Jeremiah — Chapter 23

📖 Jeremiah — Chapter 23 (KJV)

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Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.

Jeremiah 23:1 ^RWoe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

Jer 2:8,26; Ezek 13:3

Jeremiah 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, ^Rand have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

Matt 25:36,43; Jas 1:27

Jeremiah 23:3 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.

Jeremiah 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, ^Rneither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

Num 31:49; John 6:39-40

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, ^Rthe 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.

Jer 30:3; Jer 31:27,31-38

Jeremiah 23:6 In his days ^RJudah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, ^TTHE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Deut 33:28-29; Ps 130:7-8

Jehovah-tsidkenu

Jeremiah 23:7 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;

Jeremiah 23:8 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.

Jeremiah 23:9 Mine ^Rheart 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.

Jer 9:1; Jer 14:17-18

Jeremiah 23:10 For the land is ^Rfull of adulterers; for because of ^Tswearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their ^Tcourse is evil, and their force is not right.

Jer 5:7-8; Jer 7:9

cursing

violence

Jeremiah 23:11 For ^Rboth prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:15; Jer 5:31

Jeremiah 23:12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways ^Rin 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.

Job 18:18; Isa 8:22

Jeremiah 23:13 And I have seen ^Tfolly in the ^Rprophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

Hos 9:7-8

an absurd thing: Heb. unsavoury

Jeremiah 23:14 I have seen also ^Rin the prophets of Jerusalem ^Tan 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.

Jer 5:30-31; Jer 14:14

filthiness

Jeremiah 23:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I ^Rwill feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is ^Tprofaneness gone forth into all the land.

Jer 8:14; Jer 9:15

hypocrisy

Jeremiah 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, ^RHearken 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.

Jer 27:9-10,14-17; Jer 29:8

Jeremiah 23:17 They say still unto them ^Rthat despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the ^Timagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

Num 11:20; 1 Sam 2:30

stubbornness

Jeremiah 23:18 For who hath stood in the ^R^Tcounsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

Ps 25:14; Amos 3:7

secret

Jeremiah 23:19 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.

Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, ^Runtil he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

Jer 30:24; Isa 14:24

Jeremiah 23:21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

Jeremiah 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, ^Rthen they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

Jer 25:5; Jer 35:15

Jeremiah 23:23 ^RAm I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

1 Kgs 20:23,28; Ps 113:5

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any ^Rhide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Jer 49:10; Gen 16:13

Jeremiah 23:25 I have ^Rheard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

Jer 8:6; Jer 13:27

Jeremiah 23:26 ^RHow long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

Jer 4:14; Jer 13:27

Jeremiah 23:27 Which ^Rthink 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.

Deut 13:1-5; Acts 13:8

Jeremiah 23:28 The prophet ^Tthat hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him ^Rspeak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

Prov 14:5; Matt 24:45

with whom is, etc

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word ^Rlike as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jer 5:14; Jer 20:9

Jeremiah 23:30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

Jeremiah 23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, ^Tthat ^Ruse their tongues, and say, He saith.

Isa 30:10; Mic 2:11

that smooth their tongues

Jeremiah 23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people ^Rto 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.

Jer 23:16; Jer 27:14-22

Jeremiah 23:33 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.

Jeremiah 23:34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even ^Tpunish that man and his house.

visit upon

Jeremiah 23:35 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?

Jeremiah 23:36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: ^Rfor 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.

Ps 12:3; Ps 64:8

Jeremiah 23:37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

Jeremiah 23:38 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;

Jeremiah 23:39 Therefore, behold, ^RI, 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:

Gen 6:17; Lev 26:28

Jeremiah 23:40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

📚 Study This Chapter

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 23:1–14 — Scattered sheep and a righteous Branch

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

The Lord confronts destructive shepherds and promises to gather the remnant under faithful care. A righteous Branch from David stands beside a severe exposure of corrupt prophets who strengthen evildoers.

Key Truth: Seek leadership that gathers and practices righteousness.

Check What You Remember

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 23:15–27 — Unsent prophets promise false peace

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

Voices speaking from their own hearts assure peace to those rejecting God’s word. The Lord who fills heaven and earth exposes dreams that lead people to forget him.

Key Truth: Test claims by their faithfulness and moral fruit.

Check What You Remember

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 23:28–40 — Speak the word faithfully

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

God distinguishes his word from mere dreams through wheat, fire, and hammer images. Stolen words, false claims of authority, and misuse of the Lord’s burden bring a warning against perverting his message.

Key Truth: Handle claims of divine authority truthfully.

Check What You Remember

Related Scripture (KJV)

John 10:11 — Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd.

This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.

Reflect and Apply

What signs distinguish faithful guidance from a message that flatters wrongdoing?

Notes

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Jeremiah — Chapter 23