King James Version
Jeremiah 23:33
33And 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.
Jeremiah 23:33 in other versions
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Suppose one of the people or one of the prophets or priests asks you, ‘What prophecy has the Lord burdened you with now?’ You must reply, ‘You are the burden! The Lord says he will abandon you!’
Context of Jeremiah 23:33
31Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. 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. 34And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house. 35Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?
Read all of Jeremiah 23Jeremiah 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
- 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 say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.
- Jeremiah 20:7O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
- Isaiah 13:1The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
- Isaiah 14:28In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
- Nahum 1:1The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
- Habakkuk 1:1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
- Malachi 1:1The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
- Jeremiah 23:39Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:
- Jeremiah 12:7I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
- Deuteronomy 31:17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
- Deuteronomy 32:19And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
- Psalms 78:59When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
- Hosea 9:12Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart 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
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