Bible Strands
Jeremiah 23:31
“Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks this judgment oracle through Jeremiah against false prophets who claim divine authority without being sent. The message addresses the community being misled by these unauthorized messengers.
The words — The Hebrew לְשׁוֹנָם (le.sho.Na/m) literally means "their tongue," paired with וַיִּנְאֲמוּ (va.i.yin.'a.Mu), meaning "and they have uttered." These terms describe the prophets' self-directed speech rather than received revelation.
The thread — This theme of unauthorized prophetic speech appears in Jeremiah 23:17, where messengers falsely promise peace, and in 2 Chronicles 18:5 and 2 Chronicles 18:10, where gathered prophets deliver messages aligned with royal expectations rather than divine command.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to distinguish between messages originating from a speaker's own agenda and those genuinely commissioned by God. It demands verification of a prophet's authority through alignment with God's prior commands and character.
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
Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
Cross-references
- 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.’
- 2 Chronicles 18:5 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:10 Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
- 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.
- 2 Chronicles 18:19 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one suggested this, and another that.
- Micah 2:11 If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!