Jeremiah 29:26

Complete Jewish Bible

Your letter said, " Adonai has made you cohen in place of Y'hoyada the cohen, in order to have officials in Adonai 's house who will arrest any crazy person who makes himself out to be a prophet, so that you can restrain him in stocks and collar.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and neck irons.

Geneva Bible (1587)
The Lorde hath made thee Priest for Iehoiada the Priest, that yee should bee officers in the House of the Lorde, for euery man that raueth and maketh himselfe a Prophet, to put him in prison and in the stockes.

Christian Standard Bible®
‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, responsible for every madman who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks and an iron collar.

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD has made you Kohen in the place of Yehoiada the Kohen, that there may be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles.

Darby Translation
Jehovah hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers [in] the house of Jehovah, over every madman and self-made prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in the shackles.

Easy-to-Read Version
Shemaiah, this is what you said in your letter to Zephaniah: ‘Zephaniah, the Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. You are to be in charge of the Lord 's Temple. You should arrest anyone who acts like a crazy person and acts like a prophet. You should put that person's feet between large blocks of wood and put neck irons on him.

Amplified Bible
"The LORD has made you [Zephaniah] priest instead of Jehoiada the [deputy] priest, to be the overseer in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar,

American Standard Version
Jehovah hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Jehovah, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in shackles.

Berean Standard Bible
'The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet-you must put him in stocks and neck irons.

Contemporary English Version
After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the Lord chose you to be the priest in charge of the temple security force. You know that anyone who acts crazy and pretends to be a prophet should be arrested and put in chains and iron collars.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
'The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers in the house of the LORD for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in the collar.

King James Version (1611)
The Lord hath made thee Priest in the stead of Iehoiada the Priest, that ye should be Officers in the house of the Lord, for euery man that is madde, and maketh himselfe a Prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stockes:

English Revised Version
The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in shackles.

Lexham English Bible
"Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers in the house of Yahweh over any mad man who exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron,

Literal Translation
Jehovah has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be officers in the house of Jehovah, over every raving man who prophesies, that you should put him into the stocks and into the torture collar.

New Century Version
You said to Zephaniah, ‘The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. You are to be in charge of the Temple of the Lord . You should arrest any madman who acts like a prophet. Lock his hands and feet between wooden blocks, and put iron rings around his neck.

New English Translation
"The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. He has put you in charge in the Lord 's temple of controlling any lunatic who pretends to be a prophet. And it is your duty to put any such person in the stocks with an iron collar around his neck.

New King James Version
"The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be officers in the house of the LORD over every man who is demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks.

New Living Translation
"The Lord has appointed you to replace Jehoiada as the priest in charge of the house of the Lord . You are responsible to put into stocks and neck irons any crazy man who claims to be a prophet.

New Life Bible
"The Lord has made you the religious leader over the house of the Lord instead of Jehoiada. You are to take every crazy man who says he speaks in God's name and put him in chains with iron around his neck.

New Revised Standard
The Lord himself has made you priest instead of the priest Jehoiada, so that there may be officers in the house of the Lord to control any madman who plays the prophet, to put him in the stocks and the collar.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yahweh, hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be deputies in the house of Yahweh, to any man who is raving and prophesying, so shalt thou put him into the stocks and into the pillory:

Douay-Rheims Bible
The Lord hath made thee priest instead of Joiada the priest, that thou shouldst be ruler in the house of the Lord, over every man that raveth and prophesieth, to put him in the stocks, and into prison.

George Lamsa Translation
The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiadah the priest, to be an officer in the house of the LORD over every man who acts foolishly and prophesies falsehood, to put him in prison and in the stocks.

Good News Translation
"The Lord made you a priest in place of Jehoiada, and you are now the chief officer in the Temple. It is your duty to see that every crazy person who pretends to be a prophet is placed in chains with an iron collar around the neck.

New American Standard Bible
"The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer of the house of the LORD for every insane person who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar.

Webster's Bible Translation
The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man [that is] mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The Lorde hath ordeyned thee to be priest in the steade of Iehoiada the priest, that thou shouldest be chiefe in the house of the Lorde aboue all prophetes and preachers, and that thou mightest set them vpon the pyllory, or in the stockes:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and seidist, The Lord yaf thee the preest for Joiada, the preest, that thou be duyk in the hous of the Lord on ech man `that is trauelid of the fend, and profesiynge, that thou sende hym in to stockis, and in to prisoun.

Young's Literal Translation
Jehovah hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, for there being inspectors of the house of Jehovah, for every one mad and making himself a prophet, and thou hast put him unto the torture and unto the stocks.

World English Bible
Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Yahweh, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles.

Revised Standard Version
'The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoi'ada the priest, to have charge in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and collar.

Update Bible Version
Yahweh has made you priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Yahweh, for every man that is insane, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles.

Bible in Basic English
The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada the priest, to be an overseer in the house of the Lord for every man who is off his head and is acting as a prophet, to put such men in prison and in chains.

