Jeremiah 23:33

Jeremiah 23:33 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’
• English Standard Version (ESV)"When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, 'What is the burden of the Lord?' you shall say to them, 'You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)“So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ you shall then say to them, ‘What oracle?’ I will even forsake you,” says the Lord.

Context of Jeremiah 23:33

31Hear this, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their [own deceitful] tongues and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ 32Hear this, I am against those who have prophesied false and made-up dreams,” says the Lord, “and have told them and have made My people err and go astray by their lies and by their reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them nor do they benefit and enhance [the life of] these people in the slightest way,” says the Lord. “Now when this people or a prophet or a priest asks you [in jest], ‘What is the oracle of the Lord [the burden to be lifted up and carried]?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘What oracle [besides the one that declares you people to be the burden]!’ The Lord says, ‘I will unburden Myself and I will abandon you.’ 34And as for the prophet, the priest, or [any of] the people, whoever says, ‘The oracle of the Lord,’ [as if he knows God’s will], I will punish that man and his household. 35[For the future, in speaking of the words of the Lord] thus each of you shall say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’

Jeremiah 23:33 word by word

וְכִי־יִשְׁאָלְךָ֩ הָעָ֨ם הַזֶּ֜ה אֽוֹ־הַנָּבִ֤יא אֽוֹ־כֹהֵן֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר מַה־מַשָּׂ֖א יְהוָ֑ה וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ אֲלֵיהֶם֙ אֶת־מַה־מַשָּׂ֔א וְנָטַשְׁתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when this peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• or the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• or a priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• shall askשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
• thee, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the burdenמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · oracleH4853
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• I will even forsakeנָטַשׁnâţash · to leaveH5203
• you, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002

Cross-references for Jeremiah 23:33

• Jeremiah 17:15Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the Lord [that is, the disaster that you prophesied]? Let it come now!”
• Jeremiah 20:7[Jeremiah said,] O Lord, You have persuaded me and I was deceived; You are stronger than I and You have prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me.
• Isaiah 13:1The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw [in a prophetic vision]:
• Isaiah 14:28In the year that King Ahaz [of Judah] died this [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) came:
• Nahum 1:1The oracle (a burdensome message—a pronouncement from God) concerning Nineveh [the capital city of Assyria]. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh [which he saw in spirit and prophesied].
• Habakkuk 1:1The oracle (a burdensome message—a pronouncement from God) which Habakkuk the prophet saw.
• Malachi 1:1The oracle (burdensome message) of the word of the Lord to Israel through [My messenger] Malachi.
• Jeremiah 23:39Therefore behold, I, even I, will assuredly forget you and send you away from My presence, you and the city (Jerusalem) which I gave to you and to your fathers.
• Jeremiah 12:7“I have abandoned My house, I have given up My [precious] inheritance (Judah); I have given the [dearly] beloved of My life Into the hands of her enemies.
• Deuteronomy 31:17Then My anger will be kindled and burn against them in that day, and I will abandon (turn away from) them and hide My face from them. They will be devoured, and many evils and troubles will come on them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come on us?’
• Deuteronomy 32:19“The Lord saw it, and rejected them, Out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.
• 2 Chronicles 15:2and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, as your soul’s first necessity], He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will abandon (turn away from) you.
• Psalms 78:59When God heard this, He was filled with [righteous] wrath; And utterly rejected Israel, [greatly hating her ways],
• Hosea 9:12Even though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them until not one is left. Indeed, woe (judgment is coming) to them when I look away and withdraw [My blessing] from them!

Commentaries on Jeremiah 23:33

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33What is the burden of the Lord? - The word משא massa, here used, signifies burden, oracle, prophetic discourse; and is used by almost every prophet. But the persons in the text appear to have been mockers. "Where is this burden of the Lord?" - "What is the burden now?" To this insolent question the prophet answers in the following verses. I will ever forsake you - I will punish the prophet, the priest and the people, that speak thus, Jeremiah 23:34. Here…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 33Burden - Here a prophecy, either (1) as being something weighty: or (2) a something said aloud. Isaiah brought the word into general use: Jeremiah never used it, though his predictions were all of impending evil. The false prophets, however, applied it in derision to Jeremiah‘s prophecies, playing upon its double sense, and so turning solemn realities into mockery (see Jeremiah 23:34). What burden? - Or, according to another reading, Ye are the burden. I…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 33-40Verses 33-40 Those are miserable indeed who are forsaken and forgotten of God; and men's jesting at God's judgments will not baffle them. God had taken Israel to be a people near to him, but they shall now be cast out of his presence. It is a mark of great and daring impiety for men to jest with the words of God. Every idle and profane word will add to the sinner's burden in the day of judgment, when everlasting shame will be his portion.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 33The false prophets might mock Jeremiah by asking for the latest message from the Lord. What burden?: This is a wordplay. People often called a prophetic message "a burden." The false prophets were a heavy load that the Lord would discard and abandon.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3333. What is the burden--play on the double sense of the Hebrew: an oracle and a burden. They scoffingly ask, Has he got any new burden (burdensome oracle: for all his prophecies are disasters) to announce (Mal 1:1)? Jeremiah indignantly repeats their own question, Do you ask, What burden? This, then, it is, "I will forsake you." My word is burdensome in your eyes, and you long to be rid if it. You shall get your wish. There will be no more prophecy: I…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 23:33

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Adulterer
• Course
• Righteousness
• Send
• Burden
• Crime; Crimes
• Micaiah
• Text of the Old Testament
• Uriah; Uruah

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