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Jeremiah 23:23–29

23 “Am I only a God nearby,z

declares the Lord,

“and not a God far away?

24 Who can hidea in secret places

so that I cannot see them?”

declares the Lord.

“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”b

declares the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy liesc in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!d I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusionse of their own minds?f 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forgetg my name, just as their ancestors forgoth my name through Baal worship.i 28 Let the prophet who has a dreamj recount the dream, but let the one who has my wordk speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”l declares the Lord, “and like a hammerm that breaks a rock in pieces?

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Jeremiah 23:23–29 — English Standard Version (ESV)

23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — New Living Translation (NLT)

23 Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord.

“No, I am far away at the same time.

24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place?

Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”

says the Lord.

25 “I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name. 26 How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. 27 By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.

28 “Let these false prophets tell their dreams,

but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word.

There is a difference between straw and grain!

29 Does not my word burn like fire?”

says the Lord.

“Is it not like a mighty hammer

that smashes a rock to pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

23 Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,

“And not a God afar off?

24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places,

So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;

“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.

28 “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;

And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.

What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.

29 Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord,

“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — New Century Version (NCV)

23 “I am a God who is near,” says the Lord.

“I am also a God who is far away.”

24 “No one can hide

where I cannot see him,” says the Lord.

“I fill all of heaven and earth,” says the Lord.

25 “I have heard the prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the minds of these lying prophets? They prophesy from their own wishful thinking. 27 They are trying to make the people of Judah forget me by telling each other these dreams. In the same way, their ancestors forgot me and worshiped Baal. 28 Is straw the same thing as wheat?” says the Lord. “If a prophet wants to tell about his dreams, let him! But let the person who hears my message speak it truthfully! 29 Isn’t my message like a fire?” says the Lord. “Isn’t it like a hammer that smashes a rock?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — American Standard Version (ASV)

23 Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart? 27 that think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgat my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? saith Jehovah. 29 Is not my word like fire? saith Jehovah; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

23 Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? saith Jehovah. 25 I have heard what the prophets say, who prophesy falsehood in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, and who are prophets of the deceit of their own heart? 27 who think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour: as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell the dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith Jehovah. 29 Is not my word like a fire, saith Jehovah; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

23 “I am a God who is near. 

I am also a God who is far away,” declares the Lord

24 “No one can hide so that I can’t see him,” declares the Lord

“I fill heaven and earth!” declares the Lord

25 “I’ve heard the prophets who speak lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will these prophets continue to lie and deceive? 27 They tell each other the dreams they had, because they want to make my people forget my name, as their ancestors forgot my name because of Baal. 28 The prophet who has a dream should tell his dream. However, the person who has my word should honestly speak my word. What does grain have to do with straw?” asks the Lord. 29 “Isn’t my word like fire or like a hammer that shatters a rock?” asks the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

23 “Am I a God who is only near” —this is the Lord’s declaration—“and not a God who is far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?” —the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” —the Lord’s declaration.

25 “I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? 27 Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship. 28 The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 29 “Is not My word like fire”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and like a hammer that pulverizes rock?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

23 Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

23 Am I a God from near,” declares Yahweh,

“and not a God from far?

24 Or can a person hide himself in secret places

and I cannot see him?” declares Yahweh.

Do I not fill up the heaven and the earth?” declares Yahweh.

25 “I have heard what the prophets who prophesy lies have said in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed! I have dreamed!’ 26 How long will this be in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceitfulness of their hearts, 27 who plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell each one to his neighbor, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal? 28 The prophet who has with him a dream, let him tell the dream. But the prophet who has my word with him, let him speak my word faithfully. What is straw compared to wheat?” declares Yahweh. 29 Is not my word like fire?” declares Yahweh, “and like a blacksmith’s hammer that breaks a rock into pieces?

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

23 “Am I only a God who is nearby?”

announces the Lord.

“Am I not a God who is also far away?

24 Can anyone hide in secret places

so that I can’t see him?”

announces the Lord.

“Don’t I fill heaven and earth?”

announces the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets are saying. They prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! The Lord has given me a dream!’ 26 How long will that continue in the hearts of those prophets who tell lies? They try to get others to believe their own mistaken ideas. 27 They tell one another their dreams. They think that will make my people forget my name. In the same way, their people of long ago forgot my name when they worshiped Baal.

28 “Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream. But let the one who has my message speak it faithfully. Your prophets have given you straw to eat instead of grain,” announces the Lord.

29 “My message is like fire,” announces the Lord. “It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.

Jeremiah 23:23–29 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

23 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,

“And not a God far off?

24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places

So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.

“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’

26 How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

27 who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal?

28 “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord.

29 “Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?


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