New King James Version
Jeremiah 23:31
31Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’
Jeremiah 23:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
- New International Version (NIV)Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, 'declares the Lord.'
- New Living Translation (NLT)I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, ‘This prophecy is from the Lord!’
Context of Jeremiah 23:31
29“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ 32Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the Lord. 33“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.
Read all of Jeremiah 23Jeremiah 23:31 word by word
הִנְנִ֥י עַל־הַנְּבִיאִ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה הַלֹּקְחִ֣ים לְשׁוֹנָ֔ם וַֽיִּנְאֲמ֖וּ נְאֻֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 23:31
- Isaiah 30:10Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
- Micah 2:11If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people.
- Jeremiah 23:17They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace” ’; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
- 2 Chronicles 18:5Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
Commentaries on Jeremiah 23:31
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31That use their tongues - literally, that take their tongues. Their second characteristic. They have no message from God, but they take their tongues, their only implement, and say, He saith, using the solemn formula by which Yahweh affirms the truth of His words. Solemn asseverations seemed to give reality to their emptiness.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. 30-32The Lord criticized and opposed the prophets who lied in his name.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3131. use--rather, "take" their tongue: a second class (compare Jr 23:30) require, in order to bring forth a revelation, nothing more than their tongues, wherewith they say, He (Jehovah) saith: they bungle in the very formula instead of the usual "Jehovah saith," being only able to say "(He) saith."Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 23:31
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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries