American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Jeremiah 23
1
Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! said the LORD.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 9:36
Jeremiah 22:22
Jeremiah 12:10
Jeremiah 50:6
John 10:12
John 10:10
References Lord
Jeremiah 10:21
Ezekiel 13:3
Jeremiah 2:8
Jeremiah 23:2
2
Therefore thus said the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings, said the LORD.
Reference
3
And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
Reference
4
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, said the LORD.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Peter 1:5
5
Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 30:9
Parallel theme
Isaiah 52:13
Zechariah 3:8
Isaiah 53:2
References Lord
Isaiah 4:2
Jeremiah 30:3
Righteousness
Isaiah 9:7
Zechariah 9:9
Revelation 19:11
Jeremiah 23:6
6
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.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 9:6
Jeremiah 32:37
References Lord
Isaiah 7:14
Righteousness
1 Corinthians 1:30
Philippians 3:9
Romans 3:22
2 Corinthians 5:21
Daniel 9:24
Salvation
Jeremiah 33:16
Jeremiah 30:10
7
Therefore, behold, the days come, said the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD lives, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 23:3
8
But, The LORD lives, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries where I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 23:3
Ezekiel 36:24
Ezekiel 37:25
References Israel
Ezekiel 34:13
References Lord
Isaiah 14:1
Ezekiel 39:28
Zephaniah 3:20
9
My 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 has overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.
Reference
10
For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourns; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
Reference
11
For both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in my house have I found their wickedness, said the LORD.
Reference
Evil
Jeremiah 11:15
Jeremiah 7:30
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 32:34
Ezekiel 23:39
Prophecy
Jeremiah 6:13
Zephaniah 3:4
Jeremiah 8:10
References Lord
Ezekiel 8:16
2 Chronicles 36:14
12
Why their way shall be to them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil on them, even the year of their visitation, said the LORD.
Reference
Darkness
Jeremiah 13:16
Psalm 35:6
Proverbs 4:19
Isaiah 8:22
John 12:35
Evil
Jeremiah 11:23
Parallel theme
Psalm 73:18
Exodus 32:34
13
And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
Reference
14
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 does return from his wickedness; they are all of them to me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
Reference
Evil
Genesis 13:13
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 29:23
Genesis 18:20
Deuteronomy 32:32
Jeremiah 20:16
Matthew 11:24
Prophecy
Ezekiel 22:25
Jeremiah 23:32
Jeremiah 14:14
Micah 3:11
15
Therefore thus said 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.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 69:21
Lamentations 3:15
Lamentations 3:5
References Lord
Jeremiah 8:14
Jeremiah 9:15
16
Thus said the LORD of hosts, Listen not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
Reference
Prophecy
Jeremiah 14:14
Matthew 7:15
Ezekiel 13:3
1 John 4:1
Jeremiah 23:21
Jeremiah 23:26
Micah 2:11
References Lord
2 Kings 17:15
Word
Ezekiel 13:6
Proverbs 19:27
17
They say still to them that despise me, The LORD has said, You shall have peace; and they say to every one that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come on you.
Reference
Evil
Micah 3:11
Jeremiah 13:10
Amos 9:10
Jeremiah 5:12
Jeremiah 3:17
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 9:14
Jeremiah 18:18
Peace
Jeremiah 8:11
Deuteronomy 29:19
Micah 3:5
18
For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD, and has perceived and heard his word? who has marked his word, and heard it?
Reference
References Lord
1 Corinthians 2:16
Psalm 25:14
John 15:15
Amos 3:7
1 Kings 22:24
2 Chronicles 18:23
Word
Jeremiah 23:22
19
Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously on the head of the wicked.
Reference
20
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 you shall consider it perfectly.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 55:11
Genesis 49:1
References Lord
Jeremiah 30:24
Isaiah 14:24
Proverbs 21:30
Zechariah 1:6
21
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
Reference
22
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.
Reference
Evil
Jeremiah 25:5
Zechariah 1:4
Jeremiah 35:15
Ezekiel 13:22
Parallel theme
Acts 20:27
Word
Jeremiah 23:18
23
Am I a God at hand, said the LORD, and not a God afar off?
24
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? said the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? said the LORD.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 139:7
Psalm 90:8
1 Kings 8:27
Isaiah 57:15
Psalm 10:11
2 Chronicles 6:18
Ephesians 1:23
References Lord
Proverbs 15:3
Isaiah 29:15
Isaiah 66:1
25
I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 8:6
1 Corinthians 4:5
Prophecy
Jeremiah 23:32
Jeremiah 23:28
Jeremiah 29:8
Joel 2:28
Numbers 12:6
26
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yes, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
Reference
Prophecy
Jeremiah 14:14
27
Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
Reference
28
The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? said the LORD.
Reference
29
Is not my word like as a fire? said the LORD; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 11:5
Acts 2:3
Acts 2:37
2 Corinthians 2:16
Word
Hebrews 4:12
Jeremiah 5:14
Luke 24:32
Jeremiah 20:9
John 6:63
30
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, said the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbor.
Reference
31
Behold, I am against the prophets, said the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He said.
