Jeremiah 23:22
in Jeremiah 23But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if they had stood in my council, then had they caused my people to hear my words, and had turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
KJV
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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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis enables us to see, brethren, that they of Nicaea breathe the spirit of Scripture, in that God says in Exodus, `I am that I am,' and through Jeremiah, `Who is in His substance and hath seen His word;' and just below, `if they had stood in My subsistence and heard My words:' now subsistence is essence, and means nothing else but very being, which Jeremiah calls existence, in the words, `and they heard not the voice of existence.' For subsistence, and essence, is existence: for it is, or in other words exists.
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
if they had stood in My council
Verse 22 gives the proof of a true call. A prophet who had stood in the LORD's council would have turned the people from their evil ways. Henry notes that these men did the opposite, urging sinners on in their sins.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verses 21, 22). I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had stood in my council and had made my words known to my people, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their actions. This sentiment is explained by the Apostle to the Romans: And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
What if these formulas also are scriptural, and of these two formulas, one is used with such clearness that one knows it has not been invented by me but has already been authorized by sacred Scripture? David, who sings hymns in the book of Psalms, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They would have encouraged and assisted the reformation of manners, would have made this their scope in all their preaching, to part between men and their sins; but it appeared that this was a thing they never aimed at, but, on the contrary, to encourage sinners in their sins.
But if they had stood in my counsel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Isa 55:11), and so would have averted punishment. Their not teaching the law in which God's counsel is set forth proves they are not His prophets, though they boast of being so (Mt 7:15-20).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They should have turned them ... - The work of the true prophet, which is to turn men from evil unto good.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִֽם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| עָמְד֖וּ | ʾamedu | they had stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| בְּסוֹדִ֑י | besodi | in council my | H5475 → | 21 times |
| וְיַשְׁמִ֤עוּ | veyashmiu | so they may cause to hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| דְבָרַי֙ | devarai | words my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמִּ֔י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וִֽישִׁבוּם֙ | vishivum | and they will turn back them | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מִדַּרְכָּ֣ם | midarkam | from way their | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הָרָ֔ע | hara' | <the> wicked | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּמֵרֹ֖עַ | umeroa' | and from [the] wickedness of | H7455 → | 19 times |
| מַֽעַלְלֵיהֶֽם׃ ס | maaleihem | deeds their | H4611 → | 41 times |
וְאִֽם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
עָמְד֖וּthey had stood
ʾameduH5975 →521 times
בְּסוֹדִ֑יin council my
besodiH5475 →21 times
וְיַשְׁמִ֤עוּso they may cause to hear
veyashmiuH8085 →1159 times
דְבָרַי֙words my
devaraiH1697 →1440 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמִּ֔יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
וִֽישִׁבוּם֙and they will turn back them
vishivumH7725 →1056 times
מִדַּרְכָּ֣םfrom way their
midarkamH1870 →707 times
הָרָ֔ע<the> wicked
hara'H7451 →662 times
וּמֵרֹ֖עַand from [the] wickedness of
umeroa'H7455 →19 times
מַֽעַלְלֵיהֶֽם׃ סdeeds their
maaleihemH4611 →41 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
Jeremiah 35:15Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 18:11
Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:5–6
The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and…
- Ezekiel 18:30–32
Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.
- Jeremiah 18:11
Through
Ezekiel 13:22Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:14
And 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.…
- Jeremiah 23:14
Through
Zechariah 1:4Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen…
it leads to
- Psalms 78:8
Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.
- Psalms 78:8
Through
Jeremiah 25:5The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:7
then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
- Jeremiah 17:25
then kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses with their officials, along with the men of…
- Isaiah 55:6–7
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Jeremiah 7:7
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 on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF AFRICA 4; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Gaius Marius Victorinus, AGAINST ARIUS 2:12; 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.