Jeremiah 23:26

Easy-to-Read Version

How long will this continue? They think up lies and then they teach them to the people.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds?

Hebrew Names Version
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

King James Version
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

English Standard Version
How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart,

New American Standard Bible
"How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the deceitfulness of their own heart,

New Century Version
How long will this continue in the minds of these lying prophets? They prophesy from their own wishful thinking.

Amplified Bible
"How long [shall this state of affairs continue]? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

World English Bible
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Howe long? Doe the prophets delite to prophecie lies, euen prophecying the deceit of their owne heart?

Legacy Standard Bible
How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy a lie, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

Berean Standard Bible
How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?

Contemporary English Version
But everything they say comes from their own twisted minds. How long can this go on?

Complete Jewish Bible
How long will this go on? Is [my word] in the hearts of prophets who are prophesying lies, who are prophesying the deceit of their own minds?

Darby Translation
How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, and who are prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

George Lamsa Translation
How long shall there be in the mouth of the false prophets, prophecies of lies? prophecies of the deceit of their own heart?

Good News Translation
How much longer will those prophets mislead my people with the lies they have invented?

Lexham English Bible
How long will this be in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceitfulness of their hearts,

Literal Translation
How long is this there in the heart of the prophets, the prophets of lies; yea, the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How longe wil this cotynue in the prophetes hertes, to tel lyes, and to preach the craftie sotylte of their owne herte?

American Standard Version
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Bible in Basic English
Is (my word) in the hearts of the prophets who give out false words, even the prophets of the deceit of their hearts?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
How long shall this be? Is it in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

King James Version (1611)
How long shall this bee in the heart of the prophets that prophecie lies? yea they are prophets of the deceit of their owne heart;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Howe long wyll this continue in the prophetes heart to tell lies, and preache the craftie subtiltie of their owne heart?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
How long shall these things be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, when they prophesy the purposes of their own heart?

English Revised Version
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies; even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Hou longe is this thing in the herte of profetis, profesiynge a leesyng, and profesiynge the disseite of her herte?

Update Bible Version
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Webster's Bible Translation
How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yes, [they are] prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

New English Translation
Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds.

New King James Version
How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,

New Living Translation
How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say.

New Life Bible
How long will there be lies in the hearts of those who speak false words in My name, who speak the lies of their own heart?

New Revised Standard
How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How long shall it be in the heart of the prophets, To be prophets of falsehood, - And prophets of the deceit of their own heart?

Douay-Rheims Bible
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and that prophesy the delusions of their own heart?

Revised Standard Version
How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart,

Young's Literal Translation
Till when is it in the heart of the prophets? The prophets of falsehood, Yea, prophets of the deceit of their heart,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

Contextual Overview

⁹ A message to the prophets: I am very sad—my heart is broken. All my bones are shaking. Because of the Lord and his holy words, I am like a man who is drunk. ¹⁰ The land of Judah is full of people who commit adultery. They are unfaithful in many ways. So God cursed the land, and it became very dry. The plants are dried and dying in the pastures. The fields have become like the desert. The prophets are evil. They use their influence and power in the wrong way. ¹¹ This message is from the Lord : "The prophets and even the priests are evil. I have seen them doing evil things in my own Temple. ¹² I will stop giving my messages to them. They will walk in darkness. The road will be slippery for those prophets and priests, and they will fall in that darkness. I will bring disaster on them; I will punish them." This message is from the Lord . ¹³ "I saw the prophets of Samaria doing wrong things. I saw them prophesy in the name of the false god Baal. They led the people of Israel away from me. ¹⁴ I have even seen the prophets of Jerusalem doing sinful things. They are committing adultery and living a life of lies. They support their fellow prophets and never stop doing evil. They have become like Sodom; they are all like Gomorrah." ¹⁵ So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says about those Jerusalem prophets: "I will make them suffer. Their food will be bitter, their water like poison. I will punish them because they started a spiritual sickness that spread through the whole country." ¹⁶ This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Don't pay attention to what those prophets are saying to you. They are trying to fool you. They talk about visions, but they did not get their visions from me. Their visions come from their own minds. ¹⁷ Some of the people hate the real messages from the Lord , so the prophets give them a different message. They say, ‘You will have peace.' Some of the people are very stubborn. They do only what they want to do. So the prophets say, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!' ¹⁸ But none of these prophets has stood in the heavenly council. None of them has seen or heard the message from the Lord . None of them has paid close attention to his message.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

How: Jeremiah 4:14, Jeremiah 13:27, Psalms 4:2, Hosea 8:5, Acts 13:10

prophets of: Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 30:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, 1 Timothy 4:1, 1 Timothy 4:2, 2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 2:13-16

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 5:31 - prophets Jeremiah 7:8 - ye trust Jeremiah 8:10 - from the prophet Jeremiah 20:6 - thy friends Jeremiah 23:14 - walk Jeremiah 23:16 - a vision Ezekiel 13:2 - prophesy against 2 Corinthians 5:21 - we Galatians 1:7 - pervert

Gill's Notes on the Bible

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?.... To invent such lies, and deceive the people, and turn them away from God; agreeably to the preceding and following verses: this shows that this was not through ignorance and inadvertence; it was a meditated and studied thing by them; they contrived it in their hearts, and they were resolute and bent upon it, and took much delight and pleasure in it; their hearts were in it, and it was in them to do as they did; and in this way they had been long, but should continue no longer. Or the words may be rendered, "how long?" h and a stop be put there, being a short abrupt expression, like that in Psalms 6:3; and the sense be, how long shall they go on thus, pretending to dreams, and visions, and revelations from the Lord, and so impose upon the people? shall they always go on after this manner? no, they shall not: and then the next words may be read, "is there any thing in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies?" i nothing that is good; truth is not there; nothing but lies and deceit; the word of God is not there, as it is with the true prophet of the Lord, "he that hath my word", as in Jeremiah 23:28; there is no fear of God, nor knowledge of him and his will, nor faith in him, nor love to him, or any regard to his honour and glory;

yea, [they are] prophets of the deceit of their own hearts; they prophesy nothing but what their own deceitful hearts suggest to them, whereby they are deceived themselves, and deceive others, 2 Timothy 3:13.

h עד מתי "quousque?" Cocceius, Schmidt; "quousque tandem", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "usque quando?" De Dieu. i היש בלב הנבאים "an est in corde prophetarum?", De Dieu, Gataker, Schmidt.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Some translate, “How long? Is it in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and prophesy the deceit of their heart - do they purpose to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they tell one to another?”