Jeremiah 23:11
in Jeremiah 23“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
for both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah.
KJV
For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Vers. 11, 12.) For the prophet and the priest have become polluted, and in my house I have found their evils," says the Lord. "Therefore, their way will be like a slippery path in the darkness. They will be pushed and fall in it, for I will bring upon them the year of their visitation," says the Lord. "When evils are found in the Church of God, especially in its leaders, let us know that the prophecy and the priesthood have become polluted. In my house I have found their evils," says the Lord.
This site's exposition
As for the prophets: My heart
on Jeremiah 23:9-15
Jeremiah’s own body bears the message: “My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble,” like “a man overcome by wine.” The prophets of Samaria “prophesied by Baal,” but the prophets of Jerusalem “commit adultery and walk in lies” and are “all like Sodom to Me.”
This site's exposition
both prophet and priest are ungodly
Prophet and priest were set apart for God, and Barnes notes they had made themselves common by their sin. The wickedness reached the temple itself. Barnes compares the sons of Eli, or idol rites held in the LORD's house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For both prophet and priest are profane,.... Being guilty of the afore mentioned sins.
Two things are charged upon them:-- 1. That they taught people to sin by their examples. He compares them with the prophets of Samaria, the head city of the kingdom of the ten tribes, which had been long since laid waste.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For both prophet and priest are profane - While by their office they are consecrated to God, they have made themselves common and unholy by their sins. See Jer 3:9 note. Yea, in my house - This may refer to sins such as those of the sons of Eli 1Sa 2:22, or that they had defiled the temple by idolatrous rites.
In my house - They had even introduced idolatry into the Temple of God!
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
both prophet and priest Even these, from whom everyone learns.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
like slippery places Smooth ground upon which the foot slips and the person falls.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גַם־ | gam- | both | H1571 → | 769 times |
| נָבִ֥יא | navi' | prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| גַם־ | gam- | as well as | H1571 → | 769 times |
| כֹּהֵ֖ן | kohen | priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| חָנֵ֑פוּ | chanefu | they are polluted | H2610 → | 11 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בְּבֵיתִ֛י | beveiti | in house my | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מָצָ֥אתִי | matzati | I have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| רָעָתָ֖ם | raatam | wickedness their | H7451 → | 662 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גַם־both
gam-H1571 →769 times
נָבִ֥יאprophet
navi'H5030 →314 times
גַם־as well as
gam-H1571 →769 times
כֹּהֵ֖ןpriest
kohenH3548 →750 times
חָנֵ֑פוּthey are polluted
chanefuH2610 →11 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
בְּבֵיתִ֛יin house my
beveitiH1004 →2046 times
מָצָ֥אתִיI have found
matzatiH4672 →455 times
רָעָתָ֖םwickedness their
raatamH7451 →662 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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 6:13“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 8:10
Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all…
- Micah 3:11
Through
Zephaniah 3:4Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
- Malachi 2:8
But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 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.
- Hosea 9:7
The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have arrived—let Israel know it. The prophet is called a fool, and the inspired man insane, because of the greatness of your iniquity and…
- Ezekiel 22:26
Through
Jeremiah 32:34They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:30
For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.
- Jeremiah 7:30
Through
Ezekiel 23:39On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary to profane it. Yes, they did this inside My house.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 21:4
Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name.”
- 2 Kings 21:4
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
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); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; 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.