King James Version
Jeremiah 23
40 verses with commentary
The Righteous Branch
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
This oracle opens with a devastating indictment against Judah's 'pastors' (<em>ro'im</em>, רֹעִים)—literally 'shepherds,' referring to the nation's political and spiritual leaders. They have not merely failed to feed the flock but actively destroyed and scattered it. The Hebrew verbs emphasize willful, destructive action. These leaders pursued their own interests, oppressed the people, and led the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXIII.
(1) **Woe be unto the pastors . . .**—The message that follows in Jeremiah 23:1-8 comes as a natural sequel to that of Jeremiah 22. The unfaithful shepherds who had been there denounced are contrasted with those, more faithful to their trust, whom Jehovah will raise up. As before, in Jeremiah 2:8 and elsewhere, we have to remember that the “pastors” are (like the “shepherds of the people” i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4. (Is 41:10, 14).
**shame of thy youth--**Israel's unfaithfulness as wife of Jehovah, almost from her earliest history.
**reproach of widowhood--**Israel's punishment in her consequent dismissal from God and barrenness of spiritual children in Babylon and her present dispersion (Is 54:1; Is 49:21; Jr 3:24, 25; 31:19; Ho 2:2-5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
God directly addresses the shepherds, contrasting their actions with His own. 'Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them'—three accusations emphasizing their negligence and destructive leadership. The phrase 'my flock' asserts divine ownership; these leaders were stewards, not owners. Their failure to 'visit' (care for) the flock contrasts sharply with God's promi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Ye have scattered my flock.**—The charge was true literally as well as spiritually. The dispersion of the people in Egypt, Assyria, and Chaldæa was the result of the neglect, the tyranny, the feebleness of their rulers. They had been led, not as the Eastern shepherd leads (John 10:4-5), but “driven”—not to the fold, but “away” into far lands.
**Have not visited.**—*i.e., *cared for and regar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. (Is 62:5; Jr 3:14). That God was Israel's "Maker," both as individuals and as the theocratic kingdom, is the pledge of assurance that He will be her Redeemer (Is 43:1-3). Hebrew, "makers ... husbands"; plural for singular, to denote excellency.
**of Israel ... whole earth--**Not until He manifests Himself as God of Israel shall He appear as God of the whole earth (Psa 102:13, 15, 16; Zec 14:5...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
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KJV Study Commentary
After pronouncing judgment on the false shepherds, God declares <em>He Himself</em> will shepherd His people. The emphatic 'I will gather' contrasts with the shepherds who scattered. This introduces the remnant theology so crucial to biblical eschatology—though judgment decimates the nation, God preserves a remnant through whom He fulfills His covenant promises. This remnant will be gathered 'out ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **To their folds.**—Better, *habitations, *or *pastures. *There was hope, as in Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 6:13, for the “remnant” of the people, though the sentence on their rulers, as such, was final and irreversible.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. called--**that is, recalled: the prophetic past for the future.
**forsaken--**that had been forsaken.
**when thou--**or, "when she was rejected"; one who had been a wife of youth (Eze 16:8, 22, 60; Jr 2:2) at the time when (thou, or) she was rejected for infidelity [Maurer]. "A wife of youth but afterwards rejected" [Lowth].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
God promises to replace the unfaithful shepherds with faithful ones who will actually 'feed them'—the fundamental responsibility of a shepherd. These new shepherds will eliminate the people's fear and ensure none are lacking. This promise operates on multiple levels: immediate (leaders after the exile like Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah), prophetic (the Messiah and His apostles), and eschatologica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **I will set up shepherds . . .**—The words imply, in one sense, a return to the theocracy, the breaking off the hereditary succession of the house of David, and the giving of power to those who, like Ezra and Nehemiah, and, later on in history, the Maccabees, were called to rule because they had the capacity for ruling well. The plural is noticeable, as in Jeremiah 3:15, as not limiting the p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. small moment--**as compared with Israel's coming long prosperity (Is 26:20; 60:10). So the spiritual Israel (Psa 30:5; 2Co 4:17).
**gather thee--**to Myself from thy dispersions.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse contains one of the Old Testament's clearest Messianic prophecies. The 'righteous Branch' (<em>tsemach tsaddiq</em>, צֶמַח צַדִּיק) refers to a descendant from David's line who will perfectly fulfill the kingly calling that Judah's recent rulers had catastrophically failed. The Branch imagery appears elsewhere in Isaiah (4:2; 11:1), Jeremiah (33:15), and Zechariah (3:8; 6:12), always po...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Behold, the days come.**—The words point to an undefined, far-off future, following on the provisional order implied in Jeremiah 23:4, when the kingdom should once more rest in one of the house of David.
**A righteous Branch.**—The idea is the same, though the word is different (here *Zemach, *and there *Netzer*)*, *as in Isaiah 11:1. In both cases, however, the word means a “sprout” or “sci...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. In a little wrath--**rather, "In the overflowing of wrath"; as Pr 27:4, Margin, [Gesenius]. The wrath, though but "for a moment," was overflowing while it lasted.
**hid ... face--**(Is 8:17; Psa 30:7).
**everlasting--**in contrast to "for a moment."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. THE LORD: Heb. Jehovahtsidkenu
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse reveals the purpose and effects of the Righteous Branch's reign. First, 'Judah shall be saved'—the Hebrew <em>yiwasha</em> (יִוָּשֵׁעַ) means delivered, rescued, or saved, the same root from which 'Jesus' (Yeshua) derives. This is more than political deliverance; it is comprehensive salvation from sin, judgment, and alienation from God. Second, 'Israel shall dwell safely'—not merely phy...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely.**—The true King shall reign over a re-united people. The Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom, as well as the two of the Southern, should find in Him deliverance and peace.
**Whereby he shall be called.**—Literally, *whereby one shall call him, *the indefinite, almost impersonal active having the force of the English passive.
**The Lord our ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. I am about to do the same in this instance as in Noah's flood. As I swore then that it should not return (Ge 8:21; 9:11), and I kept that promise, so I swear now to My people, and will perform My promise, that there shall be no return of the deluge of My wrath upon them. Lowth, on insufficient authority, reads (the same will I do now as), "in the days of Noah."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
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KJV Study Commentary
Jeremiah prophesies that a future deliverance will be so significant it will eclipse even the Exodus in Israel's national memory and worship. The Exodus was the foundational event of Israel's identity—it demonstrated God's power, established His covenant relationship with them, and became the paradigm for understanding salvation. Yet Jeremiah announces a coming deliverance that will supersede it a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **The days come, saith the Lord.**—See Notes on Jeremiah 16:14-15, of which the words are almost verbally a reproduction. There, however, stress is laid chiefly on the fact of the exile, here on that of the restoration. The LXX. version omits them here, but inserts them, where they are obviously out of place, at the end of the chapter. It was fitting that they should be repeated here, as conne...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. (Is 51:6; Psa 89:33, 34; Ro 11:29).
**covenant of my peace--**(2Sa 23:5). The covenant whereby I have made thee at peace with Me.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse completes the thought from verse 7, specifying what the new oath formula will be. Instead of swearing 'As the LORD liveth that brought up Israel from Egypt,' God's people will swear 'As the LORD liveth who brought up the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them.' The 'north country' refers primarily to Babylon but symbolicall...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. not comforted--**by anyone; none gave her help or comfort.
**lay ... with fair colours--**rather, "lay ... in cement of vermilion" [Lowth]. The Hebrew for "fair colors" means stibium, the paint with which Eastern women painted their eyelids and eyelashes (2Ki 9:30). The very cement shall be of the most beautiful color (Re 21:18-21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Lying Prophets
Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets</strong>—Jeremiah's visceral response to false prophets uses <em>shabar</em> (שָׁבַר), meaning shattered, crushed, or broken into pieces. This isn't mere sadness but profound spiritual anguish. <strong>All my bones shake</strong> employs <em>rahash</em> (רָחַשׁ), meaning to quake or tremble, the same word used for earthquakes. <strong>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Mine heart within me is broken . . .**—The abrupt transition shows that we are entering on an entirely new section. In the Hebrew order and punctuation of the words this is shown still more clearly—*Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me*—the first words being the superscription and title of what follows. The four clauses describe the varied phenomena of horror and amazement, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. windows--**rather, "battlements"; literally, "suns"; applied to battlements from their radiated appearance.
**agates--**rather, "rubies."
**carbuncles--**literally, "sparkling gems"; the carbuncle when held to the sun becomes like a burning coal.
**all thy borders--**rather, "thy whole circuit," consisting of precious stones. The glory of the Church on earth, when the Hebrew Church, ac...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. swearing: or, cursing course: or, violence
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the land is full of adulterers</strong>—<em>na'aph</em> (נָאַף) refers both to literal sexual immorality and spiritual adultery (covenant unfaithfulness). Jeremiah likely means both: the prophets' moral corruption (23:14) reflected and enabled widespread covenant breaking. <strong>Because of swearing the land mourneth</strong>—<em>alah</em> (אָלָה) means curse or oath-breaking, not pro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **The land is full of adulterers.**—The context shows that the words must be taken literally, and not of the spiritual adultery of the worship of other Gods. The false prophets and their followers were personally profligates, like those of 2Peter 2:14. (Comp. Jeremiah 5:7-8; Jeremiah 29:23.)
**Because of swearing.**—Better, *because of the curse*—*i.e., *that which comes from Jehovah on accou...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Quoted by the Saviour (Joh 6:45), to prove that in order to come to Him, men must be "drawn" by the Father. So Jr 31:34; Mi 4:2; 1Co 2:10; He 8:10; 10:16; 1Jo 2:20.
**great ... peace--**generally (Psa 119:165). Specially referring to the peaceful prosperity which shall prevail under Messiah in the latter days (Is 2:4, 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For both prophet and priest are profane</strong>—<em>chaneph</em> (חָנֵף) means polluted, godless, or hypocritical. Not just laypeople but those consecrated to sacred office had become defiled. This indicts the entire religious establishment. <strong>Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness</strong>—God personally discovered (<em>matsa</em>, מָצָא) their <em>ra'ah</em> (רָעָה, evil, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **In my house have I found their wickedness.**—Prophet and priest are joined, as before (Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 6:13; Jeremiah 8:10), as playing into each other’s hands. It seems probable, from Jeremiah 32:34, that the sins of Ahaz and Manasseh had been repeated under Jehoiakim, and that the worship of other gods had been carried on side by side with that of Jehovah. With this, almost as its...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. righteousness--**the characteristic of the reign of Messiah (Is 11:4, 5; Psa 72:2, 4; Re 19:11).
**far from oppression, &c.--**far from suffering oppression; "for thou shall have nothing to fear."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness</strong>—<em>chalaqlaqoth</em> (חֲלַקְלַקּוֹת) means slippery, smooth places where one cannot gain footing. Combined with <em>choshek</em> (חֹשֶׁךְ, darkness), the imagery depicts complete disorientation—unable to see where they're going or maintain stable footing. <strong>They shall be driven on, and fall therein</str...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Slippery ways . . . darkness . . . driven on.—**The words and the thoughts flow in upon the prophet’s mind from Isaiah 8:22; Psalm 35:5-6.
**The year of their visitation.**—The prophet returns to his characteristic word for the time appointed by the Divine Judge for chastisement. (Comp. Jeremiah 8:12; Jeremiah 10:15; Jeremiah 11:23.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. gather together, &c.--**that is, If it should happen that enemies "gather together" against thee (Psa 2:2), they will not have been sent by Me (compare Ho 8:4) as instruments of My wrath (nay, it will be with My disapproval); for "whosoever shall gather together," &c. (Psa 59:3).
**fall for thy sake--**rather, "shall come over to thy side" [Lowth]. Literally, "fall to thee" (Jr 21:...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. folly: or, an absurd thing: Heb. unsavoury
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria</strong>—<em>tiphlah</em> (תִּפְלָה) means unsavoriness, tastelessness, or moral insipidity. God uses deliberately mild language for Samaria's prophets compared to what follows for Jerusalem's. <strong>They prophesied in Baal</strong> (<em>ba-Ba'al</em>, בַּבַּעַל)—literally 'by Baal' or 'in the name of Baal,' meaning they claimed divine authori...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **I have seen folly . . .**—Literally, as in Job 6:6, *that which is unsavoury*—*i.e., insipid, *and so, ethically, *foolish. *The guilt of the prophets of Samaria cannot be passed over, but it is noticed, as in Jeremiah 3:6-10, only in order to compare it with the darker evils of those of Judah and Jerusalem.
**They prophesied in Baal.**—i.e., in the name and as if by the power of Baal. Comp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. The workman that forms "weapons against thee" (Is 54:17) is wholly in My power, therefore thou needest not fear, having Me on thy side.
**for his work--**rather, "by his labor [Horsley]. "According to the exigencies of his work" [Maurer].
**waster to destroy--**(Is 10:5-7; 37:26, 27; 45:1-6). Desolating conquerors who use the "instruments" framed by "the smith." The repetition of the "I" i...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. an: or, filthiness
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing</strong>—<em>sha'arurah</em> (שַׁעֲרוּרָה) means something horrifying, appalling, or causing one's hair to stand on end. What follows justifies this extreme language: <strong>they commit adultery, and walk in lies</strong>—both literal sexual immorality (<em>na'aph</em>, נָאַף) and spiritual unfaithfulness, combined with habit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **They commit adultery, and walk in lies . . .**—The union of the claim to prophesy in the name of Jehovah with these flagrant breaches of His law was more hateful in the prophet’s eyes even than the open recognition of Baal. In the terrible language of Isaiah (Isaiah 1:10), prophets and people had become like the dwellers in the cities of the plain. Here, also, the language of Deuteronomy (D...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. tongue ... condemn--**image from a court of justice. Those who desire to "condemn" thee thou shalt "condemn" (Ex 11:7; Jos 10:21; Psa 64:8; Ro 8:1, 33).
**righteousness ... of me--**(Is 45:24; 46:13). Rather, "(this is) their justification from Me." Their enemies would "condemn" them, but I justify and vindicate them, and so they condemn their enemies.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. profaneness: or, hypocrisy
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.</strong> This divine judgment oracle targets false prophets. "LORD of hosts" (<em>Yahweh Tseva'ot</em>, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת) invokes God's military might—the commander of he...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Wormwood . . . water of gall.**—See Notes on Jeremiah 8:14; Jeremiah 9:15.
**Profaneness.**—The root-meaning of the Hebrew word is that of “veiling,” hence that of simulated holiness, or, as in the margin, “hypocrisy;” but the associations of the word attached to it the further sense of the hypocrisy that desecrates, so that “profaneness” is, on the whole, the best rendering. The correspond...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain</strong> (מְהַבְּלִים הֵמָּה אֶתְכֶם, <em>m'havlim hemmah etkhem</em>)—the verb הָבַל (<em>haval</em>) means to make empty, futile, or worthless. False prophets manufacture illusions, <strong>they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD</strong> (חֲזוֹן לִבָּם יְדַבֵּרוּ לֹ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **They make you vain.**—i.e., *they befool, deceive you. *As the next verse shows, they filled the people with vain hopes of peace. This was then, as always, the crucial test between the true prophet and the false. The one roused the conscience, caused pain and anger by his reproofs; the other soothed and quieted men with a false assurance (Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 14:13). They invented a visi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 55 Is 55:1-13. The Call of the Gentile World to Faith the Result of God's Grace to the Jews First.
**1. every one--**After the special privileges of Israel (Is 54:1-17) there follow, as the consequence, the universal invitation to the Gentiles (Lu 24:47; Ro 11:12, 15).
**Ho--**calls the most earnest attention.
**thirsteth--**has a keen sense of need (Mt 5:6).
**waters ... wine and m...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. imagination: or, stubbornness
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace</strong>—the Hebrew נֹאמְרִים (<em>no'mrim</em>, 'they keep saying') indicates continual, repetitive proclamation. To those who <strong>despise me</strong> (מְנַאֲצַי, <em>m'na'atsai</em>—active scorners of Yahweh), the false prophets promise שָׁלוֹם (<em>shalom</em>, 'peace/wholeness/prosperity'). <strong>An...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Imagination.**—As before (Jeremiah 3:17 and elsewhere), *stubbornness. *The tendency of all that the false prophets uttered was to confirm the people in their sins, not to lead them to repentance. It is noticeable that the Hebrew verb for “hath *said*” is not the same as the received formula of the true prophets, “The Lord hath *spoken.” *The prophet seems to indicate in this way that those...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. not bread--**(Ha 2:13). "Bread of deceit" (Pr 20:17). Contrast this with the "bread of life" (Joh 6:32, 35; also Lu 14:16-20).
**satisfieth not--**(Ec 1:8; 4:8).
**hearken ... and eat--**When two imperatives are joined, the second expresses the consequence of obeying the command in the first (Ge 42:18). By hearkening ye shall eat. So in Is 55:1, "buy and eat." By buying, and so making it ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? counsel: or, secret
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word?</strong> (כִּי מִי עָמַד בְּסוֹד יְהוָה וַיֵּרֶא וַיִּשְׁמַע אֶת־דְּבָרוֹ, <em>ki mi amad b'sod YHWH vayyere vayyishma et-d'varo</em>). The noun סוֹד (<em>sod</em>, 'counsel/intimate circle/secret assembly') describes Yahweh's heavenly court where true prophets receive revelation—compare 1 Kings 22:19-22 ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **The counsel.**—Better, perhaps, *the council, *the “assembly” of chosen friends with whom a man shares his secret plans. So in Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 15:17; Psalm 89:7, “assembly.” Could any of the false prophets say that they had thus been called as into the privy council of Jehovah? (Comp. Amos 3:7; 1Kings 22:19-23.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. me ... live--**by coming to me ye shall live: for "I am the life" (Joh 14:6).
**everlasting covenant--**(Jr 32:40; 2Sa 23:5).
**with you ... David--**God's covenant is with the antitypical David, Messiah (Eze 34:23), and so with us by our identification with Him.
**sure--**answering to "everlasting," irrevocable, unfailing, to be relied on (Psa 89:2-4, 28, 29, 34-36; Jr 33:20, 21; 2Sa 7...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury</strong>—divine judgment comes as an unstoppable storm (סְעָרָה, <em>se'arah</em>) filled with wrath (חֵמָה, <em>chemah</em>). The verb חוּל (<em>chul</em>, 'writhe/whirl') describes violent circular motion like a tornado. <strong>It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked</strong>—judgment strikes directly, personally. No neg...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Behold, a whirlwind . . .**—Better, *Behold, the storm of Jehovah, wrath is gone forth, a whirling storm, upon the heads of the wicked shall it whirl down. *The word translated “whirlwind” is properly more generic in its meaning (“tempest” in Isaiah 29:6). and gets its specific force here from the associated word rendered in the Authorised Version “grievous,” but rightly, as above, *whirlin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. him--**the mystical David (Eze 37:24, 25; Jr 30:9; Ho 3:5). Given by God (Is 49:6).
**witness--**He bore witness even unto death for God, to His law, claims, and plan of redeeming love (Joh 18:37; Re 1:5). Revelation is a "testimony"; because it is propounded to be received on the authority of the Giver, and not merely because it can be proved by arguments.
**commander--**"preceptor" [Hor...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed...the thoughts of his heart</strong> (לֹא יָשׁוּב אַף־יְהוָה עַד־עֲשֹׂתוֹ, <em>lo yashuv af-YHWH ad-asoto</em>)—divine anger won't reverse until completing its purpose. The phrase מְזִמּוֹת לִבּוֹ (<em>m'zimmot libbo</em>, 'thoughts/plans of his heart') shows intentional judgment, not emotional reaction. <strong>In the latter d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Shall not return . . .***—i.e., *shall not *turn back *from its purpose. Men should look back on it in the “latter days”—literally, *the end of the days *(Genesis 49:1; Numbers 24:14; Deuteronomy 4:30; Deuteronomy 31:29), *i.e., *in the then distant future of the exile and the return—and should see that it had done its work both of chastisement and discipline. (Comp. Ezekiel 14:22-23.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. thou--**Jehovah addresses Messiah.
**call ... run--**God must call, before man can, or will, run (So 1:4; Joh 6:44). Not merely come, but run eagerly.
**thou knowest not--**now as thy people (so in Mt 7:23).
**nation ... nations--**gradation; from Israel, one nation, the Gospel spread to many nations, and will do so more fully on Israel's conversion.
