Yeremia 23:15

23:15 So then I, the Lord who rules over all, ¹ 

have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: ² 

‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering

and drink the poison water of judgment. ³ 

For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason ⁴ 

that ungodliness ⁵  has spread throughout the land.’”

Yeremia 50:6

50:6 “My people have been lost sheep.

Their shepherds ⁶  have allow them to go astray.

They have wandered around in the mountains.

They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. ⁷ 

They have forgotten their resting place.

[23:15]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[23:15]  sn See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.

[23:15]  ² tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord…concerning the prophets.” The person is shifted to better conform with English style and the word “of Jerusalem” is supplied in the translation to avoid the possible misunderstanding that the judgment applies to the prophets of Samaria who had already been judged long before.

[23:15]  ³ tn Heb “I will feed this people wormwood and make them drink poison water.” For these same words of judgment on another group see 9:15 (9:14 HT). “Wormwood” and “poison water” are not to be understood literally here but are symbolic of judgment and suffering. See, e.g., BDB 542 s.v. לַעֲנָה.

[23:15]  ⁴ tn The compound preposition מֵאֵת (me’et) expresses source or origin (see BDB 86 s.v. אֵת 4.c). Context shows that the origin is in their false prophesying which encourages people in their evil behavior.

[23:15]  ⁵ sn A word that derives from this same Hebrew word is used in v. 11 at the beginning of the Lord’s criticism of the prophet and priest. This is a common rhetorical device for bracketing material that belongs together. The criticism has, however, focused on the false prophets and the judgment due them.

[50:6]  ⁶ sn The shepherds are the priests, prophets, and leaders who have led Israel into idolatry (2:8).

[50:6]  ⁷ sn The allusion here, if it is not merely a part of the metaphor of the wandering sheep, is to the worship of the false gods on the high hills (2:20, 3:2).