Reference
32
Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, said 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, said the LORD.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 7:8
Isaiah 3:12
Matthew 15:14
Prophecy
Lamentations 2:14
Zephaniah 3:4
Revelation 19:20
Jeremiah 23:16
Jeremiah 23:25
Deuteronomy 18:20
References Lord
Jeremiah 29:31
33
And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask you, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? you shall then say to them, What burden? I will even forsake you, said the LORD.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 13:1
Jeremiah 12:7
Nahum 1:1
Hosea 9:12
Prophecy
Habakkuk 1:1
References Lord
Malachi 1:1
34
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.
Reference
Prophecy
Zechariah 13:3
35
Thus shall you say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, What has the LORD answered? and, What has the LORD spoken?
36
And the burden of the LORD shall you mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for you have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 64:8
Psalm 120:3
References God
Jeremiah 10:10
References Lord
Isaiah 3:8
Word
2 Peter 3:16
2 Kings 19:4
37
Thus shall you say to the prophet, What has the LORD answered you? and, What has the LORD spoken?
38
But since you say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus said the LORD; Because you say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent to you, saying, You shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
39
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:
Reference
Summary of Jeremiah 23
Jeremiah 23 begins with a powerful condemnation of Judah's failed shepherds, meaning the kings and leaders who were supposed to protect God's people but instead scattered, exploited, and neglected them, after which God promises that He Himself will gather the scattered people and eventually provide righteous leadership through a future descendant of David who will govern with wisdom, justice, and righteousness.
The chapter then turns its attention to the prophets and priests, whose corruption is presented as especially dangerous because they possess religious authority while encouraging people to continue in sin, and Jeremiah makes a sharp distinction between genuine prophetic ministry that confronts evil and calls people back to God and false prophecy that simply tells rebellious people what they want to hear.
The false prophets repeatedly announce peace and security even though judgment is approaching, but God explains that He never sent them and that their messages come from their own imagination rather than from His counsel, demonstrating that religious confidence, impressive language, dreams, popularity, or claims of divine authority do not prove that a message actually comes from God.
One of the chapter's strongest images compares God's true word with grain, fire, and a hammer, presenting it as something nourishing that produces genuine life, something powerful enough to burn away falsehood, and something strong enough to break through hardened resistance, while the invented messages of false prophets are compared to worthless straw that may look substantial but provides no real nourishment.
Jeremiah also emphasizes that God cannot be treated as a distant deity who sees only what happens in public, because He fills heaven and earth and knows what people say and do in secret, meaning that false prophets cannot hide the fact that they have attached God's name to messages that actually came from themselves.
The chapter therefore presents a serious warning about misusing spiritual authority, because claiming that personal opinions, dreams, political hopes, or imagined revelations are God's words can mislead entire communities and prevent people from recognizing the need for repentance.
At the same time, the chapter contains an important message of hope, because God's judgment against the failed shepherds does not mean that His people will remain permanently scattered; instead, He promises to gather them, restore them, and ultimately provide righteous leadership under the promised Davidic ruler.
The central message is that God holds spiritual and political leaders responsible when they use their authority to mislead, exploit, or reassure people who should instead be confronted with the truth, because genuine servants of God must faithfully communicate His word even when that message is difficult or unpopular, while false prophets manufacture comforting messages from their own imagination and attach God's name to them, yet God's true word remains powerful enough to expose deception, confront hardened hearts, and ultimately accomplish His purpose, bringing judgment upon corrupt leadership while preserving the hope that God will gather His scattered people and establish righteous leadership over them.
The chapter then turns its attention to the prophets and priests, whose corruption is presented as especially dangerous because they possess religious authority while encouraging people to continue in sin, and Jeremiah makes a sharp distinction between genuine prophetic ministry that confronts evil and calls people back to God and false prophecy that simply tells rebellious people what they want to hear.
The false prophets repeatedly announce peace and security even though judgment is approaching, but God explains that He never sent them and that their messages come from their own imagination rather than from His counsel, demonstrating that religious confidence, impressive language, dreams, popularity, or claims of divine authority do not prove that a message actually comes from God.
One of the chapter's strongest images compares God's true word with grain, fire, and a hammer, presenting it as something nourishing that produces genuine life, something powerful enough to burn away falsehood, and something strong enough to break through hardened resistance, while the invented messages of false prophets are compared to worthless straw that may look substantial but provides no real nourishment.
Jeremiah also emphasizes that God cannot be treated as a distant deity who sees only what happens in public, because He fills heaven and earth and knows what people say and do in secret, meaning that false prophets cannot hide the fact that they have attached God's name to messages that actually came from themselves.
The chapter therefore presents a serious warning about misusing spiritual authority, because claiming that personal opinions, dreams, political hopes, or imagined revelations are God's words can mislead entire communities and prevent people from recognizing the need for repentance.
At the same time, the chapter contains an important message of hope, because God's judgment against the failed shepherds does not mean that His people will remain permanently scattered; instead, He promises to gather them, restore them, and ultimately provide righteous leadership under the promised Davidic ruler.
The central message is that God holds spiritual and political leaders responsible when they use their authority to mislead, exploit, or reassure people who should instead be confronted with the truth, because genuine servants of God must faithfully communicate His word even when that message is difficult or unpopular, while false prophets manufacture comforting messages from their own imagination and attach God's name to them, yet God's true word remains powerful enough to expose deception, confront hardened hearts, and ultimately accomplish His purpose, bringing judgment upon corrupt leadership while preserving the hope that God will gather His scattered people and establish righteous leadership over them.