Bible Strands
Jeremiah 23:26
How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks through Jeremiah to the false prophets of Judah, interrupting their claims of divine revelation to confront their ongoing deception.
The words — מָתַ֗י (ma.Tai) = "when?" and בְּ/לֵ֥ב (be./Lev) = "in the heart of" frame the rhetorical question, highlighting the internal persistence of their error.
The thread — The condemnation of unauthorized prophecy appears in Jeremiah 14:14, where YHWH denies commissioning them, and resurfaces in 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Thessalonians 2:9 regarding later abandonment of truth through deceitful spirits and false wonders.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate discernment between self-generated visions and genuine divine communication, requiring readers to reject messages that originate in personal delusion rather than God's word.
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
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;
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- 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.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- 2 Timothy 4:3 For 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.
- 2 Peter 2:13 The harm they will suffer is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you.
- Psalms 4:2 How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
- Isaiah 30:10 They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- Jeremiah 4:14 Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
- Jeremiah 13:27 Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”
- Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?