New English Translation
Jeremiah 23:12
12So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery. They will stumble and fall headlong. For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them.” The Lord affirms it!
Jeremiah 23:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)“Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Therefore their way shall be to them Like slippery ways; In the darkness they shall be driven on And fall in them; For I will bring disaster on them, The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
Context of Jeremiah 23:12
10For the land is full of people unfaithful to him. They live wicked lives and they misuse their power. So the land is dried up because it is under his curse. The pastures in the wilderness are withered. 11Moreover, the Lord says, “Both the prophets and priests are godless. I have even found them doing evil in my temple! So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery. They will stumble and fall headlong. For I will bring disaster on them. A day of reckoning is coming for them.” The Lord affirms it! 13The Lord says, “I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something that was disgusting. They prophesied in the name of the god Baal and led my people Israel astray. 14But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.
Read all of Jeremiah 23Jeremiah 23:12 word by word
לָכֵן֩ יִֽהְיֶ֨ה דַרְכָּ֜ם לָהֶ֗ם כַּחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת֙ בָּֽאֲפֵלָ֔ה יִדַּ֖חוּ וְנָ֣פְלוּ בָ֑הּ כִּֽי־אָבִ֨יא עֲלֵיהֶ֥ם רָעָ֛ה שְׁנַ֥ת פְּקֻדָּתָ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Wherefore their wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
- shall be unto them as slipperyחֲלַקְלַקּוֹתchălaqlaqqâh · smoothnessH2519
- in the darknessאֲפֵלָה'ăphêlâh · darknessH653
- they shall be driven onדָּחַחdâchâh dâchach · to thrustH1760
- and fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- therein: for I will bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
- the yearשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- of their visitationפְּקֻדָּהpeqûddâh · punishmentH6486
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 23:12
- Jeremiah 13:16Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. Do it before you stumble into distress like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for into the darkness and gloom of exile.
- Psalms 35:6May their path be dark and slippery, as the Lord’s angel chases them!
- Psalms 73:18Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin.
- Proverbs 4:19The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; they do not know what causes them to stumble.
- Job 18:18He is driven from light into darkness and is banished from the world.
- Isaiah 8:22When one looks out over the land, he sees distress and darkness, gloom and anxiety, darkness and people forced from the land.
- John 12:35Jesus replied, “The light is with you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
- 1 John 2:11But the one who hates his fellow Christian is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
- Jude 1:13wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved.
- Jeremiah 11:23Not one of them will survive. I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. A day of reckoning is coming for them.”
- Jeremiah 48:44Anyone who flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in a trap. For the time is coming when I will punish the people of Moab. I, the Lord, affirm it!
- Jeremiah 50:27Kill all her soldiers! Let them be slaughtered! They are doomed, for their day of reckoning has come, the time for them to be punished.”
- Exodus 32:34So now go, lead the people to the place I have spoken to you about. See, my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”
- Micah 7:4The best of them is like a thorn; the most godly among them are more dangerous than a row of thorn bushes. The day you try to avoid by posting watchmen – your appointed time of punishment – is on the way, and then you will experience confusion.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 23:12
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Every word denotes the certainty of their fall. “Their path is like slippery places in darkness:” and on this path “they are pushed with violence.” External circumstances assist in urging on to ruin those who choose the path of vice.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. 12Because of their wickedness, these priests and prophets would have unstable lives; danger would fill every moment.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. slippery ways in ... darkness--Their "way" is their false doctrine which proves fatal to them (Jr 13:16; Psa 35:6; Pr 4:19). I will bring evil ... visitation--still more calamities than those already inflicted. See on Jr 11:23; "visitation," namely, in wrath.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 23:12
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
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