What is happening in this passage with Jeremiah and the false prophets?

In this passage, Jeremiah speaks to God about other prophets who are telling the people they will have peace and will not face sword or famine. God answers that these prophets are lying in His name. He did not send them or command them to speak. They are following their own deceitful hearts, giving the people a false sense of safety. Because the people listen to them instead of to God’s warnings, both the false prophets and the people will face judgment. Jeremiah is then told to weep over the coming disaster and to lead the people in honest confession and prayer.

What does it mean that the prophets prophesy lies in God’s name?

When God says, “The prophets prophesy lies in my name,” it means these prophets are claiming to speak for God when He has not spoken to them. They promise peace and safety, saying there will be no sword or famine, even though God has said judgment is coming. Their messages come from a “false vision,” from empty things, and from the deceit of their own hearts, not from God. Using God’s name like this is very serious, because it misleads people about what God is really saying and encourages them to stay in their sin instead of turning back to Him.

Why does God judge both the false prophets and the people who listen to them?

God says that the prophets who lied will be consumed by the very sword and famine they said would not come. But He also says the people who listened to them will be cast out into the streets, with no one to bury them. This shows that those who speak lies in God’s name are responsible for leading others astray, and those who gladly follow those lies share the guilt. The people preferred comforting promises over God’s hard warnings and refused to repent. So God says He will “pour their wickedness upon them,” meaning their own choices and sins lead into the judgment they face.

Why is Jeremiah told to let his eyes run down with tears night and day?

God tells Jeremiah to say, “Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day,” because the coming judgment on Judah is so severe. The “virgin daughter” of God’s people is pictured as broken with a great and painful wound. Everywhere Jeremiah looks he sees death by the sword in the field and wasting from famine in the city. Even prophet and priest will be taken away to a land they do not know. Jeremiah’s tears show deep grief over the people’s sin and the ruin it brings. His sorrow is meant to wake the people up, not to leave them numb, so they might see how serious their situation really is.

What does this passage teach about repentance and confession of sin?

Near the end of the passage, Jeremiah leads the people in confessing, “We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against thee.” They admit their own sins and also the sins of their ancestors, without excuses. They then ask God not to reject or despise them for His name’s sake and to remember His covenant. This shows that true repentance is honest about sin, looks to God’s character and promises rather than any worth in us, and pleads for mercy. The people do not claim they deserve help; they throw themselves on God’s grace and faithfulness.

What is meant by God pouring their wickedness upon them?

When God says He will “pour their wickedness upon them,” it shows that the punishment they receive is closely tied to the sin they have chosen. Their wickedness has been building up as they wander from God, listen to lies, and ignore His calls to turn back. God is not acting unfairly. He is letting the evil they have loved come back on their own heads. The word used can point both to the evil they have done and the trouble that follows. Their suffering is not random. It is a just response to their long refusal to hear God and their desire to have comforting lies instead of truth.

Why does Jeremiah ask if God has utterly rejected Judah and abhorred Zion?

Jeremiah’s questions, “Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hath thy soul loathed Zion?” come from the depth of his grief as he sees no healing and no peace. The people had looked for peace and good, but instead found trouble. Jeremiah knows God has reasons for His judgment, yet he struggles with how severe it is. So he brings this struggle honestly to God. By speaking this way, he is not accusing God of doing wrong, but wrestling with what he sees and pleading for mercy. It shows that God’s servants can bring their hardest questions and sorrows openly before Him in prayer.

What does the question about the vanities of the Gentiles and rain mean?

At the end, Jeremiah asks, “Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers?” The “vanities” are the idols of the nations, which are empty and powerless. Rain was desperately needed in the drought, and Jeremiah reminds the people that neither idols nor the sky itself can decide to give rain. Only the LORD, who made all these things, can do that. By confessing this, they turn away from trusting anything else, and say, “Art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee.” They put their hope in God alone as the giver of life and help.

How does this passage speak to the danger of seeking peace without repentance?

The people were eager to believe prophets who promised assured peace, even while they continued in their sin. God exposes this as a deadly mistake. Peace without repentance is a lie. The false prophets talked of safety while ignoring God’s warnings about sword and famine. The people wanted comfort more than they wanted truth, so they clung to those messages. This passage shows that real peace with God is not found by covering up sin, but by confessing it and returning to Him. It warns us not to chase easy words that leave our hearts unchanged, but to listen when God calls us to turn back to Him.

What does this passage teach about God’s character in judgment and mercy?

This passage shows both God’s justice and His mercy. He clearly says He did not send the lying prophets and that He will judge them and the people who follow them by sword and famine. Sin and refusal to listen to Him have real consequences. At the same time, God gives Jeremiah words of sorrow and allows a prayer of confession and appeal to His name and covenant. The people ask God not to abhor them or disgrace the throne of His glory. Even in judgment, there is an open door for those who admit their sin and wait on the God who alone made the heavens and sends the rain.

Jer.14.13

Jeremiah 14:13

KJV

¶ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

Drought, Famine, Sword, and Plague

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.

Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.

Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.

And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.

¶ O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.

O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?

Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.

¶ Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.

Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.

When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

¶ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.

And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

¶ Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.

If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.

Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

Cross References

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