Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
False prophets » Not sent or commissioned by God
But the Lord said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.
yet they ran with a message.
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
“Send a message to all the exiles, saying: This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie,
Sending and those sent » Who the lord did not send
For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "Don't let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don't listen to the dreams you elicit from them, for they are prophesying falsely to you in My name. I have not sent them." [This is] the Lord's declaration.
And I replied, "Oh no, Lord God ! The prophets are telling them, 'You won't see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you true peace in this place.' " But the Lord said to me, "These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds. "Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say: There will never be sword or famine in this land: By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end.
Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord, because of His holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; the land mourns because of the curse, and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up. Their way of life has become evil, and their power is not rightly used because both prophet and priest are ungodly, even in My house I have found their evil. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. read more.
Therefore, their way will be to them like slippery paths in the gloom. They will be driven away and fall down there, for I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment. [This is] the Lord's declaration. Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something disgusting: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. Among the prophets of Jerusalem also I saw a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, and none turns his back on evil. They are all like Sodom to Me; Jerusalem's residents are like Gomorrah. Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says concerning the prophets: I am about to feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land. This is what the Lord of Hosts says: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord's mouth. They keep on saying to those who despise Me: The Lord has said: You will have peace. To everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they have said, No harm will come to you." For who has stood in the council of the Lord to see and hear His word? Who has paid attention to His word and obeyed? Look, a storm from the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling storm. It will whirl about the head of the wicked. The Lord's anger will not turn back until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart. In time to come you will understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they ran [with a message]. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned them back from their evil ways and their evil deeds. "Am I a God who is only near"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"and not a God who is far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"-the Lord's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"-the Lord's declaration. "I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said: I had a dream! I had a dream! How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? Through their dreams that they tell one another, they make plans to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship. The prophet who has [only] a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw [compared] to grain?"-the Lord's declaration. "Is not My word like fire"-the Lord's declaration-"and like a sledgehammer that pulverizes rock? Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who steal My words from each other. I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who use their own tongues to deliver an oracle. I am against those who prophesy false dreams"-the Lord's declaration-"telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people"-[this is] the Lord's declaration.
Therefore, their way will be to them like slippery paths in the gloom. They will be driven away and fall down there, for I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment. [This is] the Lord's declaration. Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something disgusting: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. Among the prophets of Jerusalem also I saw a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, and none turns his back on evil. They are all like Sodom to Me; Jerusalem's residents are like Gomorrah. Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says concerning the prophets: I am about to feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land. This is what the Lord of Hosts says: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord's mouth. They keep on saying to those who despise Me: The Lord has said: You will have peace. To everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they have said, No harm will come to you." For who has stood in the council of the Lord to see and hear His word? Who has paid attention to His word and obeyed? Look, a storm from the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling storm. It will whirl about the head of the wicked. The Lord's anger will not turn back until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart. In time to come you will understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they ran [with a message]. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. If they had really stood in My council, they would have enabled My people to hear My words and would have turned them back from their evil ways and their evil deeds. "Am I a God who is only near"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"and not a God who is far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"-the Lord's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"-the Lord's declaration. "I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said: I had a dream! I had a dream! How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? Through their dreams that they tell one another, they make plans to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship. The prophet who has [only] a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw [compared] to grain?"-the Lord's declaration. "Is not My word like fire"-the Lord's declaration-"and like a sledgehammer that pulverizes rock? Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who steal My words from each other. I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who use their own tongues to deliver an oracle. I am against those who prophesy false dreams"-the Lord's declaration-"telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people"-[this is] the Lord's declaration.
In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon said to me in the temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord's temple that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. read more.
And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon'-[this is] the Lord's declaration-'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.' " The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may He restore the articles of the Lord's temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace-only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one whom the Lord has truly sent." The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, "This is what the Lord says: 'In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all the nations.' " Jeremiah the prophet then went on his way. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet: "Go say to Hananiah: This is what the Lord says: You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar. For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have also put the wild animals under him." The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie.
And I will restore to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon'-[this is] the Lord's declaration-'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.' " The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may He restore the articles of the Lord's temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace-only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one whom the Lord has truly sent." The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, "This is what the Lord says: 'In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all the nations.' " Jeremiah the prophet then went on his way. The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet: "Go say to Hananiah: This is what the Lord says: You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar. For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have also put the wild animals under him." The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie.
This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it might stand in battle on the day of the Lord. read more.
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim: [This is] the Lord's declaration, when the Lord did not send them, yet they wait for the fulfillment of [their] message.
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim: [This is] the Lord's declaration, when the Lord did not send them, yet they wait for the fulfillment of [their] message.