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Jeremiah 23:36

in Jeremiah 23

But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man’s word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the burden of Jehovah shall ye mention no more: for every man’s own word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of Jehovah of hosts our God.

KJV

And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for 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.

This verse in Jeremiah 23

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Every man’s word shall be his burden - Ye say that all God’s messages are burdens, and to you they shall be such: whereas, had you used them as you ought, they would have been blessings to you. For ye have perverted the words of the living God - And thus have sinned against your own souls.

This site's exposition

Now when this people or a

on Jeremiah 23:33-40

The Hebrew massa means both a burden carried and an oracle spoken, and the people ask, “What is the burden of the LORD?” as a taunt. The LORD answers, “I will forsake you,” then punishes prophet, priest and people, since “you pervert the words of the living God.”

This site's exposition

refer no more to the burden

The word burden is turned back on the speaker. Clarke reads the verse to mean that each man's own mocking word becomes his load. Treating God's messages as burdens twisted the words of the living God, which would have been a blessing.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 33 and following) So if this people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, saying: what is the burden of God (or what is the assumption of the Lord)? you shall say to them: You are the burden (or assumption). For I will cast (or hurl) you away, says the Lord. And the prophet and the priest and the people, who says the burden (or assumption) of the Lord, I will visit (or avenge) upon that man and upon his house.

The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

5 Behold, the days come, saith the L ORD , 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. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE L ORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:93%@v5-6

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), for it is perverting the words of the living God and making a bad use of them, which is an impious dangerous thing; for, consider, he is the Lord of hosts our God.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Mention no more - Not in scorn and derision. For - These false and irreverent speeches which are in every man's mouth, shall be burdensome to them, shall bring down vengeance upon them.
And the burden of the Lord shall be mentioned no more,....
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

every man's word . . . his burden--As they mockingly call all prophecies burdens, as if calamities were the sole subject of prophecy, so it shall prove to them.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Every man’s word ... - Rather, every man’s burden shall be his word; i. e., his mocking use of the word “burden” shall weigh him down and crush him. Perverted - i. e., put into a ridiculous light.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וּמַשָּׂ֥אand [the] burden of

    umasa'H4853 →66 times

  • יְהוָ֖הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • תִזְכְּרוּ־you will remember

    tizkeru-H2142 →230 times

  • ע֑וֹדagain

    odH5750 →490 times

  • כִּ֣יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • הַמַּשָּׂ֗אthe burden

    hamasa'H4853 →66 times

  • יִֽהְיֶה֙it is

    yihyehH1961 →3559 times

  • לְאִ֣ישׁfor a person

    leishH376 →1663 times

  • דְּבָר֔וֹown word his

    devaroH1697 →1440 times

  • וַהֲפַכְתֶּ֗םand you change

    vahafakhtemH2015 →94 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • דִּבְרֵי֙[the] words of

    divreiH1697 →1440 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֣יםGod

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • חַיִּ֔יםliving

    chaiyimH2416 →498 times

  • יְהוָ֥הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • צְבָא֖וֹתof hosts

    tzevaotH6635 →485 times

  • אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃God our

    ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 10:10

    But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 32:4

      He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.

    • Isaiah 57:15

      For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit,…

    • Psalms 76:7

      You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?

    • Nahum 1:6

      Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.

    • Psalms 104:32

      He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smolder.

  • Through

    Psalms 64:8

    They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 18:7

      A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

    • Proverbs 12:13

      An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.

  • Through

    2 Peter 3:16

    He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest…

    it leads to

    • Matthew 15:6

      he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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; 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.