I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
Parallel translations
- WEB I didn’t send these prophets, yet they ran. I didn’t speak to them, yet they prophesied.
- KJV I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
- NKJV “Ihave not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
- NASB “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied.
- NLT “I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying.
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 did not send these prophets, yet they ran and prophesied on their own. They speak presumptuously without any divine commission.
Overview
The LORD plainly disowns the false prophets: He neither sent nor spoke to them, yet they eagerly ran to deliver their own messages as if from Him. This self-appointed ministry is the essence of false prophecy. The verse underscores that true authority to speak for God comes only by His sending, a principle that guards the church against those who claim divine sanction for their own words.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 14:14“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.
- Jer 27:15For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
- Jer 23:32“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.
- Jer 29:31“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
- Jer 28:15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have persuaded this people to trust in a lie.
- Jer 29:9For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
- Isa 6:8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”
- John 20:21Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
- Acts 13:4So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
- Rom 10:15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
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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 23:21 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.