Jeremiah 23:28
Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse highlights a crucial distinction: mere dreams are to be presented as dreams, while God's word demands to be spoken with unwavering faithfulness. The analogy of chaff and wheat powerfully illustrates that dreams, even from prophets, are fundamentally different in substance and purpose from the life-giving truth of God's message.
Jeremiah is confronting a crowd of false prophets who are spreading comforting lies, claiming peace when disaster is coming. He contrasts their baseless pronouncements, often delivered as dreams or visions, with the solid, life-giving truth of God's actual word. This verse is a direct challenge to distinguish between the worthless "chaff" of human fancy and the nourishing "wheat" of divine revelation.
Understand the original words
dabar · Hebrew Noun
The revealed communication of God to man; it is considered infallible, authoritative, and the primary means by which God makes His will known.
YHWH · Hebrew Noun
The self-revealing name of the God of Israel, the eternal, covenant-making Lord.
teben · Hebrew Noun
A common, perishable agricultural product, often used in metaphors to represent something of little spiritual value or substance compared to the 'wheat' of truth.
bar · Hebrew Noun
A staple grain, often used in Scripture as a metaphor for that which is nourishing, essential, and genuine, especially when contrasted with chaff or straw.
Jeremiah's message here is a direct confrontation with the 'false prophets' who offered comfort and false hope during the critical years leading up to and during the Babylonian exile, a time of immense national crisis and divine judgment.
c. 626 BC
Jeremiah Begins Prophetic Ministry
Jeremiah is called by God to prophesy during the reign of King Josiah, a time when the people of Judah were starting to return to God but religious reforms were not yet complete.
c. 609 BC
Josiah Killed in Battle
King Josiah, a righteous king who had led significant religious reforms, is killed fighting the Egyptians. This event plunged Judah into political instability and spiritual confusion.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under King Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacks Jerusalem and deports a first group of captives, including the prophet Daniel, marking the beginning of the Babylonian exile.
c. 597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Another major deportation occurs, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel, intensifying the exile and the spiritual crisis for those left behind in Judah.
Paul uses a similar building metaphor where true ministry is built with precious materials like gold and silver, while false teaching is like wood, hay, and stubble, highlighting the essential difference in value and endurance between God's truth and human invention.
2 Corinthians 2:17This passage contrasts those who 'corrupt the word of God' for profit with those who speak Christ's word with sincerity and divine authority, echoing Jeremiah's call for faithfulness and the distinction between God's word and human deceit.
Hebrews 4:12The writer describes the Word of God as 'living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,' emphasizing its power and effectiveness, which stands in stark contrast to the worthlessness of the 'chaff' or dreams mentioned by Jeremiah.
1 John 4:1John urges believers to 'test the spirits to see whether they are from God,' a principle directly related to Jeremiah's challenge to discern between true prophecy grounded in God's word and the unreliable claims of mere dreams.
barnesJeremiah 23:28: "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD."
A dream ... faithfully - Rather, as "a dream"... as truth. The dream is but a dream, and is to be told as such, but God's word is to be spoken as certain and absolute truth. The dreams are the chaff, worthless, with nothing in them; the wheat, the pure grain after it is cleansed and winnowed is God's word. What have th…
pooleJeremiah 23:28: "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD."
A dream; not a Divine dream; a revelation which I have made to him in his sleep (as appeareth by the following opposition, betwixt a dream and the word of the Lord ); but if any man hath dreamed an ordinary dream, let him tell it as a dream; let him not entitle God to it. And he that hath my word, let him speak my word…
This verse highlights a crucial distinction: mere dreams are to be presented as dreams, while God's word demands to be spoken with unwavering faithfulness. The analogy of chaff and wheat powerfully illustrates that dreams, even from prophets, are fundamentally different in substance and purpose from the life-giving truth of God's message.
Jeremiah is confronting a crowd of false prophets who are spreading comforting lies, claiming peace when disaster is coming. He contrasts their baseless pronouncements, often delivered as dreams or visions, with the solid, life-giving truth of God's actual word. This verse is a direct challenge to distinguish between the worthless "chaff" of human fancy and the nourishing "wheat" of divine revelation.
Jeremiah is confronting a crowd of false prophets who are spreading comforting lies, claiming peace when disaster is coming. He contrasts their baseless pronouncements, often delivered as dreams or visions, with the solid, life-giving truth of God's actual word. This verse is a direct challenge to distinguish between the worthless "chaff" of human fancy and the nourishing "wheat" of divine revelation.
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c. 586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, culminating the Babylonian conquest and scattering the remaining population, signifying a profound divine judgment.
"Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD." — This verse highlights a crucial distinction: mere dreams are to be presented as dreams, while God's word demands to be spoken with unwavering faithfulness. The analogy of chaff and wheat powerfully…