King James Version
The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the Lord , for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The LORDE hath ordened the to be prest in steade of Ioiada the prest, that thou shuldest be the chefe in the house of the LORDE aboue all prophetes, & preachers, & that thou mightest put them in preson, or in ye stockes.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar,

Legacy Standard Bible
"Yahweh has given you to be a priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of Yahweh over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar,

Contextual Overview

²⁴ "To Sh'ma‘yah the Nechelami you are to communicate this message: ²⁵ ‘This is a word from Adonai -Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, because of the letters you sent in your own name to all the people in Yerushalayim, including Tz'fanyah the son of Ma‘aseiyah the cohen and all the cohanim. ²⁶ Your letter said, " Adonai has made you cohen in place of Y'hoyada the cohen, in order to have officials in Adonai 's house who will arrest any crazy person who makes himself out to be a prophet, so that you can restrain him in stocks and collar. ²⁷ So why haven't you rebuked Yirmeyahu of ‘Anatot, who makes himself out to be a prophet for you? ²⁸ He even sends word to us in Bavel saying that the exile will last a long time; so build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce." ²⁹ Tz'fanyah the cohen read this letter to Yirmeyahu the prophet, and afterwards ³⁰ the word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu, ³¹ instructing him to send to all those in exile this message: "Here is what Adonai says about Sh'ma‘yah the Nechelami: ‘This Sh'ma‘yah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has caused you to put your trust in a lie. ³² Because of this,' Adonai says, ‘I will punish Sh'ma‘yah the Nechelami and his offspring. He will not have a man to live among this people, and he will not see the good I am planning to do for my people,' says Adonai , ‘because he has preached rebellion against Adonai .'"'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

officers: Jeremiah 20:1, Jeremiah 20:2, 2 Kings 11:15, 2 Kings 11:18, Acts 4:1, Acts 5:24

for every: 2 Kings 9:11, Hosea 9:7, Mark 3:21, John 10:20, Acts 26:11, Acts 26:24, 2 Corinthians 5:13-15

and maketh: Jeremiah 29:27, Deuteronomy 13:1-5, Zechariah 13:3-6, Matthew 21:23, John 8:53, John 10:33

that thou: Jeremiah 20:1, Jeremiah 20:2, Jeremiah 38:6, Jeremiah 38:28, 2 Chronicles 16:10, 2 Chronicles 18:26, Acts 5:18, Acts 16:24, 2 Corinthians 11:33, Revelation 2:10

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 18:10 - and he prophesied 1 Kings 22:24 - Which way 1 Kings 22:27 - Put this fellow 2 Chronicles 18:23 - Which way 2 Chronicles 25:16 - forbear 2 Chronicles 35:8 - rulers Isaiah 59:15 - maketh himself a prey Jeremiah 20:7 - I am Amos 7:10 - the priest Matthew 11:18 - He Mark 12:3 - they Luke 20:10 - beat Acts 26:12 - with Hebrews 11:36 - bonds

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest,.... The same with Seraiah, who might have more names than one, and Jehoiada be one of them, who either was removed, or carried captive; and this Zephaniah, his sagan of deputy, succeeded him. Some think he refers to the famous Jehoiada in the times of Joash, a great reformer; and that this man was another such an one for his zeal, or at least ought to be, which he would have him exert against Jeremiah; but the former seems most probable:

that ye should be officers in the house of the Lord; or "visitors", or "overseers" i there; that is, Zephaniah, and the rest of the priests; or that he should see to it, that there were proper officers set there, to take care of it, and suffer none to come in and prophesy there, to the hurt of the people, as he would insinuate:

for every man [that is] mad, and maketh himself a prophet; or, "against every man" k; to prevent all enthusiastic persons, and such as are troubled with a frenzy in their brain, and set up themselves for prophets, from speaking in the name of the Lord; so the true prophets of old, and the apostles of Christ, and faithful ministers of the word, have always been represented as beside themselves, and as taking upon them an office that did not belong to them; and therefore should be restrained and persecuted by the higher powers:

that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks; the former of these words, according to the Hebrew, signifies an engine or instrument, in which the neck was put, like our pillory; and the latter an iron instrument for the hands, a manacle, or handcuff, as Kimchi; see Jeremiah 20:2; though this rather better agrees with the pillory, being a strait narrow place, in which the hands, feet, and neck, were put l.

i פקידים "inspectores", Cocceius, Gataker. k לכל איש "adversus omnem virum", Calvin; "contra omnem virum", Schmidt. l Vid. Hottinger. Smegma Orientale, l. 1. c. 7. p. 190.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A narrative showing the effects of Jeremiah’s letter. Shemaiah the leader of the false prophets wrote to Zephaniah, urging him to restrain the prophet’s zeal with the prison and the stocks.

Jeremiah 29:24

To Shemaiah - Rather, concerning.

The Nehelamite - Not as in the margin; but one belonging to the village of Nehlam (unknown).

Jeremiah 29:26

Officers - Deputy high priests who had the oversight of the temple.

Mad - See 2 Kings 9:11 note. Many of the symbolic actions of the prophets, such as that of Jeremiah going about with a yoke on his neck, would be mocked at by the irreverent as passing the line between prophecy and madness.

Prisons - Rather, the stocks Jeremiah 20:2.

The stocks - Rather, collar.

Jeremiah 29:28

This captivity is long - Rather, It is long. God’s anger, their punishment, the exile, the time necessary for their repentance - all is long to men who will never live to see their country again.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 29:26. For every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet — Mad, משגע meshugga, in ecstatic rapture; such as appeared in the prophets, whether true or false, when under the influence, the one of God, the other of a demon. See 2 Kings 9:11; Hosea 9:7.