Section 93 of 22223:9–15Jeremiah

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King James VersionJeremiah 23:9–15

Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.

For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Jeremiah 23:9–15

Jeremiah Reels before Corrupt Prophets and Priests

Jeremiah's body reels because the land is full of adulterers and a failed priesthood

The prophet's heart is broken, bones shake, and he is like a drunken man because of the LORD and because of the words of his holiness. The land mourns; pleasant places dry; prophet and priest are profane; in the house itself their wickedness is found.

Grief is the first evidence, not a spiritual defect. Lament here is perception under holiness, not failure to believe. The unit does not make all religious leaders corrupt, and it does not validate intoxication as a method.

Jerusalem's prophets are charged more severely than Samaria's

Samaria's prophets prophesied by Baal and caused Israel to err. Jerusalem's prophets are seen in a horrible thing: committing adultery, walking in lies, strengthening the hands of evildoers so that none returns from wickedness. They are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah; wormwood and gall are the sentence.

The comparison is moral shock, not an ethnic insult. It must not become an antisemitic stereotype about Jews, rabbis, or Jerusalem. Sexual shaming of opponents is not authorized, and the charge of strengthening evildoers is about covering harm, not about a whole people.

How this should shape us

Take embodied grief seriously when holy speech meets public corruption. Test religious leaders by whether they strengthen evildoers. Do not turn this oracle into a slur against Jews or against every priest and prophet.

Teach it back

Explain Jeremiah 23:9–15 in your own words. Name its place in Jeremiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.

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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do responsible readings differ?

Best judgment: The accusation does not make all religious leaders corrupt or validate intoxication, sexual shaming, or antisemitic stereotypes.

How certain? strong

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Jeremiah 23:9–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 23:9–15

NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes

Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.

Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.

Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and passage studies: kings, prophets, nations, yokes, Hananiah, and exile letter; applied to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.

Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy

Supports: Controls prophetic-conflict claims, especially Jeremiah 28, while keeping outcome, tradition, conduct, and interpretation in conversation.

Scolnic, 'Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy,' Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2 (2022), pp. 113-118; applied to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.

Exact location: Jeremiah 23:9–15, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus

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hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 23:9–15

Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026

Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.

Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗

modern scholarly book course

Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World

Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan

Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026

Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.

Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and passage studies: kings, prophets, nations, yokes, Hananiah, and exile letter; applied to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗

open university study guide series

Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides

Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub

Yale Bible Study, 2024

Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.

Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗

peer reviewed open access article

Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy

Benjamin Scolnic

Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2, 2022

Supports: Controls prophetic-conflict claims, especially Jeremiah 28, while keeping outcome, tradition, conduct, and interpretation in conversation.

Exact location: Scolnic, 'Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy,' Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2 (2022), pp. 113-118; applied to Jeremiah 23:9–15

Open Scolnic on Jeremiah and Hananiah ↗