**knew not thee--**(Is 52:15; Ep 2...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran</strong> (לֹא־שָׁלַחְתִּי...וְהֵם רָצוּ, <em>lo-shalachti...v'hem ratsu</em>)—the dual negation ('not sent...not spoken') versus dual action ('they ran...they prophesied') exposes unauthorized ministry. The verb רוּץ (<em>ruts</em>, 'ran') suggests eager self-appointment rather than reluctant divine commission. These prophets volunteered; God's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Yet they ran.**—The image is that of messengers who rush eagerly, as from the king’s council-chamber, on their self-appointed mission, without waiting for the command of the Master in whose name they profess to come. (Comp. the question, “Who will go for us?*” *in Isaiah 6:8.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. The condition and limit in the obtaining of the spiritual benefits (Is 55:1-3): (1) Seek the Lord. (2) Seek Him while He is to be found (Is 65:1; Psa 32:6; Mt 25:1-13; Joh 7:34; 8:21; 2Co 6:2; He 2:3; 3:13, 15).
**call--**casting yourselves wholly on His mercy (Ro 10:13). Stronger than "seek"; so "near" is more positive than "while He may be found" (Ro 10:8, 9).
**near--**propitious (Psa 34...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if they had stood in my counsel...then they should have turned them from their evil way</strong>—the conditional 'if' (לוּ, <em>lu</em>) introduces contrary-to-fact reality. Genuine access to God's counsel (סוֹד, <em>sod</em>) produces repentance (שׁוּב, <em>shuv</em>). True prophecy transforms behavior, calling people back <strong>from their evil way</strong> (מִדַּרְכָּם הָרָעָה, <em...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **If they had stood in my counsel.**—Better, as before, *council. *The test of the true mission is seen in results. Are the people better or worse for the prophet’s work? What are the fruits of his teaching? (Comp. Matthew 7:20.) The question meets us, Is this always a test? Was Jeremiah’s own work successful in this sense? Must not the true teacher speak “whether they [men] will hear, or whe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. unrighteous--**Hebrew, "man of iniquity"; true of all men. The "wicked" sins more openly in "his way"; the "unrighteous" refers to the more subtle workings of sin in the "thoughts." All are guilty in the latter respect, thought many fancy themselves safe, because not openly "wicked in ways" (Psa 94:11). The parallelism is that of gradation. The progress of the penitent is to be from negative ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-22** The false prophets of Samaria had deluded the Israelites into idolatries; yet the Lord considered the false prophets of Jerusalem as guilty of more horrible wickedness, by which the people were made bold in sin. These false teachers would be compelled to suffer the most bitter part of the Lord's indignation. They made themselves believe that there was no harm in sin, and practised ...
Read full commentary →Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Am I a God at hand...and not a God afar off?</strong> (הַאֱלֹהֵי מִקָּרֹב...וְלֹא אֱלֹהֵי מֵרָחֹק, <em>ha'elohei miqqarov...v'lo elohei merachoq</em>)—the contrast between near (קָרוֹב) and far (רָחוֹק) addresses theological error. False prophets presumed God was either too distant to notice lies or too local to judge beyond Jerusalem. The rhetorical question asserts both divine immanence ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Am I a God at hand . . .?**—This and the two questions that follow are essentially the same in thought. The false prophets acted as if God were far away out of their sight (Psalm 10:11; Psalm 73:11; Psalm 94:7), not knowing or caring what men did, as if their affairs, as it has been epigrammatically said, came under a “colonial department.” The true prophet feels that He is equally near, eq...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. For--**referring to Is 55:7. You need not doubt His willingness "abundantly to pardon" (compare Is 55:12); for, though "the wicked" man's "ways," and "the unrighteous man's thoughts," are so aggravated as to seem unpardonable, God's "thoughts" and "ways" in pardoning are not regulated by the proportion of the former, as man's would be towards his fellow man who offended him; compare the "for"...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?</strong> The verb סָתַר (<em>satar</em>, 'hide/conceal') meets God's pervasive presence—<strong>Do not I fill heaven and earth?</strong> (אֲנִי מָלֵא, <em>ani male</em>). The verb מָלֵא ('fill') describes omnipresence throughout all reality. Heaven and earth constitute totality in Hebrew thought—God fills (not merely observes)...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. (Psa 57:10; 89:2; 103:11). "For" is repeated from Is 55:8. But Maurer, after the negation, translates, "but."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I have heard what the prophets said...I have dreamed, I have dreamed</strong> (חָלַמְתִּי חָלַמְתִּי, <em>chalamti chalamti</em>)—the repetition mimics false prophets' dramatic claims. They prophesy lies (שֶׁקֶר, <em>sheqer</em>) while invoking God's name (בִּשְׁמִי, <em>bishmi</em>), violating the third commandment. Dreams were legitimate divine communication channels (Genesis 37, Daniel ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **I have dreamed . . .**—The words point to the form of the claim commonly made by the false prophets. Dreams took their place among the recognised channels of divine revelation (Genesis 40:8; Genesis 41:16; Joel 2:28; Daniel 7:1), but their frequent misuse by the false prophets brought them into discredit, and the teaching of Deuteronomy 13:1-5 accordingly brought the “dreamer of dreams” no ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. The hearts of men, once barren of spirituality, shall be made, by the outpouring of the Spirit under Messiah, to bear fruits of righteousness (Is 5:6; De 32:2; 2Sa 23:4; Psa 72:6).
