1‘How terrible it will be for the shepherds who lead my people astray!’ announces the LORD. ‘They are destroying and scattering the sheep that belong to my flock.’2So the LORD, the God of Israel, speaks to the shepherds who take care of my people. He tells them, ‘You have scattered my sheep. You have driven them away. You have not taken good care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,’ announces the LORD.3‘I myself will gather together those who are left alive in my flock. I will gather them out of all the countries where I have driven them. And I will bring them back to their own land. There my sheep will have many lambs. There will be many more of them.4I will place shepherds over them who will take good care of them. My sheep will not be afraid or terrified anymore. And none of them will be missing,’ announces the LORD.5‘A new day is coming,’ announces the LORD. ‘At that time I will raise up for David’s royal line a godly Branch. He will be a King who will rule wisely. He will do what is fair and right in the land.6In his days Judah will be saved. Israel will live in safety. And the Branch will be called The LORD Who Makes Us Right With Himself.7Other days are also coming,’ announces the LORD. ‘At that time people will no longer say, “The LORD brought the Israelites up out of Egypt. And that’s just as sure as he is alive.”8Instead, they will say, “The LORD brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north. He gathered them out of all the countries where he had forced them to go. And that’s just as sure as he is alive.” Then they will live in their own land.’
Prophets who tell lies
9Here is my message about the prophets. My heart is broken inside me. All my bones tremble with fear. I am like a man who is drunk. I am like a strong man who has had too much wine. That’s what the LORD’s holy words have done to me.10The land is full of people who aren’t faithful to the LORD. Now the land is under his curse. And that’s why it is thirsty for water. That’s why the desert grasslands are dry. The prophets are leading sinful lives. They don’t use their power in the right way.11‘Prophets and priests alike are ungodly,’ announces the LORD. ‘Even in my temple I find them sinning.12So their path will become slippery. They will be thrown out into darkness. There they will fall. I will bring trouble on them when the time to punish them comes,’ announces the LORD.13‘Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something I can’t stand. They were prophesying in the name of Baal. They were leading my people Israel astray.14I have also seen something horrible among Jerusalem’s prophets. They are not faithful to me. They are not living by the truth. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil. So not one of them turns from their sinful ways. All of them are like the people of Sodom to me. They are just like the people of Gomorrah.’15So the LORD who rules over all speaks about the prophets. He says, ‘I will make them eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread their ungodly ways all through the land.’16The LORD who rules over all says to the people of Judah, ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are saying to you. They fill you with false hopes. They talk about visions that come from their own minds. What they say does not come from my mouth.17They keep speaking to those who hate me. They say, “The LORD says you will have peace.” They speak to all those who do what their stubborn hearts want them to do. They tell them, “No harm will come to you.”18But which of them has ever stood in my courts? Have they been there to see a vision or hear my message? Who has listened and heard my message there?19A storm will burst out because of my great anger. A violent storm will sweep down on the heads of sinful people.20My anger will not turn back. I will accomplish everything I plan to do. In days to come you will understand it clearly.21I did not send these prophets. But they have run to tell you their message anyway. I did not speak to them. But they have still prophesied.22Suppose they had stood in my courts. Then they would have announced my message to my people. They would have turned my people from their evil ways. They would have turned them away from their sins.23‘Am I only a God who is nearby?’ announces the LORD. ‘Am I not a God who is also far away?24Who can hide in secret places so that I can’t see them?’ announces the LORD. ‘Don’t I fill heaven and earth?’ announces the LORD.25‘I have heard what the prophets are saying. They prophesy lies in my name. They say, “I had a dream! The LORD has given me a dream!”26How long will that continue in the hearts of these prophets who tell lies? They try to get others to believe their own mistaken ideas.27They tell one another their dreams. They think that will make my people forget my name. In the same way, their people of long ago forgot my name when they worshipped Baal.28Let the prophet who has a dream describe the dream. But let the one who has my message speak it faithfully. Your prophets have given you straw to eat instead of corn,’ announces the LORD.29‘My message is like fire,’ announces the LORD. ‘It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.30‘So I am against these prophets,’ announces the LORD. ‘I am against those who steal messages from one another. They claim that the messages come from me.31Yes,’ announces the LORD. ‘I am against the prophets who speak their own words. But they still say, “Here is what the LORD says.”32I am against prophets who talk about dreams that did not come from me,’ announces the LORD. ‘They tell foolish lies. Their lies lead my people astray. But I did not send these prophets. I did not appoint them. They do not help my people in the least,’ announces the LORD.
