Bible Strands
Jeremiah 23:34
As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah to the people of Israel, directly confronting prophets, priests, and laymen who misuse sacred language. This occurs during a period of widespread spiritual confusion where unauthorized claims to divine authority had become common.
The words — The phrase מַשּׂא יְהוָה (maśśaʾ YHWH) literally means "burden of Yahweh," referring to a heavy prophetic oracle. The verb וּ/פָקַדְתִּי (ū/pāqaḏtî) translates as "and I will visit [judgment]," denoting enforced accountability.
The thread — The text warns against false prophetic claims and tracks to Zechariah 13:3, which prescribes death for persistent false prophets, and Lamentations 2:14, which records how deceptive visions failed to expose national guilt.
Why it lands — The verse demands that spiritual authority be verified rather than assumed from bold declarations. It requires readers to reject unverified claims to divine speech and submit all messages to established revelation.
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 as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 13:3 And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through.
- Lamentations 2:14 The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.