This quote from Matthew isn't found in the Bible

Matthew 27:9-10

Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver the price of Him that was valued whom they of the children of Israel did value and gave them for the potter's field as the LORD appointed Me.”

Comments: Matthew 27:9-10 should never have been separated by a numbered verse break, as it is one seamless statement.

This quote attributed to Jeremiah [and this writer does not believe it to be a scribal error] reveals the Godhead. It is the voice of YHWH speaking in both third and first persons, which is in perfect accord with other prophecies that Messiah would be the Almighty in the flesh, which the apostle John also affirmed ^{John 1:1&14}.

The problem is that there is no direct quote found in the book of Jeremiah, or, for that matter, anywhere else in scripture, but that does not make it false, or confusion on the part of the writer of Matthew, or a scribal error. So where did it come from?

We know the Jews and early Christians held other writings, not found in the currently accepted canon, sacred. They also held some oral traditions to be sacred, and the book of Matthew states that Jeremiah spoke this prophecy … not that it was written.

The Apostle John wrote that if everything Jesus did was written, all the books in the world could not hold them ^{John 21:25}. From this, we can safely assume that applies to all he said as well. What about what the prophets may have said but was not written down?

John gives scriptural proof that many things were said and done that were never written down but nonetheless are true. Just because this quote is not recorded in the Book of Jeremiah, does not mean Jeremiah did not say it. The earliest Believers obviously believed he did.

Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several non-fiction books, including, Redemption: Bible Prophecy Simplified, a Study of HOPE.

Note from the editor: I read my Bible every day, always picking up today where I left off yesterday. I call this my “on-track” Bible reading. I have been doing this for over 44 years. It was the best advice I was ever given, and it changed my life. If you are not presently doing the same, I invite you to join me. How much you read on a daily basis isn’t important. It only matters that you read, feeding your spirit with a prayerful dose of the living and powerful Word of God.

Click HERE to subscribe to my newsletter and for links to all my Substack columns.

Connect with me on YouTube, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, and X.

Read more about this commentary HERE.