Jeremiah 23:13
in Jeremiah 23“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
KJV
And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria,.... The ten tribes of Israel, among whom, in Ahab's time there were many false prophets, Baal's prophets, even four hundred and fifty; whose "folly" the Lord had formerly taken notice of; even their idolatry and impiety for giving into which the ten tribes had been carried captive years ago.
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
Among the prophets of Samaria
Samaria was the northern capital, already taken into exile. Gill recalls the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal in Ahab's day. Barnes explains the offensive thing as folly, something tasteless, like food with no salt.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 13) And in the prophets of Samaria I saw foolishness (or wickedness (Vulgate: foolishness))); they prophesied in Baal and deceived my people Israel. I think that the prophets of Samaria, according to mystical understanding, are properly called heretics, and all who boast of false knowledge. However, just as the prophets of Samaria prophesied in Baal, that is, an idol consecrated to demons, so heretics speak whatever they say in the Church or outside the Church, in order to deceive the people of Israel, who previously beheld God, they speak in demons.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And I have seen folly ... - Rather, “Also I have seen.” The prophet contrasts the prophets of Samaria with those of Jerusalem. In the conduct of the former God saw folly (literally that which is insipid, as being unsalted). It was stupidity to prophesy by Baal, an idol. In Baal - i. e., in the name of Baal.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
folly--literally, "insipidity," "unsavouriness" (Job 6:6), not having the salt of godliness (Col 4:6). in Baal--in the name of Baal; in connection with his worship (see Jer 2:8). caused . . . to err-- (Isa 9:16).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria - This was not to be wondered at, for their religion was a system of corruption.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And in the prophets of Samaria I saw unseemliness before they were exiled.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
like slippery places Smooth ground upon which the foot slips and the person falls.
And in the prophets of Jerusalem I now see. a horrible thing a shameful thing.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבִנְבִיאֵ֥י | uvinviei | and among [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| שֹׁמְר֖וֹן | shomeron | Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| רָאִ֣יתִי | raiti | I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| תִפְלָ֑ה | tiflah | offensiveness | H8604 → | |
| הִנַּבְּא֣וּ | hinabeu | they prophesied | H5012 → | 115 times |
| בַבַּ֔עַל | vabaal | by <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| וַיַּתְע֥וּ | vaiyatu | and they caused to err | H8582 → | 50 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמִּ֖י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וּבִנְבִיאֵ֥יand among [the] prophets of
uvinvieiH5030 →314 times
שֹׁמְר֖וֹןSamaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
רָאִ֣יתִיI saw
raitiH7200 →1300 times
תִפְלָ֑הoffensiveness
tiflahH8604 →
הִנַּבְּא֣וּthey prophesied
hinabeuH5012 →115 times
בַבַּ֔עַלby <the> Baal
vabaalH1168 →82 times
וַיַּתְע֥וּand they caused to err
vaiyatuH8582 →50 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמִּ֖יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Isaiah 9:16For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up.
it leads to
- Matthew 15:14
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
- Isaiah 3:12
Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
- Matthew 15:14
Through
Jeremiah 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
it leads to
- Habakkuk 2:18
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
- Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
- Romans 2:17–24
Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;
- Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Jeremiah 10:21
For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
- Habakkuk 2:18
Through
2 Chronicles 33:9So Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 24:3–4
Surely this happened to Judah at the LORD’s command, to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all that he had done,
- 2 Kings 24:3–4
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.