· Translation: KJV

Jeremiah 23:34As for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, who shall say, The burden of Yahweh, I will even punish that man and his house.

The setting

Jerusalem, ~605 BC. God declares judgment on corrupt priests and false prophets who trivialize His word, in modern-day Jerusalem, Israel.

The emotion here: devastated by leaders he trusted becoming corrupt

The original word

bayith (בַּיִת) — house/household, showing generational consequences of spiritual corruption

Why it matters

In ancient Israel, a priest's family could lose their hereditary position for corruption

Read with care

What most readers miss in Jeremiah 23:34

The punishment extends to 'his house' — families suffer for leaders' spiritual corruption

Common misconceptionPeople think this is just about false teaching. It's specifically about religious leaders who sarcastically dismiss God's word as bothersome.

Bible Genome reading

Jeremiah 23:34 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerYahweh
EraDivided Kingdom
Primary emotiondeciding
Literary typeprophecy
MarkPromise of God
MarkProphecy

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability60%
Memorability60%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone70%
Themes:judgmentpunishmentfalse prophecy

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Jeremiah 23

Jeremiah 23:34 comes from the book of Jeremiah, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Yahweh. The dominant emotion in this verse is deciding, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is commanding. It belongs to the prophecy genre of biblical literature. Key themes include judgment, punishment, false prophecy. Notable phrases: I will even punish; that man and his house. This verse contains a promise of God. This verse contains prophecy.

Your reflection

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