Verse Lens · Context pointer
Jeremiah 23:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The prophetic word through Jeremiah states or reports “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran” at Jeremiah 23:21 as a specific part of “Council-Tested Speech Contrasts with Self-Sent Visions.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 23:16–22
Read Jeremiah 23:21 with 23:16–22. By itself, “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Hopeful assurances from uncommissioned visionaries are contrasted with standing in the divine council and turning people from harmful ways.
Why It Needs Context
The verse is a premise, action, image, response, or transition within Jeremiah 23:16–22, not an independent maxim. The prophetic word through Jeremiah states or reports “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran” at Jeremiah 23:21 as a specific part of “Council-Tested Speech Contrasts with Self-Sent Visions.”
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Jeremiah 23:16–22 — Council-Tested Speech Contrasts with Self-Sent VisionsSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 23:16–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗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 23:16–22
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