Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 23:38
But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
38. But if ye say of the Lord ] LXX omit.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Since – Or, But if ye say.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Because you go on in your scoffing and deriding my word and my prophets; and that when I have expressly forbidden you those profane speeches, or that deriding form of speech; adding further contempt to your former profaneness.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
But since ye say, the burden of the Lord,…. Seeing, notwithstanding all prohibitions of it, and directions to the contrary, they still persisted to call prophecy by this name, and that in a jocose and bantering way, and asked for it, and what it was, in a scoffing manner:
therefore thus saith the Lord, because you say this word, the burden of the Lord; will continue to use it, though so displeasing to me:
and I have sent unto you, saying, ye shall not say, the burden of the Lord; and therefore could not plead ignorance of his will, or excuse themselves, by saying they would have avoided it, had they known it was disagreeable to him: this was an aggravation of their impiety, that they should obstinately persist in it, after he had remonstrated against it by his messages to them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here the Prophet confirms what he had said, for God might have seemed to be too indignant, having been so grievously offended at one short expression. The Jews had borrowed from the prophets themselves, when they called prophecies burdens, as we have already said, and as we find in many places. Now as the lubricity of language is great, though the Jews might have done wrong as to one word, it might yet have appeared an insufficient reason for the punishment which God threatened to inflict. But the Prophet here shews that God was justly angry with them, for he had sent to them, and often warned them not to use this form of speaking, which was a manifest evidence of their impiety. As then they had thus disregarded God and his warnings, was it an excusable mistake? In short, Jeremiah shews that they had not erred inconsiderately, as it often happens as to those who speak rashly and thoughtlessly, but that this perverted way of speaking proceeded from determined wickedness, from a wish to affix some mark of disgrace to God’s word; and thus they acted in disdain towards God himself. This then is the import of the words.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(38) But since ye say.Better, if ye say.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 23:38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
Ver. 38. But since ye say, The burden of the Lord. ] Since ye accuse me as unmerciful, my Word as a ponderous burden, and my messengers as telling you nothing but terrible things and bloody businesses, which therefore you are resolved to slight and neglect; –
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
ye say = ye keep on saying. Figure of speech Polyptoton. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
ye say: 2Ch 11:13, 2Ch 11:14
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 23:38. The charge the Lord had was that these false teachers would assert that certain words were from the Lord when they were not. The Lord had even forbidden them to claim (heir messages W’ere from the Lord. By considering the general context of this run of verses we may understand that the unauthorized burden or message these false prophets were circulating was the promise of peace assuring them that nothing was going to happen to mar their peace (ch. 6: 14).