John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 23:37

"Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath Jehovah answered thee? and, What hath Jehovah spoken?" — Jeremiah 23:37 (ASV)

He repeats what we noticed yesterday, and almost in the same words. The meaning is that if we desire to profit in God’s school, we must guard against our minds being preoccupied by any corrupt feeling.

For why is it that God’s word is not savored by us, or stirs up a bitter spirit in us? It is because we are infected by some sinful lust or passion which wholly corrupts our judgment. God then desires us to come to Him free from every vicious disposition, and to be teachable, inquiring only what He teaches and what He may answer us; for whoever becomes disentangled and free in this way will doubtless find the prophetic doctrine to be for his benefit.

There is then only one cause why God’s word does not profit us, but on the contrary is injurious and fatal to us: we do not seek what God speaks. This is because we are not teachable and do not come to learn; instead, sloth, contempt, ingratitude, perverseness, or something of this kind, rules in us.

He now says here that the prophets ought to be asked as to what God speaks, or as to what He may answer. In these words he exculpates God’s faithful servants; for if a hearer is ready to obey, he will find from a faithful teacher what can rightly please and benefit him. In short, he shows that the prophets are not at fault when their doctrine does not please us, but that this happens because we do not pay attention to what Jeremiah here reminds us of: that we ought to hear God so that we may learn and obey His voice.