Yeremia 23:37

23:37 Each of you should merely ask the prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?’ ¹ 

Yeremia 23:35

23:35 So I, Jeremiah, tell you, ²  “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the Lord answer? Or what did the Lord say?’ ³ 

[23:37]  ¹ tn See the note on v. 35.

[23:37]  sn As noted in v. 35 the prophet is Jeremiah. The message is directed against the prophet, priest, or common people who have characterized his message as a “burden from the Lord.”

[23:35]  ² tn The words “So, I, Jeremiah tell you” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show that it is he who is addressing the people, not the Lord. See “our God” in v. 38 and “Here is what the Lord says…” which indicate the speaker is other than he.

[23:35]  ³ tn This line is sometimes rendered as a description of what the people are doing (cf. NIV). However, repetition with some slight modification referring to the prophet in v. 37 followed by the same kind of prohibition that follows here shows that what is being contrasted is two views toward the Lord’s message, i.e., one of openness to receive what the Lord says through the prophet and one that already characterizes the Lord’s message as a burden. Allusion to the question that started the discussion in v. 33 should not be missed. The prophet alluded to is Jeremiah. He is being indirect in his reference to himself.