**snow--**which covers plants from frost in winter; and, when melted in spring, waters the earth.
**returneth not--**void; as in Is 55:11; it returns not in the same shape, or without "accomplishing" the desired...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?</strong> (עַד־מָתַי, <em>ad-matai</em>, 'how long?')—divine exasperation. The phrase תַּרְמִת לִבָּם (<em>tarmit libbam</em>, 'deceit of their own heart') diagnoses the source: self-deception precedes deceiving others. They've believed their own propaganda.<br><br>The progression: heart corruption → self-deception → fa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **How long shall this be . . .?**—The Hebrew text gives a double interrogative: *How long? Is it in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies*, *prophets of the deceit of their own hearts? Do they think to cause my people *. . .? A conjectural alteration of the text gives “How long is the fire in the heart of the prophets** . . .**?” as if anticipating the thought of Jeremiah 23:29, and re...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. (Mt 24:35). Rain may to us seem lost when it falls on a desert, but it fulfils some purpose of God. So the gospel word falling on the hard heart; it sometimes works a change at last; and even if so, it leaves men without excuse. The full accomplishment of this verse, and Is 55:12, 13, is, however, to be at the Jews' final restoration and conversion of the world (Is 11:9-12; 60:1-5, 21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams</strong>—the verb שָׁכַח (<em>shakach</em>, 'forget') appears twice. Current false prophets function like previous Baal-worshipers in erasing Yahweh's name (שֵׁם, <em>shem</em>—character, reputation, covenant identity). The mechanism differs but the result is identical: God's people forget Him.<br><br>The phrase 'which they t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **As their fathers have forgotten . . .**—The two evils of open idolatry and of false claims to prophecy stood, the prophet seems to say, on the same footing. The misuse of the name of Jehovah by the false prophets was as bad as the older worship of Baal and the prophesying in his name. (Comp. Jeremiah 23:13-14.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. go out--**from the various countries in which ye (the Jews) are scattered, to your own land (Eze 11:17).
**led--**by Messiah, your "Leader" (Is 55:4; Is 52:12; Mi 2:12, 13).
**mountains ... trees, &c.--**images justly used to express the seeming sympathy of nature with the joy of God's people. For, when sin is removed, the natural world shall be delivered from "vanity," and be renewe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. that hath a dream: Heb. with whom is, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What is the chaff to the wheat?</strong> (מַה־לַתֶּבֶן אֶת־הַבָּר, <em>mah-latteven et-habbar</em>)—dreams without divine origin are chaff, worthless wind-blown refuse. God's word is wheat—nourishing, life-sustaining, weighty. <strong>Let him speak my word faithfully</strong> (יְדַבֵּר דְּבָרִי אֱמֶת, <em>y'daber d'vari emet</em>) establishes the standard.<br><br>John the Baptist used simi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Let him tell a dream.**—The point of the words lies in the contrast between the real and the counterfeit revelation. Let the dreamer tell his dream as such, let the prophet speak the word of Jehovah truly, and then it will be seen that the one is as the chaff and stubble, and the other as the wheat—one worthless, the other sustaining life. What have they in common? What has one to do with t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. thorn--**emblem of the wicked (2Sa 23:6; Mi 7:4).
**fir tree--**the godly (Is 60:13; Psa 92:12). Compare as to the change wrought, Ro 6:19.
**brier--**emblem of uncultivation (Is 5:6).
**myrtle--**Hebrew, Hedes, from which comes Hedassah, the original name of Esther. Type of the Christian Church; for it is a lowly, though beautiful, fragrant, and evergreen shrub (Psa 92:13, 14).
**fo...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Is not my word like as a fire...and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?</strong> (כָּאֵשׁ...וּכְפַטִּישׁ יְפֹצֵץ סָלַע, <em>ka'esh...ukh'pattish y'fotsets sala</em>)—fire (אֵשׁ) and hammer (פַּטִּישׁ) describe transformative, destructive power. Fire refines and consumes; hammers shatter resistant stone (סֶלַע). The verb פָּצַץ (<em>patsats</em>) means total fragmentation.<br><b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Is not my word like as a fire? . . .**—The prophet speaks out of the depths of his own experience. The true prophetic word burns in the heart of a man, and will not be restrained (Jeremiah 5:14; Jeremiah 20:9; Psalm 39:3), and when uttered it consumes the evil, and purifies the good. It will burn up the chaff of the utterances of the false prophets. (Comp. 1Corinthians 3:12-13.) As the hamm...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I am against the prophets...that steal my words every one from his neighbour</strong> (גֹּנְבֵי דְבָרַי אִישׁ מֵאֵת רֵעֵהוּ, <em>gov'vei d'varai ish me'et re'ehu</em>)—the participle גֹּנֵב ('stealing') describes ongoing theft. These prophets plagiarize each other, recycling religious language without authentic divine encounter. The phrase 'every one from his neighbour' suggests echo chamb...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **That steal my words . . .**—Another note of the counterfeit prophet is found in the want of any living personal originality. The oracles of the dreamers were patchworks of plagiarism, and they borrowed, not as men might do legitimately, and as Jeremiah himself did, from the words of the great teachers of the past, but from men of their own time, false and unreal as themselves. What we shoul...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 56 Is 56:1-12. The Preparation Needed on the Part of Those Who Wish to Be Admitted to the Kingdom of God.
