King James Version
Jeremiah 23:23
23Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?
Jeremiah 23:23 in other versions
- New International Version (NIV)“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time.
Context of Jeremiah 23:23
21I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24Can 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. 25I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
Read all of Jeremiah 23Jeremiah 23:23 word by word
הַאֱלֹהֵ֧י מִקָּרֹ֛ב אָ֖נִי נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה וְלֹ֥א אֱלֹהֵ֖י מֵרָחֹֽק׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Jeremiah 23:23
- 1 Kings 20:23And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
- Psalms 113:5Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high,
- Psalms 139:1O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
- Ezekiel 20:32And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
- Jonah 1:3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 23:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Am I a God at hand, - and not a God afar off? - You act as if you thought I could not see you! Am I not omnipresent? Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? Jeremiah 23:24.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23At hand - Or, near. An appeal to the omnipotence of God in demonstration of the wickedness of the prophets. His power is not limited, so that He can notice only things close to Him, but is universal.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-32Verses 23-32 Men cannot be hidden from God's all-seeing eye. Will they never see what judgments they prepare for themselves? Let them consider what a vast difference there is between these prophecies and those delivered by the true prophets of the Lord. Let them not call their foolish dreams Divine oracles. The promises of peace these prophets make are no more to be compared to God's promises than chaff to wheat. The unhumbled heart of man is like a rock…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-24The Lord showed how he differs from Canaanite nature gods. Pagan gods were part of nature and nearby. The Lord is near because he created nature, but he is also distinct from it. His essence is different from nature, yet he is present in all the heavens and earth.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Let not the false prophets fancy that their devices (Jr 23:25) are unknown to Me. Are ye so ignorant as to suppose that I can only see things near Me, namely, things in heaven, and not earthly things as being too remote?Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 23:23
In the dictionaries
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
Commentaries