Bible Strands
Jeremiah 23:21
I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — YHWH addresses Judah concerning unauthorized prophets who claim divine authority without actual commission. This declaration occurs within a broader oracle condemning deceptive messengers and affirming that God's anger will persist until His purposes are fulfilled.
The words — The text emphasizes שָׁלַ֥חְתִּי (sha.Lach.ti, "I sent") and דִבַּ֥רְתִּי (di.Bar.ti, "I spoke") to establish the required divine origin of true prophecy. It contrasts these with רָ֑צוּ (Ra.tzu, "they ran"), describing the self-appointed prophets' unauthorized haste to deliver messages.
The thread — This denial of divine commission appears in Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 27:15, and Jeremiah 23:32, where God repeatedly rejects unauthorized prophetic claims. The passage contrasts these figures with true messengers in Jeremiah 23:22, who stood in God's council and turned people from evil.
Why it lands — The verse demands verification of a message's source against the speaker's self-appointment. Readers must distinguish between self-driven religious activity and authorized divine communication.
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
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
Cross-references
- 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, the futility and delusion of their own minds.
- 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.”
- Jeremiah 23:32 “Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.
- 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 29:9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
- 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,
- John 20:21 Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
- Acts 13:4 So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
- Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”
- Romans 10:15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”