New English Translation
Jeremiah 23:33
33The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, when one of these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What burdensome message do you have from the Lord?’ Tell them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you away. I, the Lord, affirm it!
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
31I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, ‘The Lord declares….’ 32I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. I, the Lord, affirm it!” The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, when one of these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What burdensome message do you have from the Lord?’ Tell them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you away. I, the Lord, affirm it! 34I will punish any prophet, priest, or other person who says “The Lord’s message is burdensome.” I will punish both that person and his whole family.’” 35So I, Jeremiah, tell you, “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’
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
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 17:15Listen to what they are saying to me. They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with? Come on! Let’s see them happen!”
- Jeremiah 20:7Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.
- Isaiah 13:1This is a message about Babylon that God revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz:
- Isaiah 14:28In the year King Ahaz died, this message was revealed:
- Nahum 1:1The oracle against Nineveh; the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
- Habakkuk 1:1The following is the message which God revealed to Habakkuk the prophet:
- Malachi 1:1What follows is divine revelation. The word of the Lord came to Israel through Malachi:
- Jeremiah 23:39So I will carry you far off and throw you away. I will send both you and the city I gave to you and to your ancestors out of my sight.
- Jeremiah 12:7“I will abandon my nation. I will forsake the people I call my own. I will turn my beloved people over to the power of their enemies.
- Deuteronomy 31:17At that time my anger will erupt against them and I will abandon them and hide my face from them until they are devoured. Many disasters and distresses will overcome them so that they will say at that time, ‘Have not these disasters overcome us because our God is not among us?’
- Deuteronomy 32:19But the Lord took note and despised them because his sons and daughters enraged him.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2He met Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you.
- Psalms 78:59God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel.
- Hosea 9:12Even if they raise their children, I will take away every last one of them. Woe to them! For I will turn away 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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries