Jeremiah 28:8
in Jeremiah 28The prophets of old who preceded you and me prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
KJV
The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
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This verse in Jeremiah 28
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe prophets that have been before me - Namely, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and others; all of whom denounced similar evils against a corrupt people.
This site's exposition
Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to
on Jeremiah 28:5-9
Jeremiah answers before the same crowd, “May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied.” A prophet of peace is known as sent “only if the word of the prophet comes true,” the test of Deuteronomy 18:22. Hananiah's claim is held for the one proof that settles it, time.
This site's exposition
The prophets of old who preceded you
Clarke names the earlier prophets as Joel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum and Habakkuk. Each spoke of war, disaster and plague against a corrupt people. A word of judgment stood in the old line of the prophets, and a word of peace needed proof.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 7 seqq.) Nevertheless, listen to this word that I speak in your ears and in the ears of all the people: The prophets who were before me and you from the beginning, prophesied about many lands and great kingdoms, about battles, affliction, and famine. The prophet who prophesied peace, when his word comes, the prophet whom the Lord has sent in truth will be known. Jeremiah could have said to Ananiah: You speak falsely, you deceive the people, you are not a prophet but a false prophet.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The doom both of the deceived and the deceiver is here read. The people that were deceived should have their yoke of wood turned into a yoke of iron (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The prophets that have been before me, and before thee of old,....
Of the justice of God in giving judgment between Jeremiah and his adversary. Jeremiah went his way, as a man in whose mouth there was no rebuke, but God soon put a word into his mouth; for he will appear for those who silently commit their cause to him. The word of God, in the mouth of Jeremiah, is ratified and confirmed.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
prophets . . . before me--Hosea, Joel, Amos, and others. evil--a few manuscripts, read "famine," which is more usually associated with the specification of war and pestilence (Jer 15:2;
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַנְּבִיאִ֗ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הָי֧וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְפָנַ֛י | lefanai | <to> before me | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וּלְפָנֶ֖יךָ | ulefaneikha | and <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָֽעוֹלָ֑ם | haolam | <the> antiquity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| וַיִּנָּ֨בְא֜וּ | vaiyinaveu | and they prophesied | H5012 → | 115 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲרָצ֤וֹת | ʾaratzot | lands | H776 → | 2504 times |
| רַבּוֹת֙ | rabot | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַמְלָכ֣וֹת | mamlakhot | kingdoms | H4467 → | 117 times |
| גְּדֹל֔וֹת | gedolot | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| לְמִלְחָמָ֖ה | lemilchamah | of war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וּלְרָעָ֥ה | uleraah | and of calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּלְדָֽבֶר׃ | uledaver | and of pestilence | H1698 → | 49 times |
הַנְּבִיאִ֗יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הָי֧וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
לְפָנַ֛י<to> before me
lefanaiH6440 →2123 times
וּלְפָנֶ֖יךָand <to> before you
ulefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָֽעוֹלָ֑ם<the> antiquity
haolamH5769 →438 times
וַיִּנָּ֨בְא֜וּand they prophesied
vaiyinaveuH5012 →115 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲרָצ֤וֹתlands
ʾaratzotH776 →2504 times
רַבּוֹת֙many
rabotH7227 →454 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
מַמְלָכ֣וֹתkingdoms
mamlakhotH4467 →117 times
גְּדֹל֔וֹתgreat
gedolotH1419 →526 times
לְמִלְחָמָ֖הof war
lemilchamahH4421 →320 times
וּלְרָעָ֥הand of calamity
uleraahH7451 →662 times
וּלְדָֽבֶר׃and of pestilence
uledaverH1698 →49 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
1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…
it leads to
- Luke 4:25–26
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all…
- James 5:17
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
- Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to…
- 1 Kings 22:14
But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
- 2 Kings 3:14
Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at…
- Luke 4:25–26
Through
1 Kings 22:8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son…
it leads to
- John 3:19–21
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- Amos 5:10
There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- John 3:19–21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; 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.