Jeremiah 23:33-40
New Living Translation
False Prophecies and False Prophets
33 “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![a] The Lord says he will abandon you!’
34 “If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, ‘I have a prophecy from the Lord,’ I will punish that person along with his entire family. 35 You should keep asking each other, ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ 36 But stop using this phrase, ‘prophecy from the Lord.’ For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
37 “This is what you should say to the prophets: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ 38 But suppose they respond, ‘This is a prophecy from the Lord!’ Then you should say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have used this phrase, “prophecy from the Lord,” even though I warned you not to use it, 39 I will forget you completely.[b] I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”
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Jeremiah 23:33-40
International Standard Version
The Oracle-Burden[a] of the Lord
33 “Jeremiah,[b] when these people, the prophet, or a priest ask you,[c] ‘What is the oracle[d] of the Lord?’ say to them, ‘You are the burden,[e] and I’ll cast you out,’” declares the Lord. 34 “As for the prophet, the priest, or the people who say, ‘I have[f] an oracle of the Lord,’ I’ll judge that person and his household. 35 This is what you should say to one another and among yourselves,[g] ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord said?’ 36 But you are to no longer mention[h] the oracle of the Lord, because the oracle is only for the person to whom the Lord gives his message,[i] and you have overturned the words of the living God, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, our God. 37 This is what you should say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord said?’ 38 Since you’re saying, ‘We have an oracle of the Lord,’[j] therefore this is what the Lord says: He will answer your message with this message, ‘Burden[k] of the Lord,’ and I’ll send you away with these words: ‘Don’t say, “Oracle of the Lord.”’ 39 Therefore I’ll surely forget you and cast you and the city I gave you and your ancestors out of my presence. 40 I’ll bring on you everlasting reproach and everlasting humiliation that won’t ever[l] be forgotten.”
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- Jeremiah 23:33 An oracle is a message that claims to be a revelation from the Lord. The same Heb. word means both oracle and burden, and this entire section invokes a word play between the two meanings of this Heb. word.
- Jeremiah 23:33 The Heb. lacks Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 23:33 I.e. the prophet Jeremiah; MT is masculine sing.
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or oracle; MT reads What oracle?
- Jeremiah 23:34 The Heb. lacks I have
- Jeremiah 23:35 Lit. each to his neighbor and each to his brother
- Jeremiah 23:36 Or remember
- Jeremiah 23:36 Lit. for the person of his word
- Jeremiah 23:38 The Heb. lacks of the Lord
- Jeremiah 23:38 Or Oracle
- Jeremiah 23:40 The Heb. lacks ever
Jeremiah 23:33-40
New International Version
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message(A) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake(B) you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message(C) from the Lord,’ I will punish(D) them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’(E) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort(F) the words of the living God,(G) the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast(H) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace(I)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
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