And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

JEREMIAH 23:13KJV
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Jeremiah 23:13 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 23:13 mean?

Jeremiah 23:13 says that God observed foolishness in the prophets of Samaria because they spoke messages in the name of Baal, leading the people of Israel away from the truth. The verse points out that these prophets misled Israel by claiming to speak for God while actually promoting false worship.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking God’s message to the people of Judah, warning them by recalling what happened in Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jeremiah highlights how the prophets there turned to Baal, a foreign god, and as a result, caused the people to stray from God’s ways. This serves as a warning about the dangers of false prophecy and unfaithful leadership.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 23:13

  • The word “folly” is אִוֶּלֶת (ivvelet), which often means foolishness or senselessness. Here, it points to the prophets’ actions as not just mistaken, but deeply misguided and spiritually reckless.
  • “Prophesied” is נָבָא (nava), meaning to speak as a prophet. In this context, it means the prophets claimed to deliver divine messages, but their source was Baal, not the true God.
  • “Err” is תָּעָה (ta’ah), which means to wander or go astray. This word emphasizes that the people were led off the right path, not just intellectually but in their whole way of living and worship.

Why Jeremiah 23:13 matters

  • Jeremiah 23:13 clarifies that not all who claim to be prophets truly speak for God; some can lead people astray, even while using religious language.
  • The verse connects the failure of Samaria’s prophets to the broader warning Jeremiah gives to Judah, showing that spiritual unfaithfulness has serious consequences.
  • Understanding the specific charge—that the prophets prophesied “in Baal”—helps readers see the sharp contrast between true worship of God and the dangers of adopting outside religious practices.

Where else these words appear

“folly” Hebrew H8604 · used in 3 verses

  • Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
  • Job 24:12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.

“err” Hebrew H8582 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
  • Psalms 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
  • Isaiah 30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

“Baal” Hebrew H1168 · used in 68 verses

  • Judges 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
  • 1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
  • 2 Chronicles 17:3 And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;

“Samaria” Hebrew H8111 · used in 101 verses

  • 1 Kings 13:32 For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
  • 2 Kings 10:36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
  • 2 Chronicles 28:8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.