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Jeremiah 23:15

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 23:15 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Therefore thus saith Jehovah 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 ungodliness gone forth into all the land.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Therefore thus saith Jehovah 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 ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
Jeremiah 23:15 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 23

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery places 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 Jehovah.
13And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
14In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15Therefore thus saith Jehovah 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 ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
16Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Jehovah.
17They say continually unto them that despise me, Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart they say, No evil shall come upon you.
18For who hath stood in the council of Jehovah, that he should perceive and hear his word? who hath marked my word, and heard it?
← Jeremiah 23:14Jeremiah 23:16 →
← Full Chapter 23 Jeremiah Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, etc.] Concerning the false prophets, as the Targum; their sin is before declared, and now their punishment: behold, I will feed them with wormwood; with some bitter affliction and calamity; so the Targum, “behold, I will bring upon them distress bitter as wormwood;” they that have been fed with dainties, and lived upon the fat of the land; their views in pleasing the people with their lies being to serve their own bellies; now they shall fare after another manner: and make them drink the water of gall: or, “the juice of hemlock”, as some; or “poison”, as others; “the savour of death”, so Kimchi; as they poisoned the people with…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“gall--poison (see on Jer 8:14; Jer 9:15).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Profaneness - Desecration. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“23:15 Although the people needed to be held responsible for their own sins, the prophets bore the blame for Jerusalem’s spiritual apostasy.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“will: Jer 8:14, Jer 9:15; Psa 69:21; Lam 3:5, Lam 3:15, Lam 3:19; Mat 27:34; Rev 8:11 profaneness: or, hypocrisy Jeremiah 23:16”
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Related study paths

Read Jeremiah 23 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification