“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.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 23:12 Mean?
"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." The false prophets' future is described as walking on ice in the dark: slippery paths in total darkness. They'll be pushed forward (driven on) and fall. The slipping and the darkness and the pushing all work together — the path is treacherous, the visibility is zero, and the momentum is unstoppable. The falling is inevitable.
The phrase "slippery ways in the darkness" (chalaqlaqqot ba'aphelah — slick/slippery places in the gloom) combines two dangers: the ground gives no traction (slippery) and the eyes can see nothing (darkness). Either one alone would be dangerous. Together, they're lethal. You can navigate slippery ground if you can SEE. You can navigate darkness if you have TRACTION. Remove both and the falling is certain.
The "driven on" (yiddachu — they will be thrust/pushed) means the false prophets can't even stop: they're being PUSHED forward onto the slippery, dark path. They can't pause, can't reconsider, can't retreat. The momentum comes from behind — from the consequences of their own false prophecies driving them forward into the disaster they created.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What slippery, dark path is the momentum of your own choices pushing you toward?
- 2.How does the combination of no traction AND no visibility describe spiritual disaster?
- 3.What does being 'driven on' — unable to stop — teach about the momentum of consequences?
- 4.What lies or false words have created the slippery ground you're now walking on?
Devotional
Slippery ground. Total darkness. Pushed forward from behind. The false prophets' path is the most perfectly designed disaster in Jeremiah: the surface gives no grip, the eyes see nothing, and the momentum is unstoppable. The falling isn't possible. It's certain. Every condition for failure is met simultaneously.
The 'slippery ways' means no traction: the ground they walk on offers nothing to hold. Every step slides. Every stance is unstable. The path that looked solid is actually ice. The false prophets who seemed to stand on firm ground are actually standing on nothing — their prophecies were lies, and lies provide no footing.
The 'in the darkness' removes the last hope: if the ground is slippery but you can SEE, you can navigate carefully. But the darkness takes sight away. You can't see the ice. You can't see the edge. You can't see where you're about to fall. The combination of slippery and dark eliminates every survival strategy. You can't grip. You can't see. You can only fall.
The 'driven on' is the final cruelty: you can't even STOP. Something pushes you forward — the momentum of your own false prophecies, the consequences of your own lies, the force of the judgment you can't escape. You're being propelled onto the slippery, dark path by the very words you spoke. The lies you told are now pushing you toward the fall you created.
What slippery, dark path is the momentum of your own choices pushing you down?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness,.... Their course of life may fitly be compared,…
Every word denotes the certainty of their fall. “Their path is like slippery places in darkness:” and on this path “they…
Here is a long lesson for the false prophets. As none were more bitter and spiteful against God's true prophets than…
The figure is of men forced onwards by a pursuing foe, while they can neither see their way nor keep their footing. Cp.…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture