The Meaning of Jeremiah 23:40 Explained

Jeremiah 23:40

KJV: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

YLT: And I have put on you reproach age-during, And shame age-during that is not forgotten!

Darby: And I will bring everlasting reproach upon you, and everlasting shame, that shall not be forgotten.

ASV: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will bring  an everlasting  reproach  upon you, and a perpetual  shame,  which shall not be forgotten. 

What does Jeremiah 23:40 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh would also curse these false prophets with the eventual reproach of the people and their consequent shame forever. People would always remember them as false prophets. This was only fitting since they had made the people forget the Lord ( Jeremiah 23:27). The people might forget the Lord, but they would never forget the coming judgment.
"The whole argument comes to us as rather complex, probably because the pun is developed in such a sustained manner. The two senses of massa", "prophetic utterance" and "burden," and the verb nasa" occur a number of times. The massa" of Yahweh is that the people are a massa"." [1]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 23:1-40 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.
God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 23

1  He prophesies a restoration of the scattered flock
5  Christ shall rule and save them
9  Against false prophets;
33  and mockers of the true prophets

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 23:40 mean?

and I will bring upon you reproach an everlasting and a shame perpetual which not shall be forgotten -
וְנָתַתִּ֥י עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם חֶרְפַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם וּכְלִמּ֣וּת עוֹלָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֥א תִשָּׁכֵֽחַ ס

וְנָתַתִּ֥י  and  I  will  bring 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם  upon  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
חֶרְפַּ֣ת  reproach 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: חֶרְפָּה  
Sense: reproach, scorn.
עוֹלָ֑ם  an  everlasting 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
וּכְלִמּ֣וּת  and  a  shame 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: כְּלִמּוּת  
Sense: shame, disgrace, ignominy.
עוֹלָ֔ם  perpetual 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
תִשָּׁכֵֽחַ  shall  be  forgotten 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation