Bible Strands

Jeremiah 23:38

But if you claim, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ then this is what the LORD says: Because you have said, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ and I specifically told you not to make this claim,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses false prophets and the people who repeat their unauthorized claims. This occurs within a sequential judgment pronouncement immediately following a command to inquire about Yahweh's actual answers and words.

The words — מַשּׂא יְהוָה (masʾa YHWH) translates literally as "burden of Yahweh," a technical designation for a prophetic oracle. Yahweh explicitly forbids the audience from using this term for messages He did not authorize.

The thread — The warning against mislabeling prophetic utterances runs directly through Jeremiah 23:37 and 23:39, where Yahweh commands inquiry about His words and threatens to forget and cast out those who persist in the deception. The supplied reference to 2 Chronicles 11:13 records Levitical alignment with Rehoboam but does not intersect with this prophetic warning.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to accept only authorized divine communication and reject self-generated claims. It demands precise distinction between genuine revelation and human fabrication.

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

וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ ifמַשָּׂ֣אma.Sa'[the] burden ofיְהוָה֮Yah.wehYahwehתֹּאמֵרוּ֒to.me.Ruyou will sayלָכֵ֗ןla./Khen<to>/ thereforeכֹּ֚הkohthusאָמַ֣ר'a.Marhe saysיְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehיַ֧עַןYa.'anbecauseאֲמָרְכֶ֛ם'a.ma.re./Khemhave spoken/ youאֶת־'et-<obj.>הַדָּבָ֥רha./da.Varthe/ wordהַזֶּ֖הha./Zeh<the>/ thisמַשָּׂ֣אma.Sa'[the] burden ofיְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehוָאֶשְׁלַ֤חva./'esh.Lachand/ I sentאֲלֵיכֶם֙'a.lei./Khemto/ youלֵאמֹ֔רle./Mor<to>/ sayingלֹ֥אlo'notתֹאמְר֖וּto.me.Ruyou must sayמַשָּׂ֥אma.Sa'[the] burden ofיְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord;

Cross-references