33 (A)“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,[a] and (B)I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ (C)I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and (D)you pervert the words of (E)the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up[b] and (F)cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 (G)And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and (H)perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:33 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew What burden?
  2. Jeremiah 23:39 Or surely forget you

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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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. Jeremiah 23:33 The Heb. lacks Jeremiah
  3. Jeremiah 23:33 I.e. the prophet Jeremiah; MT is masculine sing.
  4. Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden
  5. Jeremiah 23:33 Or oracle; MT reads What oracle?
  6. Jeremiah 23:34 The Heb. lacks I have
  7. Jeremiah 23:35 Lit. each to his neighbor and each to his brother
  8. Jeremiah 23:36 Or remember
  9. Jeremiah 23:36 Lit. for the person of his word
  10. Jeremiah 23:38 The Heb. lacks of the Lord
  11. Jeremiah 23:38 Or Oracle
  12. Jeremiah 23:40 The Heb. lacks ever