Prophets who give messages that are not from the Lord
33‘Jeremiah, these people might ask you a question. Or a prophet or priest might do this. They might ask, “What message have you received from the LORD?” Then tell them, “You ask, ‘What message?’ Here it is. ‘I will desert you,’ announces the LORD.”34A prophet or priest might make a claim. Or someone else might do this. He might claim, “This is a message from the LORD.” Then I will punish them and their family.35Here is what each of you people keeps on saying to your friends and other Israelites. You ask, “What is the LORD’s answer?” Or you ask, “What has the LORD spoken?”36But you must not talk about “a message from the LORD” again. That’s because each person’s own words become their message. And so you twist the LORD’s words. He is the living God. He is the LORD who rules over all. And he is our God.37Here is what you keep saying to a prophet. You ask, “What is the LORD’s answer to you?” Or you ask, “What has the LORD spoken?”38You claim, “This is a message from the LORD.” But here is what the LORD says. “You used the words, ‘This is a message from the LORD.’ But I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the LORD.’ ”39So you can be sure I will forget you. I will throw you out of my sight. I will also destroy the city I gave you and your people of long ago.40I will bring on you shame that will last for ever. It will never be forgotten.’
Jeremiah 23
English Standard Version
The Righteous Branch
1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. (Isa 56:11; Jer 6:3; Jer 10:21; Jer 22:22; Jer 25:34; Jer 25:36; Eze 34:2; Zec 11:17; Joh 10:12)2Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. (Jer 4:4; Jer 23:1; Jer 23:22)3Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. (Ge 1:28; De 30:3; Ps 107:3; Jer 8:3; Jer 29:14; Jer 32:37; Eze 20:34; Eze 20:41; Eze 34:11; Eze 37:21)4I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. (Jer 3:15)5“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Isa 4:2; Isa 11:1; Isa 32:1; Jer 30:9; Jer 33:14; Eze 37:24; Ho 3:5; Zec 9:9; Mt 2:2; Lu 1:32; Lu 19:38; Joh 1:49)6In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ (De 33:28; Jer 32:37; Zec 14:11; Ro 10:4; 1Co 1:30)7“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ (Jer 16:14)8but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he[1] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Lying Prophets
9Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and because of his holy words. (Eze 6:9; Hab 3:16)10For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right. (Ps 10:7; Ps 59:12; Ps 107:34; Jer 4:28; Jer 5:7; Jer 9:2; Jer 9:10; Jer 12:4; Jer 22:17; Ho 4:2)11“Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord. (Jer 6:13; Jer 7:30; Jer 23:33; Jer 32:34; Eze 8:16; Eze 23:39; Zep 3:4)12Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the Lord. (Ps 35:6; Ps 73:18; Pr 4:19; Jer 11:23; Jer 13:16)13In the prophets of Samaria I saw an unsavory thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. (Isa 7:9; Isa 9:16; Jer 2:8; La 2:14; Eze 16:46; Eze 16:51; Eze 16:53; Eze 16:55; Eze 23:4; Eze 23:33; Mic 3:5)14But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” (Ps 64:5; Isa 1:9; Isa 13:19; Jer 29:23; Eze 13:22)15Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” (Pr 5:4; Jer 8:14; Jer 9:15)16Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. (Nu 16:28; Ps 12:2; Jer 23:21; Jer 23:26)17They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” (Jer 3:17; Jer 5:12; Jer 6:14; Mic 3:11; Zec 10:2)18For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? (Isa 40:14; Jer 23:22)19Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. (Jer 25:32; Jer 30:23)20The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly. (Isa 55:11; Jer 30:24)21“I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. (Jer 14:14)22But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds. (Jer 23:2; Jer 23:18; Jer 25:5; Lu 1:17)23“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? (Ps 94:7; Ps 94:9; Ps 139:7; Am 9:2)24Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. (Isa 66:1; Jer 23:23; Ac 7:49)25I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ (Jer 5:31; Zec 10:2)26How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, (Nu 16:28; Jer 23:16; Jer 23:21)27who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? (Jud 3:7; Jud 8:33; Jer 23:25)28Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. (Nu 12:6; Jer 23:25; Lu 3:17)29Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jer 23:28; Da 2:34; Da 2:45)30Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. (De 18:20; Jer 14:15; Eze 13:8)31Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’32Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord. (Jer 14:14; Jer 23:13; Jer 23:21)33“When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,[2] and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ (Eze 14:1; Ho 4:6)34And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. (Jer 23:33)35Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’36But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. (Ps 42:2; Mt 15:6)37Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’38But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’”39therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up[3] and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. (Jer 23:33)40And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’” (Jer 20:11)