouth of God, are his revealed will, and according to his word; and therefore not to be hearkened to; for nothing is to be heard and received, in matters of religion, but what is according to the revelation of God's will in his word; see ( Isaiah 8:20 ) . The Targum is,

``they speak to you the wickedness of their hearts, and not by the word of the Lord.''

Jeremiah 23:16 In-Context

14 But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse! They commit adultery and love dishonesty. They encourage those who are doing evil so that no one turns away from their sins. These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.”

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. For it is because of Jerusalem’s prophets that wickedness has filled this land.”

16 This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to his people: “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the LORD !

17 They keep saying to those who despise my word, ‘Don’t worry! The LORD says you will have peace!’ And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’

18 “Have any of these prophets been in the LORD ’s presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen?