Jeremiah 29:8

For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD of Hosts, identified as the God of Israel, addresses the exiled community in Babylon. He speaks at a moment when false spiritual voices are actively misleading the people about their future.

The words — The directive opens with כֹּה (khoh), meaning "thus," and אַל־ ('al-), a negative imperative meaning "do not." These terms frame the command as a direct, unalterable divine prohibition.

The thread — The warning against deception by false spiritual sources runs parallel to Ephesians 5:6, which cautions against empty words that bring God's wrath, and Jeremiah 5:31, which condemns lying prophets and self-authorizing priests. The rejection of counterfeit spiritual manifestations also surfaces in 2 Thessalonians 2:9.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate rejection of unverified spiritual claims, prioritizing direct divine instruction over human or supernatural speculation. A reader must test all prophetic and divinatory sources against the established word of God before accepting their authority.

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

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

Cross-references

Ephesians 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
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 27:9 But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your sorcerers who declare, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
Jeremiah 27:14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie.
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 Timothy 3:13 while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
2 Peter 2:2 Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.
Revelation 13:14 Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.