Jeremiah 23:14
in Jeremiah 23And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
8 notes on this verseI have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem - That is, the prophets of Jerusalem, while professing a pure faith, have followed the ways, and become as corrupt as the prophets of Samaria. They are all of them unto me as Sodom - Incorrigible, brutish sinners, who will as surely be destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrah were.
This site's exposition
As for the prophets: My heart
on Jeremiah 23:9-15
Jeremiah’s own body bears the message: “My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble,” like “a man overcome by wine.” The prophets of Samaria “prophesied by Baal,” but the prophets of Jerusalem “commit adultery and walk in lies” and are “all like Sodom to Me.”
This site's exposition
I have seen a horrible thing
Jerusalem's prophets are judged worse than Samaria's. Clarke notes they grew as corrupt as the north while claiming a pure faith. Henry says they urged the people on in sin, so the city stands with Sodom and Gomorrah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 14.) And in the prophets of Jerusalem I saw a likeness (or dreadful things), adultery and the path of lies, and they strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that each one would not turn away from their evil ways. They have become to me like Sodom, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
By this means Judah and Jerusalem have become as Sodom and Gomorrah, that were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly; and God looked upon them accordingly as fit for nothing but to be destroyed, as they were, with fire and brimstone. That they encouraged people in sin by their false prophecies.
I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
"Jerusalem" and Judah were even worse than "Samaria" and the ten tribes; the greater were the privileges of the former, the greater was their guilt. They had the temple in their midst, which the ten tribes had not; yet in the temple itself they practised idolatry. strengthen . . . hands of evildoers-- (Eze 13:22). as Sodom-- (De 32:32;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rather, “But in the prophets of Jerusalem” etc. Their conduct is more strongly condemned than that of the Baal-priests. They strengthen ... - First by neglecting to warn and rebuke sinners: secondly by the direct influence of their bad example. They are all of them - They have become, “all of them,” i. e., the people of Jerusalem, and not the prophets only.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And in the prophets of Jerusalem I now see. a horrible thing a shameful thing.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And in the prophets of Samaria I saw unseemliness before they were exiled.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבִנְבִאֵ֨י | uvinviei | and among [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| רָאִ֣יתִי | raiti | I have seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| שַׁעֲרוּרָ֗ה | shaarurah | a horrible [thing] | H8186 → | 4 times |
| נָא֞וֹף | naof | they have committed adultery | H5003 → | 31 times |
| וְהָלֹ֤ךְ | vehalokh | and they have walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בַּשֶּׁ֙קֶר֙ | basheker | in <the> falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
| וְחִזְּקוּ֙ | vechizeku | and they have strengthened | H2388 → | 291 times |
| יְדֵ֣י | yedei | [the] hands of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מְרֵעִ֔ים | mereim | evil-doers | H7489 → | 107 times |
| לְבִ֨לְתִּי־ | levilti- | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| שָׁ֔בוּ | shavu | they have turned away | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵרָֽעָת֑וֹ | meraato | from evil his | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הָֽיוּ־ | hayu- | they have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִ֤י | li | to <the> me | ||
| כֻלָּם֙ | khulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כִּסְדֹ֔ם | kisdom | like Sodom | H5467 → | 39 times |
| וְיֹשְׁבֶ֖יהָ | veyosheveiha | and inhabitants its | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| כַּעֲמֹרָֽה׃ ס | kaamorah | like Gomorrah | H6017 → | 19 times |
וּבִנְבִאֵ֨יand among [the] prophets of
uvinvieiH5030 →314 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
רָאִ֣יתִיI have seen
raitiH7200 →1300 times
שַׁעֲרוּרָ֗הa horrible [thing]
shaarurahH8186 →4 times
נָא֞וֹףthey have committed adultery
naofH5003 →31 times
וְהָלֹ֤ךְand they have walked
vehalokhH1980 →1546 times
בַּשֶּׁ֙קֶר֙in <the> falsehood
bashekerH8267 →113 times
וְחִזְּקוּ֙and they have strengthened
vechizekuH2388 →291 times
יְדֵ֣י[the] hands of
yedeiH3027 →1618 times
מְרֵעִ֔יםevil-doers
mereimH7489 →107 times
לְבִ֨לְתִּי־to not
levilti-H1115 →112 times
שָׁ֔בוּthey have turned away
shavuH7725 →1056 times
אִ֖ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵרָֽעָת֑וֹfrom evil his
meraatoH7451 →662 times
הָֽיוּ־they have become
hayu-H1961 →3559 times
לִ֤יto <the> me
li
כֻלָּם֙all of them
khulamH3605 →5413 times
כִּסְדֹ֔םlike Sodom
kisdomH5467 →39 times
וְיֹשְׁבֶ֖יהָand inhabitants its
veyosheveihaH3427 →1079 times
כַּעֲמֹרָֽה׃ סlike Gomorrah
kaamorahH6017 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 32:32But their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 29:18
Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure…
- Isaiah 1:10
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Deuteronomy 29:18
Through
Genesis 18:20Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
it leads to
- Genesis 19:13
because we are about to destroy this place. For the outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it.”
- Ezekiel 16:49–50
Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
- Isaiah 3:9
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
- Genesis 19:13
Through
Jeremiah 29:23For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He…
it leads to
- Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
- Hebrews 4:13
Through
Ezekiel 22:25The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
it leads to
- Hosea 6:9
Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.
- Hosea 6:9
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceCities of the plainGomorrahSodom's sister city, destroyed with it by fire as a byword of judgment.
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
- PlaceCities of the plainSodomThe city of the plain that Abraham pleaded for and that fire from heaven destroyed while Lot fled, named by the prophets, by Peter…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.