**1. judgment--**equity. John the Baptist preached similarly a return to righteousness, as needed to prepare men for Messiah's first coming (Lu 3:3, 8-14). So it shall be before the second coming (Mal 4:4-6).
**near to come--**(Mt 3:2; 4:17), also as to the second coming (Is 62:10, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. that: or, that smooth their tongues
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I am against the prophets...that use their tongues, and say, He saith</strong> (הַלֹּקְחִים לְשׁוֹנָם וַיִּנְאֲמוּ נְאֻם, <em>haloq'chim l'shonam vayyin'amu n'um</em>)—they manufacture oracles then attach the formula נְאֻם ('declares'), the technical term for divine utterance. The phrase 'they oracle an oracle' mocks their pretense—using sacred language as verb.<br><br>This is spir...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **That use their tongues, and say, He saith.—**Literally, *that take their tongues. *There is no adequate evidence for the marginal rendering “that smooth their tongues.” The scornful phrase indicates the absence of a true inspiration. These false prophets plan their schemes, and take their tongue as an instrument for carrying them into effect. The formula which they used, “He saith,” was not...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. (Lu 12:43).
**the man--**Hebrew, enosh, "a man in humble life," in contradistinction to Hebrew, ish, "one of high rank." Even the humblest, as "the stranger" and "the eunuch" (Is 56:4, 6), are admissible to these privileges.
**this ... it--**what follows: "keeping the Sabbath," &c. (Is 58:13, 14; Eze 20:12). A proof that the Sabbath, in the spirit of its obligation, was to be binding un...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I am against them that prophesy false dreams...and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness</strong> (וּבְפַחֲזוּתָם, <em>uv'fachazvtam</em>)—the term פַּחֲזוּת (<em>pachazut</em>, 'lightness/recklessness/frivolity') describes cavalier irresponsibility treating sacred matters frivolously. <strong>Yet I sent them not...therefore they shall not profit this people at all</...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **False dreams.**—The words may mean either actual dreams, which have nothing answering to them in the world of facts, or dreams which are not really such, but simply, as in Jeremiah 23:31, the form in which the deceiver seeks to work out his plans.
**By their lightness.**—The Hebrew word is the same in meaning as the “unstable as water” of Genesis 49:4, the *“*light persons” of Judges 9:4; Z...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. God welcomes all believers, without distinction of persons, under the new economy (Ac 10:34, 35).
**joined ... to ... Lord--**(Nu 18:4, 7). "Proselytes."
**separated--**Proselytes from the Gentiles were not admitted to the same privileges as native Israelites. This barrier between Jews and Gentiles was to be broken down (Ep 2:14-16).
**eunuch--**(Ac 8:27, &c.). Eunuchs were chamberlai...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD?</strong> The Hebrew מַשָּׂא (<em>massa</em>, 'burden/oracle/pronouncement') is a wordplay—it means both 'prophetic oracle' and 'heavy burden.' False prophets trivialized this term, using it casually. God responds: <strong>What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD</strong> (...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **The burden of the Lord.**—The English expresses the literal meaning of the word, “something lifted up, or borne.” It passed, however, as the English equivalent has done, through many shades of meaning, and became, in the language of the prophets, one of the received terms for a solemn, emphatic utterance. In 1Chronicles 15:22; 1Chronicles 15:27 it is applied to the chanted music of the Temp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. please me--**sacrifice their own pleasure to mine.
**take hold--**so "layeth hold" (see on Is 56:2).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. punish: Heb. visit upon
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house</strong> (וְהַנָּבִיא וְהַכֹּהֵן וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר מַשָּׂא יְהוָה וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל־הָאִישׁ הַהוּא וְעַל־בֵּיתוֹ, <em>v'hannavi v'hakohen v'ha'am asher yomar massa YHWH ufaqadti al-ha'ish hahu v'al-beito</em>). The threefold category—prophet, priest, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **That shall say, The burden of the Lord.—**The language thus put into the mouths of the false prophets is not that of derision, but of boastful assumption. It is for that the boaster will, in due time, be punished.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. in mine house--**the temple, the emblem of the Church (1Ti 3:15). They shall no longer be confined as proselytes were, to the outer court, but shall be admitted "into the holiest" (He 10:19, 20).
**a place--**literally, "a hand."
**than of sons--**Though the eunuch is barren of children (Is 56:3), I will give him a more lasting name than that of being father of sons and daughters (regarde...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?</strong> (כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ וְאִישׁ אֶל־אָחִיו מֶה־עָנָה יְהוָה וּמַה־דִּבֶּר יְהוָה, <em>koh tom'ru ish el-re'ehu v'ish el-achiv meh-anah YHWH umah-dibber YHWH</em>). God provides alternative language: instead of asking for the מַשָּׂא (<em...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35) **Thus shall ye say . . .**—The words are a protest against the high-sounding phrase, “This is the burden, the oracle of Jehovah.” This, with which the false prophets covered their teachings of lies, the prophet rejects, and he calls men back to the simpler terms, which were less open to abuse. The true prophet’s message was to be called an “answer” when men had come to him with questions—a “...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. join ... Lord--**(Jr 50:6). Conditions of admission to the privileges of adoption.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden</strong> (וּמַשָּׂא יְהוָה לֹא תִזְכְּרוּ־עוֹד כִּי הַמַּשָּׂא יִהְיֶה לְאִישׁ דְּבָרוֹ, <em>umassa YHWH lo tizkeru-od ki hammassa yihyeh l'ish d'varo</em>). The prohibition continues: stop mentioning מַשָּׂא יְהוָה (<em>massa YHWH</em>). Why? <strong>For every man's word shall be his burden</stro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(36) **The burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more . . .**—The misused term was no longer to be applied to the messages of Jehovah. If men continued to apply it to the words of their own heart, they would find it a “burden” in another sense (the prophet plays once more on the etymology of the word) too heavy to be borne. This would be the righteous punishment of the reckless levity with which ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. Even them--**(Ep 2:11-13).
