Jeremiah 5:13
in Jeremiah 5The prophets are but wind, for the word is not in them. So let their own predictions befall them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
KJV
And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
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This verse in Jeremiah 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Continuation of the unbelieving language of the Jews. the prophets--who prophesy punishment coming on us. the word--the Holy Spirit, who speaks through true prophets, is not in them [MAURER]. Or else, "There is no word (divine communication) in them" (Ho 1:2) [ROSENMULLER]. thus, &c.--Their ill-omened prophecies shall fall on themselves.
This site's exposition
but do not finish them off
on Jeremiah 5:10-13
The command to destroy carries its own limit, “but do not finish them off”, the restraint 4:27 already named. The house of Israel and the house of Judah are named together as utterly unfaithful. Their false confidence speaks at verse 12, “He will not do anything”.
This site's exposition
The prophets are but wind
The mockery of verse 12 continues, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it, with the people calling the true prophets wind. The word is the Holy Spirit who speaks through prophets, in Maurer's reading. The people wish the prophets' own predictions on them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12, 13.) They denied the Lord and said: He is not (or these things are not), and evil will not come upon us. We will not see sword and famine. The prophets spoke in vain and there was no answer (or response) in them. Therefore, these things will happen to them.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
It is not the word of the Lord that is in them; it is only the language of their melancholy fancy or their ill-will to their country, because they are not preferred." Note, Impenitent sinners are not willing to own any thing to be the word of God that makes against them, that tends either to part them from, or disquiet them in, their sins.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the L ORD , nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the L ORD , and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v4-5
Became wind - A proverbial expression, all the prophet's threats shall come to nothing. The word - The prophet's words are not from God. Thus - It shall fall upon their own heads that have thus threatened us.
And the prophets shall become wind,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And the prophets shall become wind - What are the prophets? Empty persons. Their words are wind; we hear the sound of their threatening but of the matter of the threatenings we shall hear no more. And the word is not in them - There is no inspirer, but may their own predictions fall on their own heads! This seems the natural sense of this passage.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Word - Rather, speaker. Literally, And he who speaketh is not in them, i. e., there is no one who speaketh in them; what the prophets say has no higher authority than themselves. Thus ... - i. e., May the evil which the prophets threaten fall upon their head.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And the prophets shall become wind As the Targum renders: And the false prophets shall become naught.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And [they] said, “It is not He” [The Targum renders:] Our good fortune does not come before Him.
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. 5 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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַנְּבִיאִים֙ | vehaneviim | and the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| יִֽהְי֣וּ | yihyu | they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְר֔וּחַ | leruach | <into> wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| וְהַדִּבֵּ֖ר | vehadiber | and the word | H1699 → | |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בָּהֶ֑ם | bahem | [is] in <the> them | ||
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יֵעָשֶׂ֖ה | yeaseh | let it be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶֽם׃ ס | lahem | to <the> them |
וְהַנְּבִיאִים֙and the prophets
vehaneviimH5030 →314 times
יִֽהְי֣וּthey will become
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
לְר֔וּחַ<into> wind
leruachH7307 →378 times
וְהַדִּבֵּ֖רand the word
vehadiberH1699 →
אֵ֣יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
בָּהֶ֑ם[is] in <the> them
bahem
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
יֵעָשֶׂ֖הlet it be done
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶֽם׃ סto <the> them
lahem
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 14:13“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:14
They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
- Jeremiah 4:10
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”
- Jeremiah 23:17
They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’
- Jeremiah 6:14
Through
Hosea 9:7The 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…
it leads to
- Acts 26:24–25
At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”
- Micah 7:4
The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time…
- Acts 26:24–25
Through
Job 8:2“How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.
it leads to
Through
Jeremiah 14:15Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine.
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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, 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 Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; 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.