“And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: They prophesied by Baal And caused My people Israel to err.
Parallel translations
- WEB “I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria. They prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
- KJV And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
- BSB “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.
- NASB ¶“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.
- NLT “I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil, for they prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people of Israel into sin.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God recalls the foolish prophets of Samaria who prophesied by Baal and led Israel astray. The northern kingdom's false prophets had already corrupted the people.
Overview
God first cites the prophets of the northern kingdom, who spoke in Baal's name and seduced Israel into idolatry, a sin that led to Samaria's fall. This serves as a historical warning. Yet, as the next verse shows, the prophets of Jerusalem proved even worse, demonstrating that Judah failed to learn from the north's example and ignored God's repeated calls to faithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jer 2:8The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’ and those who handle the law didn’t know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and followed things that do not profit.
- Isa 9:16For those who lead this people lead them astray; and those who are led by them are destroyed.
- Hos 9:7–8The days of visitation have come. The days of reckoning have come. Israel will consider the prophet to be a fool, and the man who is inspired to be insane, because of the abundance of your sins, and because your hostility is great.
- 1 Kgs 18:18–21He answered, “I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken Yahweh’s commandments, and you have followed the Baals.
- 2 Chr 33:9Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that they did more evil than the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel did.
- 1 Kgs 18:25–28Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves, and dress it first; for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
- 1 Kgs 18:40Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 23:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.