Jeremiah 23:26
in Jeremiah 23How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?
KJV
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
prophets--a different Hebrew form from the usual one, "prophesiers." "How long," cries Jeremiah, impatient of their impious audacity, "shall these prophecy-mongers go on prophesying lies?" The answer is given in Jer 23:29-34.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
This site's exposition
I have heard the sayings of
on Jeremiah 23:25-32
The prophets’ doubled cry, “I had a dream!”, is mocked, and verse 28 sets the two side by side: “what is straw compared to grain?” The LORD’s word is “like fire” and “like a hammer that smashes a rock,” with a force the invented word lacks.
This site's exposition
How long will this continue
The question shows Jeremiah's patience running out. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the word for prophets here is an unusual form, like prophesiers. The lies come from their own minds, and verses 29 to 34 give the LORD's answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 25 onwards) I have heard what the prophets have said, prophesying in my name lies and saying: I had a dream (or I saw a vision). How long will this deceit be in the hearts (or minds) of the prophesying prophets, who desire (or think) to make my people forget my name because of their dreams, which each one tells to their neighbor, just as their fathers forgot my name for Baal (or in Baal).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?....
Shall I always bear with them? Is it in the hearts of those prophets (so some read it) to be ever prophesying lies and prophesying the deceits of their own hearts? Will they never see what an affront they put upon God, what an abuse they put upon the people, and what judgments they are preparing for themselves?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Some translate, “How long? Is it in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and prophesy the deceit of their heart - do they purpose to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they tell one to another?”
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מָתַ֗י | matai | when? | H4970 → | 43 times |
| הֲיֵ֛שׁ | hayesh | ¿ [is] there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| בְּלֵ֥ב | belev | in [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| הַנְּבִאִ֖ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| נִבְּאֵ֣י | nibeei | [who] prophesy | H5012 → | 115 times |
| הַשָּׁ֑קֶר | hashaker | <of the> falsehood | H8267 → | 113 times |
| וּנְבִיאֵ֖י | uneviei | and [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| תַּרְמִ֥ת | tarmit | [the] deceitfulness of | H8649 → | 6 times |
| לִבָּֽם׃ | libam | own heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מָתַ֗יwhen?
mataiH4970 →43 times
הֲיֵ֛שׁ¿ [is] there
hayeshH3426 →140 times
בְּלֵ֥בin [the] heart of
belevH3820 →595 times
הַנְּבִאִ֖יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
נִבְּאֵ֣י[who] prophesy
nibeeiH5012 →115 times
הַשָּׁ֑קֶר<of the> falsehood
hashakerH8267 →113 times
וּנְבִיאֵ֖יand [the] prophets of
unevieiH5030 →314 times
תַּרְמִ֥ת[the] deceitfulness of
tarmitH8649 →6 times
לִבָּֽם׃own heart their
libamH3820 →595 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
2 Timothy 4:3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:1–3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
- 2 Timothy 3:1–6
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
- 1 Timothy 4:1–3
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- 1 Timothy 1:10
for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- Galatians 4:16
Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
- 2 Peter 2:1–3
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
- 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.
- Jeremiah 29:8–9
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from…
- Ezekiel 12:24
For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel,
- Ezekiel 13:6–7
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
