New King James Version
Jeremiah 23:33
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.
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 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,” 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. “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. 34“And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ I will even punish that man and his house. 35Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ and, ‘What has 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
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 17:15Indeed they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now!”
- Jeremiah 20:7O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me.
- Isaiah 13:1The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
- Isaiah 14:28This is the burden which came in the year that King Ahaz died.
- Nahum 1:1The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
- Habakkuk 1:1The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.
- 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 forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence.
- Jeremiah 12:7“I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
- Deuteronomy 31:17Then My anger shall be aroused 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, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’
- Deuteronomy 32:19“And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
- Psalms 78:59When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel,
- Hosea 9:12Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them to the last man. Yes, woe 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries