Jeremiah 23:28

Easy-to-Read Version

Straw is not the same as wheat! In the same way, the dreams of those prophets are not messages from me. If people want to tell about their dreams, let them. But those who hear my message must speak it truthfully." This is what the Lord says.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has my word should speak my word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

Hebrew Names Version
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? says the LORD.

King James Version
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord .

English Standard Version
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord .

New American Standard Bible
"The prophet who has a dream may report his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word truthfully. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the LORD.

New Century Version
Is straw the same thing as wheat?" says the Lord . "If a prophet wants to tell about his dreams, let him! But let the person who hears my message speak it truthfully!

Amplified Bible
"The prophet who has a dream may tell his dream; but he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat [for nourishment]?" says the LORD.

World English Bible
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? says Yahweh.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The prophet that hath a dreame, let him tell a dreame, and hee that hath my worde, let him speake my worde faithfully: what is the chaffe to the wheate, sayth the Lord?

Legacy Standard Bible
The prophet who has a dream may recount his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares Yahweh.

Berean Standard Bible
Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain? declares the LORD.

Contemporary English Version
Their dreams and my truth are as different as straw and wheat. But when prophets speak for me, they must say only what I have told them.

Complete Jewish Bible
"If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it as a dream. But someone who has my word should speak my word faithfully. What do chaff and wheat have in common?" asks Adonai .

Darby Translation
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell the dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith Jehovah.

George Lamsa Translation
The prophet who sees a dream, let him tell a dream; but he who has my words, let him speak my words faithfully. Why do you mix chaff with the wheat? says the LORD.

Good News Translation
The prophet who has had a dream should say it is only a dream, but the prophet who has heard my message should proclaim that message faithfully. What good is straw compared with wheat?

Lexham English Bible
The prophet who has with him a dream, let him tell the dream. But the prophet who has my word with him, let him speak my word faithfully. What is straw compared to wheat?" declares Yahweh.

Literal Translation
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream. And he who has My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully. What has the chaff to do with the wheat, says Jehovah?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The prophet that hath a dreame, let him tell it: and he that vnderstondeth my worde, let him shewe it faithfully. For what hath chaffe and wheat to do together? saieth the LORDE.

American Standard Version
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? saith Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English
If a prophet has a dream, let him give out his dream; and he who has my word, let him give out my word in good faith. What has the dry stem to do with the grain? says the Lord.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath My word; let him speak My word faithfully. What hath the straw to do with the wheat? saith the LORD.

King James Version (1611)
The prophet that hath a dreame, let him tell a dreame; and hee that hath my word, let him speake my word faithfully: what is the chaffe to the wheat, sayth the Lord ?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The prophete that hath a dreame, let hym tell it, and he that vnderstandeth my worde, let hym shewe it faythfully: for what hath chaffe and wheate to do together saith the Lorde?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell his dream; and he in whom is my word spoken to him, let him tell my word truly: what is the chaff to the corn? so are my words, saith the Lord.

English Revised Version
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? saith the LORD.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A profete that hath a dreme, telle a dreem; and he that hath my word, speke verili my word. What is with chaffis to the wheete? seith the Lord.

Update Bible Version
The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? says Yahweh.

Webster's Bible Translation
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What [is] the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD?

New English Translation
Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! I, the Lord , affirm it!

New King James Version
"The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?" says the LORD.

New Living Translation
"Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!

New Life Bible
The one who has a dream may tell about his dream, but let him who has My Word speak My Word in truth. How can straw be compared with grain?" says the Lord.

New Revised Standard
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord .

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The prophet with whom is a dream, Let him relate it as a dream, And he with whom is my word, Let him speak my word as truth, - What is the chaff to the wheat? Demandeth Yahweh:

Douay-Rheims Bible
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream: and he that hath my word, let him speak my word with truth: what hath the chaff to do with the wheat, saith the Lord?

Revised Standard Version
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD.

Young's Literal Translation
The prophet with whom [is] a dream, Let him recount the dream, And he with whom [is] My word, Let him truly speak My word. What -- to the straw with the corn? An affirmation of Jehovah.

THE MESSAGE
"You prophets who do nothing but dream— go ahead and tell your silly dreams. But you prophets who have a message from me— tell it truly and faithfully. What does straw have in common with wheat? Nothing else is like God 's Decree. Isn't my Message like fire?" God 's Decree. "Isn't it like a sledgehammer busting a rock?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the LORD.

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

that hath: Heb. with whom is

speak: Proverbs 14:5, Matthew 24:45, Luke 12:42, 1 Corinthians 4:2, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 1 Timothy 1:12

