Jeremiah 23:21
in Jeremiah 23I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I spake not unto them, yet they prophesied.
KJV
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verses 21, 22). I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had stood in my council and had made my words known to my people, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their actions. This sentiment is explained by the Apostle to the Romans: And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD of
on Jeremiah 23:16-22
A true word is tested by its source. These prophets “speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD,” and promise, “No harm will come to you.” Verse 22 gives the test, since true prophets would have “turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”
This site's exposition
I did not send these prophets
A true prophet is sent and then speaks, and these men did both without the LORD. Clarke says they ran for their own profit and passed off their own ideas as His word. The test comes in the next verse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We must, however, examine such things carefully. For there are verily men, who have not been counted worthy of Christ's grace, but make the reputation of being saints and honourable an opportunity of gain. Of such one may say, that they are bold and shameless hypocrites, who seize honours for themselves, even though God has not called them thereto; they praise themselves, and imitate the bold doings of the false prophets of old, of whom God said; "I have not sent the prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken unto them, yet they prophesied." And so too may He say of these, I have not sanctified them, but they falsely assume the gift for themselves: they have not been counted worthy of My grace, but wickedly seize those things which I bestow on such alone as are worthy to receive them. These, making a show of fasting, walk sadly with downcast looks, while full of fraud and baseness. And often they pride themselves on letting their nails grow long: and are especially fond of their complexion being sallow: and though no one compel them, they delight in enduring such misery as men have to bear in prison, hanging collars on their necks, and putting fetters sometimes on their hands and feet. Such persons the Saviour has commanded us to avoid, saying; "Beware of those who come to you in sheep's clothing: but within are ravening wolves."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran,....
Yet they were very forward-- they ran; they were very bold-- they prophesied without any of that difficulty with which the true prophets sometimes struggled. They said to sinners, You shall have peace.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran - Not to save souls, but to profit themselves. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied - They never received the word at my mouth; yet they went, publishing their own deceits, and pretending them to be revelations from God. The churches which have legal emoluments are ever in danger of being overrun and ruined by worldly and self-interested priests.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
sent . . . spoken--"sent" refers to the primary call: "spoken" to the subsequent charges given to be executed. A call is required, not only external, on the part of men, but also internal from God, that one should undertake a pastor's office [CALVIN].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ran - i. e., hurried to take upon them the responsibilites of the prophetic office.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁלַ֥חְתִּי | shalachti | I sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַנְּבִאִ֖ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| וְהֵ֣ם | vehem | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| רָ֑צוּ | ratzu | they ran | H7323 → | 103 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| דִבַּ֥רְתִּי | dibarti | I spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְהֵ֥ם | vehem | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| נִבָּֽאוּ׃ | nibau | they prophesied | H5012 → | 115 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁלַ֥חְתִּיI sent
shalachtiH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַנְּבִאִ֖יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
וְהֵ֣םand they
vehemH1992 →553 times
רָ֑צוּthey ran
ratzuH7323 →103 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
דִבַּ֥רְתִּיI spoke
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֖םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
וְהֵ֥םand they
vehemH1992 →553 times
נִבָּֽאוּ׃they prophesied
nibauH5012 →115 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 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:14–15
“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 27:15
For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
- Ezekiel 13:2–3
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Tell those who prophesy out of their own imagination: Hear the word of the LORD!
- Ezekiel 22:28
Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- Jeremiah 14:14–15
Through
Jeremiah 14:14“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:31
“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 13:6–7
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Ezekiel 12:24
For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel,
- Jeremiah 29:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Jeremiah
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 55; 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.