Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.
Read it in contextLying Prophets
Start reading at Jeremiah 23:9 (Jeremiah 23:9 to Jeremiah 23:32).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon.
23:9Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.
23:10For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
23:11For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.
23:12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
23:13And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
23:14I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
23:15Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.
23:16Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
23:17They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
23:18For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
23:19Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
23:20The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
23:21I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
23:22But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23:23Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
23:24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
23:25I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
23:26How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
23:27Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
23:28The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
23:29Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
23:30Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
23:31Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
23:32Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
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Who
Who wrote the book? Jeremiah son of Hilkiah is the prophet behind the book, with Baruch serving as his scribe. The complete collection includes narrative and a historical appendix as well as Jeremiah's dictated words. Biblical references: Jeremiah 1:1; Jeremiah 36:4; Jeremiah 36:32. stated in the text
Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Jeremiah 21:1–24:10): Jeremiah addresses royal envoys, Judah's kings, shepherds, and prophets; the people and exiles are the subjects of the messages concerning leadership and judgment. stated in the text
Who was the book written to? Judah and Jerusalem before and during the Babylonian crisis, exiles in Babylon, and later readers of the preserved prophetic collection. Individual oracles name additional recipients. Biblical references: Jeremiah 2:2; Jeremiah 29:1; Jeremiah 46:1. stated in the text
What
What is the topic of this reading unit? Lying Prophets. Read Jeremiah 23:9 through Jeremiah 23:32 as a connected unit. interpretation
How does it contribute to the book? Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon. interpretation
When
When are the events or message set? The opening dates Jeremiah's ministry from Josiah's reign toward the captivity of Jerusalem. Individual messages also name particular reigns and events, and the book is not arranged as a simple diary. book background
Where
What is the book’s geographic setting? Judah and Jerusalem dominate, with messages to exiles in Babylon, accounts involving Egypt, and oracles concerning other nations. book background
Where does the context start?
This passage sits in Lying Prophets (Jeremiah 23:9 to Jeremiah 23:32).
Start reading at Jeremiah 23:9. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? Hebrews explicitly quotes Jeremiah's new-covenant promise in its explanation of Christ's priestly work. The quotation retains the named houses of Israel and Judah; later application should account for that wording. See Jeremiah 31:31, Hebrews 8:8, Hebrews 8:10. interpretation
How should this book guide our response? Listen to unwelcome truth and distinguish it from reassuring claims unsupported by God's word. Do not detach promises of restoration from the judgment, exile, and response described around them. interpretation
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Jeremiah 23
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Jeremiah records words associated with his prophetic ministry and accounts surrounding Judah's fall. The book is not arranged as one continuous dated diary. Read each oracle's audience, occasion, and conditions rather than assigning every promise to every reader. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Connection to the wholeThis opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon.
Connection to the wholeThis unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Jeremiah
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Jeremiah records words associated with his prophetic ministry and accounts surrounding Judah's fall. The book is not arranged as one continuous dated diary. Read each oracle's audience, occasion, and conditions rather than assigning every promise to every reader.
Connection to the wholeNarratives and letters contrast competing claims about the LORD's word and address life under Babylonian power, including the exiles' situation.
Connection to the wholeWords of restoration appear amid announced judgment, including the new covenant promise; their wording and named audience must remain visible.
Connection to the wholeThe accounts follow conflicts around the prophetic word, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the choices of survivors, with a word to Baruch.
Connection to the wholeThe historical appendix recounts the disaster and closes with Jehoiachin's release, placing the preceding messages beside their historical aftermath.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.