**to my holy mountain--**Jerusalem, the seat of the Lord's throne in His coming kingdom (Is 2:2; Jr 3:17).
**joyful--**(Ro 5:11).
**burnt offerings ... sacrifices--**spiritual, of which the literal were types (Ro 12:1; He 13:15; 1Pe 2:5).
**accepted--**(Ep 1:6).
**altar--**(He 13:10), spiritually, the Cross of Christ, which sanctifies our sacrifices of pra...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?</strong> (כֹּה תֹאמַר אֶל־הַנָּבִיא מֶה־עָנָךְ יְהוָה וּמַה־דִּבֶּר יְהוָה, <em>koh tomar el-hannavi meh-anakh YHWH umah-dibber YHWH</em>). This verse repeats verse 35's corrective language but applies it specifically to questioning prophets (אֶל־הַנָּבִיא, <em>el-hannavi</em>, 'to the pro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **Thus shalt thou say to the prophet . . .**—The verse repeats Jeremiah 23:35, with the one difference that men are to use this, the simpler form of language, when they come to the prophet, as well as when they are speaking one to another. The affectation of big words was equally out of place in either case. In modern phraseology, the whole passage is a protest against the hypocrisy which sho...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. Jehovah will not only restore the scattered outcasts of Israel (Is 11:12; Psa 147:2) to their own land, but "will gather others ('strangers') to him (Israel), besides those gathered" (Margin, "to his gathered"; that is, in addition to the Israelites collected from their dispersion), (Joh 10:16; Ep 1:10; 2:19).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD</strong>. The conditional 'since' (וְאִם, <em>v'im</em>, 'but if') introduces judgment based on continued disobedience. Despite explicit prohibition (verse 34), they persist in saying מַשָּׂא יְ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **But since ye say.**—Better, *if ye say.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. beasts--**Gentile idolatrous nations hostile to the Jews, summoned by God to chastise them (Jr 12:7-9; 50:17; Eze 34:5): the Chaldeans and subsequently the Romans. The mention of the "outcasts of Israel" (Is 56:8) brings in view the outcasting, caused by the sins of their rulers (Is 56:10-12).
**to devour--**namely, Israel.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence</strong> (לָכֵן הִנְנִי וְנָשִׁיתִי אֶתְכֶם נָשֹׁא וְנָטַשְׁתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְאֶת־הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָכֶם וְלַאֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעַל פָּנָי, <em>lakhen hin'ni v'nashiti etkhem nasho v'natashti etkhem v'et-ha'ir asher natatti lakhem v'la'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **I, even I, will utterly forget you . . .**—A very slight alteration in a single letter of the Hebrew verb gives a rendering which was followed by the LXX. and Vulgate, and is adopted by many modern commentators, and connects it with the root of the word translated “burden”—*I will take you up as a burden, and cast you off. *The words in italics, *and cast you, *in the latter clause have not...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. His watchmen--**Israel's spiritual leaders (Is 62:6; Eze 3:17).
**dumb dogs--**image from bad shepherds' watchdogs, which fail to give notice, by barking, of the approach of wild beasts.
**blind--**(Mt 23:16).
**sleeping, lying down--**rather, "dreamers, sluggards" [Lowth]. Not merely sleeping inactive, but under visionary delusions.
**loving to slumber--**not merely slumbering invol...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten</strong> (וְנָתַתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם חֶרְפַּת עוֹלָם וּכְלִמּוּת עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר לֹא תִשָּׁכֵחַ, <em>v'natatti aleikhem cherpat olam ukhlimmut olam asher lo tisshakech</em>). The dual judgment—חֶרְפָּה (<em>cherpah</em>, 'reproach/disgrace') and כְּלִמָּה (<em>k'limmah</em>, 'shame/humiliation')—b...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. greedy--**literally, "strong" (that is, insatiable) in appetite (Eze 34:2, 3; Mi 3:11).
**cannot understand--**unable to comprehend the wants of the people, spiritually: so Is 56:10, "cannot bark."
**look to ... own way--**that is, their own selfish interests; not to the spiritual welfare of the people (Jr 6:13; Eze 22:27).
**from his quarter--**rather, "from the highest to the lowest"...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
The restoration of the Jews to their own land. (Jr 23:1-8) The wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, The people exhorted not to listen to false promises. (Jr 23:9-22) The pretenders to inspiration threatened. (Jr 23:23-32) Also the scoffers at true prophecy. (Jr 23:33-40)
**Verses 1-8** Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them goo...
Read full commentary →