23:9 Here is what the Lord says concerning the false prophets: 2
My heart and my mind are deeply disturbed.
I tremble all over. 3
I am like a drunk person,
like a person who has had too much wine, 4
because of the way the Lord
and his holy word are being mistreated. 5
1 sn Jeremiah has already had a good deal to say about the false prophets and their fate. See 2:8, 26; 5:13, 31; 14:13-15. Here he parallels the condemnation of the wicked prophets and their fate (23:9-40) with that of the wicked kings (21:11-22:30).
2 tn The word “false” is not in the text, but it is clear from the context that these are whom the sayings are directed against. The words “Here is what the
3 tn Heb “My heart is crushed within me. My bones tremble.” It has already been noted several times that the “heart” in ancient Hebrew psychology was the intellectual and volitional center of the person, the kidneys were the emotional center, and the bones the locus of strength and also the subject of joy, distress, and sorrow. Here Jeremiah is speaking of his distress of heart and mind in modern psychology, a distress that leads him to trembling of body which he compares to that of a drunken person staggering around under the influence of wine.
4 tn Heb “wine has passed over him.”
5 tn Heb “wine because of the
sn The way the