Jeremiah 23:37 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Jeremiah 23:37 kjv
Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
Jeremiah 23:37 nkjv
Thus you shall say to the prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?'
Jeremiah 23:37 niv
This is what you keep saying to a prophet: 'What is the LORD's answer to you?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?'
Jeremiah 23:37 esv
Thus you shall say to the prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?'
Jeremiah 23:37 nlt
"This is what you should say to the prophets: 'What is the LORD's answer?' or 'What is the LORD saying?'
Jeremiah 23 37 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deu 13:1-5 | If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you...and says, "Let us go after other gods..." ...you shall not listen. | Testing prophecy against God's law |
| Deu 18:20-22 | But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded... | Test true prophecy by its fulfillment |
| Jer 14:14 | The prophets are prophesying lies in my name... a vision of their own mind, not from the mouth of the Lord. | Source of false prophecy |
| Jer 23:16 | Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. | False prophets speak their own ideas |
| Jer 23:21 | I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. | False prophets lack divine commissioning |
| Jer 23:28 | Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? | Distinguishing human vs. divine words |
| Jer 23:29 | Is not my word like fire... and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? | Power and nature of God's true word |
| Eze 13:2-3 | Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel... Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit... | Condemnation of foolish prophets |
| Isa 8:20 | To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. | God's revealed word as standard for truth |
| Mic 3:5-8 | Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray... I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice... | Contrast: false prophets mislead, true prophets empowered by Spirit |
| Amos 3:7 | For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. | God reveals Himself to His true prophets |
| Zech 13:3-5 | If anyone again prophesies, his father and mother... will say to him, 'You shall not live'... For he is a liar. | Consequences and shame for false prophecy |
| Mal 3:6 | "For I the Lord do not change..." | God's unchanging character and word |
| Matt 7:15-20 | Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves... You will recognize them by their fruits. | New Testament warning against false prophets |
| Acts 17:11 | Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. | Verifying teaching with Scripture |
| 1 Cor 14:29 | Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. | Discerning prophetic messages in the church |
| 1 Thes 5:20-21 | Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. | Test all spiritual utterances |
| 1 Joh 4:1 | Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. | Testing spiritual origins in NT era |
| 2 Pet 1:21 | For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. | Divine inspiration of true prophecy |
| 2 Pet 2:1-3 | But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies. | Rise of false teachers in the New Covenant |
| 2 Tim 3:16 | All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. | All Scripture is God-breathed |
| Heb 1:1-2 | Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. | God's progressive revelation |
Jeremiah 23 verses
Jeremiah 23 37 meaning
Jeremiah 23:37 instructs the people on how to properly question a prophet regarding the origin of their message, specifically to counteract the misuse of the phrase "the burden of the Lord" prevalent among false prophets. Instead of asking "What is the burden?" (which had been turned into a derogatory jest by the people and corrupted by the prophets), the divinely sanctioned questions were: "What has the Lord answered you?" or "What has the Lord spoken?" This mandate forces the prophet to ascribe their words directly to God's revelation, demanding divine authority and personal encounter, rather than presenting a self-generated or popularized message. It emphasizes that a prophet's legitimate message is an oracle (an answer or a declaration) from God Himself.
Jeremiah 23 37 Context
Jeremiah 23:37 is part of a larger oracle (Jer 23:33-40) specifically addressing the abuse and trivialization of divine prophecy, particularly concerning the phrase "the burden of the Lord" (maśśāʾ YHWH). In the historical context of Judah, during the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, the nation was facing imminent judgment from Babylon. False prophets were prevalent, offering popular messages of peace and prosperity, which directly contradicted Jeremiah's warnings of doom. The people and these prophets had turned the solemn phrase "burden of the Lord"—which properly referred to a weighty, often difficult oracle of judgment from God—into a sarcastic jibe. They would ask "What is the burden of the Lord?" not out of genuine inquiry but as a scoffing challenge. In response, God declares that He will become the burden upon them, promising to cast them away for their mockery and for misusing His name and words. Verse 37 then gives a new, specific set of questions, refocusing the inquiry from a human-coined "burden" back to the actual divine origin and content of a prophetic word: what has God personally communicated?
Jeremiah 23 37 Word analysis
- Thus (כֹּה, kōh): An adverb indicating "so" or "in this manner," introducing a direct command or instruction that is to be strictly followed. It signals divine authority for the coming statement.
- you shall say (תֹּאמֶר, tōʾmer): This is the Qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, serving as an imperative. While grammatically singular, referring perhaps to Jeremiah who is to teach the people, in context with the preceding verses (23:33, 34), it implies the instruction is for the people at large to use when addressing prophets. It signifies a required verbal action from the listener.
- to the prophet (אֶל־הַנָּבִיא, ʾel-ha-nābîʾ): "To the prophet" indicates a specific address to the person claiming prophetic authority. The definite article "the" (הַ, ha-) points to any prophet one encounters, emphasizing that this is a general principle for interaction, not just for a particular individual.
- 'What (מָה, mah): An interrogative pronoun, signaling a question demanding content and revelation. It prompts a direct answer regarding the message.
- has the Lord (יְהוָה, YHWH): The sacred covenant name of God. Its presence here is crucial, forcing the prophet to root their message explicitly in the divine, not in personal insight or popular opinion. It reinforces the demand for true, divine authority.
- answered you?' (עָנָךָ, ʿānāḵā): From the verb עָנָה (ʿānā), meaning "to answer" or "to respond." This implies a prior dialogue or inquiry made by the prophet to God. It expects a specific response to a specific plea or question by the prophet. It points to a relational aspect: God speaking to the prophet.
- or (אוֹ, ʾô): A conjunction indicating an alternative, showing that either of the following questions is acceptable. Both options focus on divine communication.
- 'What (מָה, mah): Again, the interrogative pronoun, reinforcing the demand for the content of God's communication.
- has the Lord (יְהוָה, YHWH): Reiterating the divine source, keeping the focus entirely on God's active involvement in the communication.
- spoken?' (דִּבֶּר, dibbēr): From the verb דָּבַר (dāḇar), meaning "to speak, to declare, to command." This is a broader term than "answered," encompassing any direct communication or utterance from God. It denotes the act of verbal revelation, a direct word from God to the prophet, to be relayed to the people.
- "Thus you shall say to the prophet": This phrase constitutes a divine command dictating the proper way to approach and scrutinize anyone claiming to be God's messenger. It moves authority away from the human prophet and vests it in the divinely prescribed mode of questioning, safeguarding against arbitrary or self-serving pronouncements. It implies that every spiritual word should be subjected to verification against its source.
- "'What has the Lord answered you?' or 'What has the Lord spoken?'": This pairing of questions establishes two legitimate avenues for divine revelation: an answer to a specific inquiry by the prophet, or a direct, unprompted declaration from God. Both options rigidly demand the prophet to present God's actual utterance, not their own interpretations or observations, thus reclaiming the integrity of prophetic communication. It fundamentally shifts the burden of proof back onto the prophet to demonstrate divine communication, not just a human sentiment or observation.
Jeremiah 23 37 Bonus section
This verse carries profound implications for discernment within religious communities today. While direct, new prophecy has diminished after the New Testament canon's completion, the principle of testing all spiritual claims against revealed truth remains vital. It reminds believers that any message claiming divine authority, whether from a preacher, teacher, or personal impression, must align with what God has already spoken (Scripture) or claim a legitimate, direct inspiration by the Holy Spirit. The question isn't "What heavy word do you have for me?" but "What has the Lord truly revealed or declared?" This fosters an attitude of critical listening, demanding clarity of divine source for all spiritual utterances and rejecting those rooted solely in human opinion, tradition, or experience. The weight and authority lie in God's speaking, not the speaker's personality or charisma.
Jeremiah 23 37 Commentary
Jeremiah 23:37 is a concise but potent command from God designed to re-establish the purity and authority of divine revelation in an era corrupted by false prophecy. By instructing the people to ask "What has the Lord answered you?" or "What has the Lord spoken?", God redirected attention from the misused and flippant term "burden of the Lord" (a human-centric phrase distorted to mock genuine, weighty prophecy) to the indispensable element of a true prophetic message: its explicit divine origin. This wasn't merely about vocabulary; it was about exposing false prophets who spoke from their own imaginations, dreams, or political motivations, not from God's mouth. The new questions compel the prophet to claim a direct encounter with Yahweh, demanding specific content directly attributed to God. This equips believers for discernment, forcing anyone claiming divine authority to ground their words in direct revelation, fostering spiritual accountability and prioritizing God's absolute word over human pronouncements.