Jeremiah 23:16

Jeremiah 23:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the Lord.

Context of Jeremiah 23:16

14Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: They commit adultery and walk in lies; They encourage and strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become like Sodom to Me, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts in regard to the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to feed them [the bitterness of] wormwood And make them drink the poisonous water [of gall], For from the [counterfeit] prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness and ungodliness have spread into all the land.’ ” Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the [false] prophets who prophesy to you. They are teaching you worthless things and are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own mind and imagination And not [truth] from the mouth of the Lord. 17They are continually saying to those who despise Me [and My word], ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace” ’; And they say to everyone who walks after the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No evil will come on you.’ 18But who [among them] has stood in the council of the Lord, That he would perceive and hear His word? Who has marked His word [noticing and observing and paying attention to it] and has [actually] heard it?

Jeremiah 23:16 word by word

כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֗וֹת אַֽל־תִּשְׁמְע֞וּ עַל־דִּבְרֵ֤י הַנְּבִאִים֙ הַנִּבְּאִ֣ים לָכֶ֔ם מַהְבִּלִ֥ים הֵ֖מָּה אֶתְכֶ֑ם חֲז֤וֹן לִבָּם֙ יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ לֹ֖א מִפִּ֥י יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• of hostsצָבָאtsâbâ' tsebâ'âh · HostsH6635
• Hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• not unto the wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• that prophesyנָבָאnâbâ' · to prophesyH5012
• unto you: they make you vainהָבַלhâbal · to become vainH1891
• they speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• a visionחָזוֹןchâzôn · visionH2377
• of their own heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• not out of the mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310

Cross-references for Jeremiah 23:16

• Jeremiah 27:9And as for you, do not listen to your [counterfeit] prophets, your diviners, your dreams and dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers, who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
• Jeremiah 29:8For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your [false] prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you; pay no attention and attach no significance to the dreams which they dream or to yours,
• Proverbs 19:27Cease listening, my son, to instruction and discipline And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
• Matthew 7:15“Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
• 2 Corinthians 11:13For such men are counterfeit apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.
• Galatians 1:8But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned to destruction!
• 1 John 4:1Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.
• Jeremiah 2:5Thus says the Lord, “What injustice or unrighteousness did your fathers find in Me, That they have wandered far from Me And [habitually] walked after emptiness and futility and became empty?
• 2 Kings 17:15They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, as well as His warnings that he gave them. And they followed vanity [that is, false gods, idols] and became vain (empty-headed). They followed the [pagan practices of the] nations which surrounded them, although the Lord had commanded that they were not to do as they did.
• Romans 1:21For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened.
• Jeremiah 23:21I did not send [these counterfeit] prophets, Yet they ran; I did not speak to them, Yet they prophesied.
• Jeremiah 14:14Then the Lord said to me, “The [counterfeit] prophets are prophesying lies in My Name. I have neither sent them nor authorized them nor spoken to them. They are prophesying to you made-up visions [pretending to call forth responses from handmade gods], a worthless divination and the deceit of their own mind.
• Ezekiel 13:3Thus says the Lord God, “Woe (judgment is coming) to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit [claiming to have seen things] but have [in fact] seen nothing.
• Ezekiel 22:28Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God’—when the Lord has not spoken.
• Micah 2:11If a man walking in a false spirit [spouting deception] Should lie and say, ‘I will prophesy to you [O Israel] of wine and liquor (greed, sensual pleasure),’ He would be the acceptable spokesman of this people.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 23:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Hearken not unto the words of the prophets - That is, of those who promise you safety, without requiring you to forsake your sins and turn unto the Lord; see Jeremiah 23:17.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16How were the people to know the false prophets from the true? The former bring a message that fills with vain hopes, or “speak a vision” out of their own invention.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-22Verses 9-22 The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised accordingly; then they made others believe so. Those who are…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16The false prophets gave the people false hopes; they were not chosen to speak for the Lord, and their ideas came from their own minds.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. make you vain--They seduce you to vanity, that is, idolatry, which will prove a vain trust to you (Jr 2:5; 2Ki 17:15; Jon 2:8), [Gesenius]. Rather, "they delude you with vain promises of security" (Jr 23:17; compare Psa 62:10) [Maurer]. of their own heart--of their own invention (Jr 23:21; Jr 14:14).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 23:16

• Minister, Christian
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Lord of Hosts
• Adulterer
• Course
• Righteousness
• Send
• Crime; Crimes
• Lie; Lying
• Micaiah
• Prophecy; Prophets
• Revelation

Commentaries on Jeremiah 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings