What is the meaning of Jeremiah 23:15? Therefore “Therefore” reaches back to the warnings that fill Jeremiah 23:9-14. The false prophets were normalizing adultery, lying, and idolatry—much like the prophets of Samaria before them—and the LORD will not overlook it. Judgment is not a rash reaction; it is the logical outcome of prolonged rebellion (cf. Numbers 32:23; Romans 2:5). • What precedes our verse shows that God always sets context before He sets consequences. • “Therefore” reminds us that divine discipline is never random; it is earned (Jeremiah 25:7). This is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets The title “LORD of Hosts” underscores God’s absolute authority over angelic armies and earthly powers alike (1 Samuel 17:45; Isaiah 6:3). When He speaks, no court of appeal exists. • The message targets “the prophets,” men who claimed to speak for God yet contradicted Him (Jeremiah 14:14; Ezekiel 13:6). • Their privileged position made their error more damaging, so their accountability is higher (James 3:1). I will feed them wormwood Wormwood is an intensely bitter shrub; figuratively it stands for grief and calamity (Deuteronomy 29:18; Lamentations 3:15). Saying “I will feed them” shows that God Himself administers this bitter portion. • Bitterness fits the sin: they served sweet-sounding lies; God serves them bitter truth (Proverbs 5:3-4). • Judgment matches measure for measure—what they fed the people comes back on their own plates (Galatians 6:7). And give them poisoned water to drink The picture intensifies: not only bitterness but toxicity. Earlier God warned, “Behold, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisonous water” (Jeremiah 9:15). Now the same punishment falls specifically on the prophets. • Water, the normal symbol of life (Psalm 1:3; John 4:14), is here corrupted—an apt image of corrupted teaching. • God’s righteousness demands that what the prophets corrupt becomes the means of their correction (Revelation 16:6). For from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land The LORD pinpoints cause and effect: ungodliness “has spread” (literally, flowed forth) from Jerusalem’s prophetic elite into every corner of Judah (Jeremiah 8:10; 5:31). • Influence runs downhill; when leaders go astray, followers rarely stay straight (1 Kings 14:16; Matthew 15:14). • False doctrine never remains private—it infects families, cities, cultures (2 Peter 2:2; 1 Corinthians 15:33). • God addresses the source so the entire nation might be spared deeper ruin (Ezekiel 34:10). summary Jeremiah 23:15 is God’s sober verdict on prophets who traded truth for popularity. Because they spread lies, He promises to spread bitterness into their own lives. The LORD of Hosts personally administers this judgment, proving that leadership carries weighty responsibility. Sin begins in the heart, passes through the mouth, and finally poisons the land—but God’s righteous response is sure, just, and ultimately aimed at cleansing His people. |
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