Jeremiah 23:12

Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:12 (KJV)

Context

Jeremiah speaks here against the false prophets of Judah, who claimed to speak for the Lord while leading the people into rebellion. In the preceding verses, the Lord exposes their corruption: they speak lies, commit adultery, and strengthen the hands of evildoers. Their message of peace and prosperity contradicted the people’s actual spiritual condition, and their deception polluted both the temple and the land.

Meaning

The phrase “slippery ways in the darkness” pictures a path that offers no firm footing and no light to see by. For the false prophets, their own way—the course of their sinful choices—will become exactly that. They will be driven on, hurried forward as if chased, and fall with no ability to recover. The darkness signifies both their moral blindness and the coming judgment that will engulf them.

The “year of their visitation” is the appointed time when God will bring disaster upon them. This is not random misfortune but divine judgment, certain and timely. The Lord Himself declares that He will bring evil upon them, meaning calamity and punishment, not moral evil. Their confidence in their false assurances will not protect them.

Biblical connections

The imagery of slippery paths appears elsewhere in Scripture to describe the unstable condition of the wicked. In Psalm 73:18, the psalmist says that God sets the wicked in slippery places and casts them down to destruction. Here, Jeremiah applies the same truth to false teachers: their deception leads not only to their own ruin but also to the ruin of those who follow them.

Application

This verse warns us to test every message against God’s Word. False teaching often sounds reassuring, but it cannot change the reality of sin or the certainty of judgment. Those who lead others astray bear a heavy guilt, and those who follow them share in the consequences. We are called to discernment, to love truth, and to trust that God sees deception and will act in His appointed time.

Reflection

The certainty of judgment should move us to humility and faithfulness. No human scheme can thwart God’s purposes, and no one who opposes Him will stand. Yet for those who turn from deception and cling to His Word, there is mercy and a firm foundation. Let us examine our own hearts, reject every false way, and walk in the light of His truth.