Jeremiah 23:33
And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.
Chapter 23 does not stand in chronological place in the book, for chapters from the reign of Zedekiah come before others written in the days of Jehoiakim. Up to chapter 20 the chapters follow fairly chronological order, but from chapter 20 to 46 the order in time is 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 35, 36, 45, 24, 29, 30, 31, 27, 28, 21, 34, 37, 32, 33, 38, 39:15-18, 39:1-14, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46. The verse therefore belongs in time after chapter 22 and before chapter 25.
The verse belongs to God's denunciation of those unfaithful to the prophetic calling and to His contrasting presentation of those through whom He truly speaks. The false prophets denounced here ran without being sent and prophesied without God speaking to them, and because they had not stood in God's counsel and caused the people to hear His words, they did not turn the people from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. The chapter exemplifies the false prophet's message of peace and assurance given in a time of danger. In contrast, the word spoken through God's true prophets acts like fire and like a hammer that shatters rock, and God declares Himself against prophets who steal His words from their neighbor.