Bible Strands
Jeremiah 29:31
“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh instructs Jeremiah to deliver a warning to the exiles concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. This occurs during the ongoing judgment sequence against unauthorized prophetic activity in the exile community.
The words — שׁלח (she.Lach) translates to “send,” establishing the command to transmit the oracle. כה (koh) means “thus,” functioning as the formal marker introducing divine speech.
The thread — The rejection of unauthorized prophecy recurs in Jeremiah 29:9 and Jeremiah 14:14, where Yahweh explicitly denies commissioning those who speak in His name. Jeremiah 29:23 further links false speech to covenant violation.
Why it lands — The text demands verification of any prophetic claim against the standard of divine authorization. Readers must distinguish between messages that originate from God and those constructed by human initiative.
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
Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 29:9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
- 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.
- Jeremiah 29:23 For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
- Ezekiel 13:8 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.
- Ezekiel 13:22 Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,
- Jeremiah 23:21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
- Jeremiah 28:15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- 2 Peter 2:1 Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.