Logos Bible Study

Jeremiah 23:16–17

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23:16The Lord who rules over all52 says to the people of Jerusalem:53

“Do not listen to what

those prophets are saying to you.

They are filling you with false hopes.

They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,

not something the Lord has given them to say.54

23:17They continually say55 to those who reject what the Lord has said,56

‘Things will go well for you!’57

They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,

‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’

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Footnotes

  1. 52 Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on for explanation of this title.
  2. 53 The words “to the people of Jerusalem” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation to reflect the masculine plural form of the imperative and the second masculine plural form of the pronoun. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  3. 54 Heb “They tell of a vision of their own heart [= mind] not from the mouth of the Lord.”
  4. 55 The translation reflects an emphatic construction where the infinitive absolute follows a participle (cf. §113.r).
  5. 56 The translation follows the Greek version. The Hebrew text reads, “who reject me, ‘The Lord has spoken, “Things …” ’ ” The Greek version is to be preferred here because of (1) the parallelism of the lines “reject what the Lord has said” // “follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts;” (2) the preceding context which speaks of “visions of their own imaginations not of what the Lord has given them;” (3) the following context which denies that they have ever had access to the Lord’s secrets; (4) the general contexts earlier regarding false prophecy where rejection of the Lord’s word is in view (6:14 [see there v. 10]; 8:11 [see there v. 9]); (5) the meter of the poetic lines (the Hebrew meter is 3/5/4/3; the meter presupposed by the translation is 5/3/4/3 with the 3’s being their words). The difference is one of vocalization of the same consonants. The vocalization of the is יְהוָה מְנַאֲצַי דִּבֶּר [ména’atsay dibber yéhvah]; the Hebrew behind the Greek would be vocalized as מְנַאֲצֵי דְּבַר יְהוָה (ména’atsey dévar yéhvah).
  6. 57 Heb “You will have peace.” But see the note on . See also 6:14 and 8:11.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;

they fill you with false hopes.

They speak visions from their own minds,

not from the mouth of the Lord.

They keep saying to those who despise me,

‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’

And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts

they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

This is what the Lord of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord’s mouth. They keep on saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord has spoken: You will have peace.’ They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’ ”

NLTNew Living Translation

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!

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!’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Thus says Yahweh of hosts:

“You must not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.

They are deluding you with visions of their mind,

They do not speak from the mouth of Yahweh.

They are continually saying to those who disregard the word of Yahweh,

‘Peace it will be to you,’

and to each one who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they say,

‘Calamity will not come upon you.’

KJV 1900King James Version

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.