Jeremiah 23:33

“Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD commands Jeremiah to answer anyone, whether a layman, prophet, or priest, who asks him to explain "the burden of the LORD." This instruction follows a warning against false prophets who lead the people astray with unauthorized dreams and lies.

The words — The Hebrew term מַשָּׂא (massa) literally means "burden" or "loaded message." Jeremiah is directed to reject the question entirely and declare that God will forsake those who treat the title lightly.

The thread — The phrase "burden of the LORD" opens the oracles in Isaiah 13:1 and Malachi 1:1, but Jeremiah 23:34 immediately forbids anyone else from claiming it. The passage echoes Deuteronomy 32:19, where divine rejection follows the people's provocation.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to stop treating divine revelation as a subject for casual inquiry or a title to be claimed. It demands submission to God's authority rather than appropriating His messages for personal or popular appeal.

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

And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord.

Cross-references

Malachi 1:1 This is the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi:
Deuteronomy 32:19 When the LORD saw this, He rejected them, provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.
Isaiah 13:1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
Jeremiah 12:7 I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies.
Hosea 9:12 Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!
Nahum 1:1 This is the burden against Nineveh, the book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite:
Habakkuk 1:1 This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received in a vision:
Deuteronomy 31:17 On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’
2 Chronicles 15:2 So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
Psalms 78:59 On hearing it, God was furious and rejected Israel completely.