Jeremiah 28:9
in Jeremiah 28As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only if the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the LORD has truly sent.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The prophet that prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that Jehovah hath truly sent him.
KJV
The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 28
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWhen the word of the prophet shall come to pass - Here is the criterion. He is a true prophet who specifies things that he says shall happen, and also fixes the time of the event; and the things do happen, and in that time. You say that Nebuchadnezzar shall not overthrow this city; and that in two years from this time, not only the sacred vessels already taken away shall be restored, but also that Jeconiah and all the Jewish captives shall be restored, and the Babylonish yoke broken, see Jer 28:2, Jer 28:3, Jer 28:
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 prophet who prophesies peace
Clarke calls this the test of a true prophet. He names what will happen and when, and it comes to pass at that time. Hananiah had set two years, so the test would soon apply to him, as Deuteronomy 18:22 lays down.
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 prophet which prophesieth of peace,....
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
peace--Hananiah had given no warning as to the need of conversion, but had foretold prosperity unconditionally. Jeremiah does not say that all are true prophets who foretell truths in any instance (which De 13:1, 2, disproves); but asserts only the converse, namely, that whoever, as Hananiah, predicts what the event does not confirm, is a false prophet.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַנָּבִ֕יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִנָּבֵ֖א | yinave' | he prophesies | H5012 → | 115 times |
| לְשָׁל֑וֹם | leshalom | of peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| בְּבֹא֙ | bevo' | when comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| דְּבַ֣ר | devar | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַנָּבִ֗יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| יִוָּדַע֙ | yivada' | he will be recognized | H3045 → | 945 times |
| הַנָּבִ֔יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שְׁלָח֥וֹ | shelacho | he sent him | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בֶּאֱמֶֽת׃ | beemet | in truth | H571 → | 127 times |
הַנָּבִ֕יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִנָּבֵ֖אhe prophesies
yinave'H5012 →115 times
לְשָׁל֑וֹםof peace
leshalomH7965 →236 times
בְּבֹא֙when comes
bevo'H935 →2568 times
דְּבַ֣ר[the] word of
devarH1697 →1440 times
הַנָּבִ֗יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
יִוָּדַע֙he will be recognized
yivada'H3045 →945 times
הַנָּבִ֔יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
שְׁלָח֥וֹhe sent him
shelachoH7971 →845 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בֶּאֱמֶֽת׃in truth
beemetH571 →127 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 6:14They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:17
They 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.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 4:10
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 13:10
Because they have led My people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and whitewashing any flimsy wall that is built,
- Lamentations 2:14
The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
- Jeremiah 14:13
“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
- Jeremiah 23:17
Through
Deuteronomy 18:22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 18:20
But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put…
- 2 Kings 20:1
In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to…
- Deuteronomy 18:20
Through
Jeremiah 14:13“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
it leads to
- 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 6:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
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.