Jeremiah 23:17
in Jeremiah 23They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They say continually unto them that despise me, Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Still - “Continually.” This verse gives the chief test by which the false prophet is to be detected, namely, that his predictions violate the laws of morality.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD of
on Jeremiah 23:16-22
A true word is tested by its source. These prophets “speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD,” and promise, “No harm will come to you.” Verse 22 gives the test, since true prophets would have “turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”
This site's exposition
you will have peace
The false prophets promise peace to those who despise the LORD and follow their own stubborn hearts. Barnes calls this the chief test of a false prophet, a word that excuses sin. Henry adds that they put their lies in God's mouth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Against such people as these the Lord cries out, from these he reins in and recalls his erring people, saying, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who invent a vain vision for themselves, which they speak as false prophets from their own heart and not from the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who reject the words of the Lord, 'Peace shall be yours' and to all who walk according to their own desires, to everyone who walks in the error of his heart, they have said, 'No evil shall come on you.' "
(Verse 16, 17.) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, and deceive you. They speak a vision of their own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who despise me (or reject my word), the Lord has spoken, you shall have peace. And to everyone who walks according to the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, no evil shall come upon you.
The Lord cries out and says, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who invent a vain vision for themselves, which they speak as false prophets from their own heart and not from the mouth of the Lord. They say to them that reject the words of the Lord, "Peace shall be yours." They who themselves have neither peace nor the church are now offering peace; they who have withdrawn from the church are permitting the bringing back and recalling of the lapsed. God is one, and Christ, one, and the church, one, and the chair established on Peter by the voice of the Lord, one. Another altar cannot be set up or a new priesthood be made contrary to the one altar and the one priesthood.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And, which was worst of all, they told them, God has said so, so making him to patronize sin, and to contradict himself. Note, Those that are resolved to go on in their evil ways will justly be given up to believe the strong delusions of those who tell them that they shall have peace though they go on.
They say still unto them that despise me,.... That despised the word, worship, and ordinances of the Lord; with such mockers and scoffers at religion, such abandoned creatures, they associated themselves; finding that their prophecies and doctrines met with approbation and success among them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
say still--Hebrew, "say in saying," that is, say incessantly. peace-- (Jer 6:14;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֹמְרִ֤ים | ʾomerim | [they are] saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָמוֹר֙ | ʾamor | continually <to say> | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִֽמְנַאֲצַ֔י | limnaatzai | to [those who] despise me | H5006 → | 25 times |
| דִּבֶּ֣ר | diber | he says | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שָׁל֖וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| וְ֠כֹל | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֹלֵ֞ךְ | holekh | [one who] walks | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בִּשְׁרִר֤וּת | bishrirut | in [the] stubbornness of | H8307 → | 10 times |
| לִבּוֹ֙ | libo | own heart his | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אָֽמְר֔וּ | ʾameru | they have said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָב֥וֹא | tavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾaleikhem | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רָעָֽה׃ | raah | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
אֹמְרִ֤ים[they are] saying
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
אָמוֹר֙continually <to say>
ʾamorH559 →5305 times
לִֽמְנַאֲצַ֔יto [those who] despise me
limnaatzaiH5006 →25 times
דִּבֶּ֣רhe says
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שָׁל֖וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
יִֽהְיֶ֣הit will belong
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֑םto <the> you
lakhem
וְ֠כֹלand every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הֹלֵ֞ךְ[one who] walks
holekhH1980 →1546 times
בִּשְׁרִר֤וּתin [the] stubbornness of
bishrirutH8307 →10 times
לִבּוֹ֙own heart his
liboH3820 →595 times
אָֽמְר֔וּthey have said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָב֥וֹאit will come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
עֲלֵיכֶ֖םon you
ʾaleikhemH5921 →5755 times
רָעָֽה׃calamity
raahH7451 →662 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
Micah 3:11Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:13
“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
- Isaiah 1:23
Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
- Micah 3:5
This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their…
- Jeremiah 7:4
Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
- Acts 8:18–20
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.
- Jeremiah 6:13
Through
Micah 3:5This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:14–15
“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination,…
- Jeremiah 6:14
They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
- Jeremiah 14:14–15
Through
Amos 9:10All the sinners among My people will die by the sword—all those who say, ‘Disaster will never draw near or confront us.’”
it leads to
- Amos 6:3
You dismiss the day of calamity and bring near a reign of violence.
- Amos 6:3
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Cyprian, Treatise I. On the Unity of the Church 11; Cyprian, Epistle XXXIX:5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.