Jeremiah 23:14 describes what God saw among the prophets in Jerusalem: they lived immorally, they spoke falsehood, and by doing so they encouraged wrongdoers to keep sinning rather than turn back to God. The verse is a severe indictment, and it shows how seriously God takes the words spoken in his name. The prophet Jeremiah speaks these words on God’s behalf, addressing the religious leaders of Jerusalem during the final years of the kingdom of Judah.
In the prophets of Jerusalem I have also seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one returns from his wickedness. They have all become to me as Sodom, and its inhabitants as Gomorrah.”
Jeremiah 23:14 (WEB)
What Jeremiah 23:14 Means
The verse opens with “horrible thing,” a phrase that signals God’s shock rather than a passing irritation. The prophets are accused of two linked sins. They “commit adultery,” which in the prophetic books often means unfaithfulness to God, a turning away from the covenant relationship, and they “walk in lies,” meaning they speak and live in ways that contradict the truth of God. Their conduct is not a private failing. It shapes what the people believe about God.
The most troubling part is the next phrase, which says these prophets “strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one returns from his wickedness.” Their message comforted people who were doing wrong, so those people had no reason to repent. The verse does not promise that every sinner is beyond hope, but it does show how spiritual leaders can lull a community into staying where it is. The final comparison to Sodom and Gomorrah makes the judgment vivid, recalling cities destroyed for their wickedness.
The Context of Jeremiah 23:14
The book of Jeremiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, who ministered in Judah in the decades before Jerusalem fell to Babylon in 586 BC. His audience was the people of Judah and its leaders, including the prophets and priests who claimed to speak for God. Many of those professional prophets told the king and people what they wanted to hear, promising peace when disaster was coming.
Verses 11 to 17 show that Jeremiah is confronting a whole system of false reassurance. Just before verse 14, God speaks of the prophets of Samaria who led Israel astray, and just after it, God declares that these prophets will be fed with bitterness. Verse 17 quotes the false message directly: “No evil will come on you.” Read in this setting, verse 14 is not a general statement about all prophets. It names the specific false prophets who were soothing a sinful people, and it explains why God’s judgment is coming.
Key Phrases in Jeremiah 23:14
Jeremiah 23:16
The LORD of Armies says, “Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They teach you vanity. They speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
(WEB)
Jeremiah 23:16 comes right before the description of the false prophets’ lies in verse 17, and it warns the people not to listen to prophets who speak visions from their own hearts. It shows that the sin of verse 14 is connected to a message that originates in human imagination rather than in God’s word.
Galatians 1:10
For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.
(WEB)
Paul asks whether he is trying to please people or God, and he declares that he could not be a servant of Christ if he were still seeking human approval. Like Jeremiah, Paul shows that faithful ministry is measured by loyalty to God’s truth rather than by popularity.
A Short Prayer From Jeremiah 23:14
Lord, you are holy, and nothing hidden from you escapes your sight. Forgive me for the times I have said what was easy instead of what was true, and for the times I have comforted someone in sin rather than pointing them back to you. Give me courage to speak honestly and love to speak gently. Let my words and my life point people toward your truth, so that they may turn from their wrongdoing and find life in you. Amen.
