Bible Strands
Jeremiah 14:15
Therefore 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 famine these very prophets will meet their end!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to the nation, directly confronting prophets who falsely claim divine commission to deny impending sword and famine. This declaration follows His prior statement that He never sent or appointed these speakers.
The words — לָ/כֵ֞ן (la./Khen) carries the literal sense of "therefore" or "to this end," anchoring the judgment to the preceding rebuke. כֹּֽה\־ (koh-) translates as "thus," marking the formal introduction of Yahweh’s authoritative declaration.
The thread — The denial of coming calamity appears in Jeremiah 5:12, where false assurances claim no harm will arrive. The principle of shared liability for deception runs through Ezekiel 14:10, which states the inquirer and prophet will both bear their punishment.
Why it lands — The text states that prophets who fabricate peace will die by the exact calamities they denied, and the people they misled will suffer unburied. It demands readers distinguish between divine warning and human fabrication, accepting that unrepentant deception brings unavoidable judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 5:12 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.
- Ezekiel 14:10 They will bear their punishment—the punishment of the inquirer will be the same as that of the prophet—
- 1 Kings 22:25 Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”
- Jeremiah 6:15 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD.
- Jeremiah 8:12 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
- Jeremiah 20:6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die and be buried—you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied these lies.’”
- Jeremiah 23:14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
- Jeremiah 28:15 Then 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.
- Jeremiah 29:20 So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- 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,