The book of Jeremiah contains a statement by the prophet that many find troubling: “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!” (Jeremiah 4:10). On the face of it, this statement – which appears to accuse God of deception – contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches that God cannot and does not lie (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18; etc.). But several explanations are possible to account for this apparent contradiction and we will look at them in turn.
First, it has been suggested that by a small change to the vowel points of one Hebrew word in this verse, the meaning can be better understood as “they shall say” (meaning the false prophets who had foretold peace – Jeremiah 6:14; 14:13; 23:17; etc.) rather than Jeremiah himself being the speaker. Viewed this way, the verse would mean that the false prophets were complaining to God that he had not brought about what they said he had predicted. This kind of irony – ridiculing the prophets who claimed to be speaking under inspiration from God – is certainly possible and would fit the context well, but there are other possible explanations that do not require any change to the biblical text.
It is possible that Jeremiah implies that God allowed the people of Judah to be deceived by the false prophets they themselves supported (Jeremiah 5:31). This seems to be the case in other situations such as that which we find mentioned in the book of Ezekiel: “And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel” (Ezekiel 14:9 ESV). This appears to also be the case in what the apostle Paul wrote: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). From this perspective, God does not directly mislead his people, but permits others to do so, especially when it fits his purpose of allowing the rebellious people’s hearts to be hardened.
It is also possible that Jeremiah’s statement is posed as a question rather than a statement – in other words, the prophet is asking “How can it be, God, that you allow people to be deluded by false prophets?” Viewed this way, Jeremiah is wondering or marveling out loud about the situation rather than making a critical statement.
But there is a final and perhaps more likely possibility regarding the meaning of Jeremiah 4:10. Importantly, that verse is not the only passage where the prophet appears to emotionally accuse God of “deceit.” In Jeremiah 20:7, using a synonymous word, Jeremiah states “You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me” (see also Jeremiah 15:18; etc.). So, if we accept the words of Jeremiah 4:10 at face value, it is possible that Jeremiah meant that he had received God’s earlier promises of the peace that would eventually come to God’s people (Jeremiah 3:14–18; etc.) without realizing that this peace would only come later, after Judah’s inevitable downfall. Seen this way, Jeremiah may simply have supposed the positive eventual outcome was closer than it really was.
It is easy to presume that the Old Testament prophets had a kind of divinely granted understanding so that they knew when and how the prophecies they were given would be fulfilled. But we should remember that this was not the case at all. The apostle Peter reminds us that “This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you” (1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT) or, as the ESV translates this verse, the prophets were “trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing.”
So, in conclusion, while we may not know for sure which of the various possible meanings of Jeremiah 4:10 is the actual meaning of the verse, it is certain that there are several ways in which the verse can be understood without it contradicting other, clearer, biblical verses. As is so often the case with difficult scriptures, Jeremiah 4:10 may seem confusing, but in reality, there is no reason why its intended meaning need be seen as not being in harmony with the rest of the Bible.
First, it has been suggested that by a small change to the vowel points of one Hebrew word in this verse, the meaning can be better understood as “they shall say” (meaning the false prophets who had foretold peace – Jeremiah 6:14; 14:13; 23:17; etc.) rather than Jeremiah himself being the speaker. Viewed this way, the verse would mean that the false prophets were complaining to God that he had not brought about what they said he had predicted. This kind of irony – ridiculing the prophets who claimed to be speaking under inspiration from God – is certainly possible and would fit the context well, but there are other possible explanations that do not require any change to the biblical text.
It is possible that Jeremiah implies that God allowed the people of Judah to be deceived by the false prophets they themselves supported (Jeremiah 5:31). This seems to be the case in other situations such as that which we find mentioned in the book of Ezekiel: “And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel” (Ezekiel 14:9 ESV). This appears to also be the case in what the apostle Paul wrote: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). From this perspective, God does not directly mislead his people, but permits others to do so, especially when it fits his purpose of allowing the rebellious people’s hearts to be hardened.
It is also possible that Jeremiah’s statement is posed as a question rather than a statement – in other words, the prophet is asking “How can it be, God, that you allow people to be deluded by false prophets?” Viewed this way, Jeremiah is wondering or marveling out loud about the situation rather than making a critical statement.
But there is a final and perhaps more likely possibility regarding the meaning of Jeremiah 4:10. Importantly, that verse is not the only passage where the prophet appears to emotionally accuse God of “deceit.” In Jeremiah 20:7, using a synonymous word, Jeremiah states “You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me” (see also Jeremiah 15:18; etc.). So, if we accept the words of Jeremiah 4:10 at face value, it is possible that Jeremiah meant that he had received God’s earlier promises of the peace that would eventually come to God’s people (Jeremiah 3:14–18; etc.) without realizing that this peace would only come later, after Judah’s inevitable downfall. Seen this way, Jeremiah may simply have supposed the positive eventual outcome was closer than it really was.
It is easy to presume that the Old Testament prophets had a kind of divinely granted understanding so that they knew when and how the prophecies they were given would be fulfilled. But we should remember that this was not the case at all. The apostle Peter reminds us that “This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you” (1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT) or, as the ESV translates this verse, the prophets were “trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing.”
So, in conclusion, while we may not know for sure which of the various possible meanings of Jeremiah 4:10 is the actual meaning of the verse, it is certain that there are several ways in which the verse can be understood without it contradicting other, clearer, biblical verses. As is so often the case with difficult scriptures, Jeremiah 4:10 may seem confusing, but in reality, there is no reason why its intended meaning need be seen as not being in harmony with the rest of the Bible.
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