What: That is, when the dreamers declare their dreams, and the true prophets faithfully declare their message, the difference between them will be as evident as that between "the chaff and the wheat." 1 Corinthians 3:12, 1 Corinthians 3:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 40:22 - he hanged Exodus 6:29 - speak Numbers 12:6 - a dream 1 Samuel 28:6 - by dreams 1 Kings 22:14 - what the Lord 2 Kings 22:15 - General 1 Chronicles 17:15 - According 2 Chronicles 18:13 - even what my God Job 33:15 - a dream Proverbs 13:17 - wicked Jeremiah 1:17 - and speak Jeremiah 2:1 - the word Jeremiah 23:25 - dreamed Jeremiah 26:2 - Stand Jeremiah 28:1 - the prophet Jeremiah 36:21 - And Jehudi Jeremiah 42:4 - whatsoever Ezekiel 2:7 - thou Ezekiel 13:3 - have seen nothing Ezekiel 33:7 - thou shalt Daniel 7:1 - Daniel Joel 2:28 - dream Matthew 7:29 - having Luke 4:32 - General Romans 10:17 - and hearing 1 Thessalonians 2:13 - the word of God 2 Timothy 2:2 - faithful 1 Peter 1:23 - by

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream,.... These words are directed not to a true prophet of the Lord, that has a dream from him, or something communicated to him in a dream by the Lord, which he is to deliver as such; but to a false prophet, that says he has dreamed; and if he has dreamed a dream, let him tell it as a "dream" l; so some supply it, as the fruit of his own roving fancy and imagination in sleep; and not call it a revelation from the Lord, and impose it upon the people as such. The Septuagint version is, "let him tell his dream"; let him tell it as his own, and not as a dream from the Lord;

and he that hath my word; the word of prophecy by revelation, and under the influence of the Spirit of God, as the true prophets: "my word"; not the word of men, or the word spoken by angels, or the Scriptures in general; but the word of the Gospel, the word of peace and reconciliation, of righteousness, life, and salvation; the evangelical part of the word, though not to the exclusion of all the rest, but this chiefly: "he that hath it"; or "with whom", or "in whom it is" m; who has it not only in his hands to read, nor merely in his head, so as to have speculative notions of it; but has it in his heart, where it is come with power, and is become the ingrafted word; and who has a large share of spiritual and experimental knowledge of it, and an ability and capacity to express it to the edification of others;

let him speak my word faithfully; or "truly" n; as it is. Ministers of the word are stewards, and it is required of such that they be faithful, and a more honourable character they cannot well have; and then may the word of the Lord be said to be spoken faithfully, when nothing else is spoken but that; when there is no mixture of man's with it; and when the whole of it is spoken, and nothing kept back or concealed; when a man's views in it are sincere and upright, and he aims only at the glory of God; and the good of immortal souls; when it is spoken out, openly and boldly, not as pleasing men, but God, and as in his sight, to whom the account must be given: or, "let him speak my word, truth" o; which is truth; or, for it is truth, as Kimchi; so this is a reason why it should be spoken freely, fully, publicly, and boldly, because it is truth, and nothing but truth: or, "let him speak my word as truth"; or as it is p; it comes from the God of truth; if lies in the Scriptures of truth; the subject matter of it is truth, Christ, who is truth itself, and those doctrines, relative to his person, office, and grace, and salvation by him; and it is the Spirit of truth that directs into it, owns it, and makes it useful;

what [is] the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord; there is no comparison between the one and the other; the one is greatly preferable to the other; there is as much difference between the dreams and lies of the false prophets and the word of God, as there is between chaff and wheat. False doctrine is as "chaff", light; when put into the balance of the sanctuary it is found wanting; it is of no value; it is as wood, hay, and stubble, in comparison of gold, silver, and precious stones; it is not fit for food, and has no nourishment in it, but the contrary, and its end is to be burned. Some doctrine is as "wheat", choice and excellent, pure, solid, substantial, and of a nourishing and strengthening nature. And what is the one to the other? or what have they to do with one another? they should not be mixed together, but separated. So the Syriac version, "why do ye mix the chaff with the wheat?" see 2 Corinthians 2:17. The Targum interprets this of persons, paraphrasing the words thus,

"behold, as one separates between the chaff and the wheat, so I separate between the righteous and the wicked, saith the Lord.''

Wicked men are as "chaff"; such were the false prophets, and all ungodly men, for their emptiness, lightness, unprofitableness, and for their being fit fuel for everlasting burnings; see Psalms 1:5; and good men, and true prophets of the Lord, and all the righteous, are as "wheat" for choiceness and excellency, purity and solidity; and these are not to be mixed together, should not now, nor will they be hereafter, Matthew 3:12.

l יספר חלום "narret [ut] somnium", Grotius, Gataker, Schmidt. m ואשר דברי אתו "et penes quem est verbum meum", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "at cum quo est verbum meum", Schmidt;

και εν ω ο λογος μου προς αυτον, Sept. n אמת "vere", Pagninus, Junius Tremellius "veritate", Montanus, Schmidt. o ידבר דברי אמת "narret meum verbum veritatem, quod est veritas", Kimchi, Ben Melech, Abarbinel. p "Loquatur verbum meum sicuti est", Schmidt.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A dream ... faithfully - Rather, as “a dream”... as truth. The dream is but a dream, and is to be told as such, but God’s word is to be spoken as certain and absolute truth.

The dreams are the chaff, worthless, with nothing in them; the wheat, the pure grain after it is cleansed and winnowed is God’s word. What have these two in common?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 23:28. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. — Do not mingle these equivocal matters with positive revelations. Do not consider a dream, even from a prophet, as that positive inspiration which my prophets receive when their reason, judgment, and spiritual feelings are all in full and in regular exercise. Mix none of your own devices with my doctrines.