Jeremiah 23:12
in Jeremiah 23“Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery places in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein; for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
KJV
Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
9 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
their path will become slick
A slick path in the dark gives no footing, and those on it are driven until they fall. Barnes notes that every word makes the fall certain. The prophets and priests of verse 11 are the ones who slip.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Ignatius of AntiochEpistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians · Written before 108.
proposed
Wherefore, as children of light and truth, avoid the dividing of your unity, and the wicked doctrine of the heretics, from whom "a defiling influence has gone forth into all the earth." But where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow. For there are many wolves in sheep's clothing, who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place.
Let their way become dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them. He demanded that the situation of sinners be wholly arduous, so that their way, which seems to them clear and firm as they linger pleasurably on it, may become …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They pretend to prevent the evil that threatens others, but God will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, the time fixed for calling them to an account; such a time is fixed concerning all that do not judge themselves, and it will be an evil time. The year of visitation is the year of recompenses. It is further threatened (
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Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Every word denotes the certainty of their fall. “Their path is like slippery places in darkness:” and on this path “they are pushed with violence.” External circumstances assist in urging on to ruin those who choose the path of vice.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
slippery ways in . . . darkness--Their "way" is their false doctrine which proves fatal to them (Jer 13:16; I will bring evil . . . visitation--still more calamities than those already inflicted. See on Jer 11:23; "visitation," namely, in wrath.
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
like slippery places Smooth ground upon which the foot slips and the person falls.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
both prophet and priest Even these, from whom everyone learns.
And in the prophets of Samaria I saw unseemliness before they were exiled.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָכֵן֩ | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֨ה | yihyeh | it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| דַרְכָּ֜ם | darkam | path their | H1870 → | 707 times |
| לָהֶ֗ם | lahem | for <the> them | ||
| כַּחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת֙ | kachalaklakot | like slippery places | H2519 → | |
| בָּֽאֲפֵלָ֔ה | baafelah | in the darkness | H653 → | |
| יִדַּ֖חוּ | yidachu | they will be pushed down | H1760 → | |
| וְנָ֣פְלוּ | venafelu | and they will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בָ֑הּ | vah | on <the> it | ||
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָבִ֨יא | ʾavi' | I will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֥ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רָעָ֛ה | raah | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| שְׁנַ֥ת | shenat | [the] year of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| פְּקֻדָּתָ֖ם | pekudatam | punishment their | H6486 → | 32 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
לָכֵן֩<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
יִֽהְיֶ֨הit will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
דַרְכָּ֜םpath their
darkamH1870 →707 times
לָהֶ֗םfor <the> them
lahem
כַּחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת֙like slippery places
kachalaklakotH2519 →
בָּֽאֲפֵלָ֔הin the darkness
baafelahH653 →
יִדַּ֖חוּthey will be pushed down
yidachuH1760 →
וְנָ֣פְלוּand they will fall
venafeluH5307 →435 times
בָ֑הּon <the> it
vah
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אָבִ֨יאI will bring
ʾavi'H935 →2568 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֥םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
רָעָ֛הcalamity
raahH7451 →662 times
שְׁנַ֥ת[the] year of
shenatH8141 →877 times
פְּקֻדָּתָ֖םpunishment their
pekudatamH6486 →32 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 13:16Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
it leads to
- Proverbs 4:19
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 8:22
Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.
- Isaiah 59:9
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
- Isaiah 60:2
For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.
- Joshua 7:19
So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not…
- Proverbs 4:19
Through
Proverbs 4:19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
it leads to
- John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the…
- Isaiah 59:9–10
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
- John 12:35
Through
Psalms 35:6May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:16
Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 13:16
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); Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 6; Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.