“Concerning the prophets: My heart within me is broken. All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahweh, and because of his holy words.”
— WEB
Jeremiah 23:9
Cited in 2 topics on this site.
Translations sourced from the public-domain WEB, KJV, and ASV. See all sources.
“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.”
— KJV
“Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of Jehovah, and because of his holy words.”
— ASV
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Commentary
Here is a long lesson for the false prophets. As none were more bitter and spiteful against God's true prophets than they, so there were none on whom the true prophets were more severe, and justly. The prophet had complained to God of those false prophets (Jer 14:13), and had often foretold that they should be involved in the common ruin; but here they have woes of their own. I. He expresses the deep concern that he was under upon this account, and what a trouble it was to him to see men who pretended to a divine commission and inspiration ruining themselves, and the people among whom they dwelt, by their falsehood and treachery (Jer 23:9): My heart within me is broken; I am like a drunken man. His head was in confusion with wonder and astonishment; his heart was under oppression with grief and vexation. Jeremiah was a man that laid things much to heart, and what was any way threatening to his country made a deep impression upon his spirits. He is here in trouble, 1. Because of the prophets and their sin, the false doctrine they preached, the wicked lives they lived; especially it filled him with horror to hear them making use of God's name and pretending to have their instruction from him. Never was the Lord so abused, and the words of his holiness, as by these men.
— Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary (public domain)
because of the prophets--so the Masorites and Targum. But Vulgate, Septuagint, &c., make this the inscription of the prophecy, CONCERNING THE PROPHETS: as in Jer 46:2; Jer 48:1; Jer 49:1. Jeremiah expresses his horror at the so-called "prophets" not warning the people, though iniquity so fearfully abounded, soon to be followed by awful judgments. bones shake-- (Hab 3:16). drunken--God's judgments are represented as stupefying like wine. The effects of the Holy Spirit also are compared to those of wine (Act 2:17). In both cases ecstasy was produced. This accounts for the denial of wine to those likely to be inspired, Nazarites, &c. (Luk 1:15). It was necessary to put it out of men's power to ascribe inspired ecstasy to the effects of wine. because of . . . words of . . . holiness--because of Jehovah's holy words, wherewith He threatened severe penalties, soon to be inflicted, against the breakers of His law.
— Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (public domain)
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