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

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. 15So then I, the Lord who rules over all, have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason that ungodliness has spread throughout the land.’” The Lord who rules over all says to the people of Jerusalem: “Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They are reporting visions of their own imaginations, not something the Lord has given them to say. 17They continually say to those who reject what the Lord has said, ‘Things will go well for you!’ They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’ 18Yet which of them has ever stood in the Lord’s inner circle so they could see and hear what he has to say? Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?

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 27:9So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, by dreams, by consulting the dead, or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be subject to the king of Babylon.’
• Jeremiah 29:8“For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.
• Proverbs 19:27If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will stray from the words of knowledge.
• Matthew 7:15“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.
• 2 Corinthians 11:13For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
• Galatians 1:8But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell!
• 1 John 4:1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
• Jeremiah 2:5This is what the Lord says: “What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.
• 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.
• Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
• Jeremiah 23:21I did not send those prophets. Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway.
• Jeremiah 14:14Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! I did not send them. I did not commission them. I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, and the delusions of their own mind.
• Ezekiel 13:3This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing!
• Ezekiel 22:28Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
• Micah 2:11If a lying windbag should come and say, ‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’ he would be just the right preacher for these 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