Jeremiah 23
23
The Godly Branch
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 windstorm 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 worshiped 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 grain,” 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 forever. It will never be forgotten.”
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 23: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Jeremiah 23
23
A Message of Hope
The Lord said:
1 #
Ez 34.1-6,23,24; Jn 10.14-16. You leaders of my people are like shepherds that kill and scatter the sheep. 2You were supposed to take care of my people, but instead you chased them away. So now I'll punish you severely and make you pay for your crimes!
3I will bring the rest of my people home from the lands where I have scattered them, and they will grow into a mighty nation. 4I promise to choose leaders who will care for them like real shepherds. All of my people will be there, and they will never again be frightened.
5 #
Jr 33.14-16. Someday I will appoint
an honest king
from the family of David,
a king who will be wise
and rule with justice.
6As long as he is king,
Israel will have peace,
and Judah will be safe.
The name of this king will be
“The Lord Gives Justice.”
7A time will come when you will again worship me. But you will no longer call me the Living God who rescued Israel from Egypt. 8Instead, you will call me the Living God who rescued you from the land in the north and from all the other countries where I had forced you to go. And you will once again live in your own land.
Jeremiah Thinks about Unfaithful Prophets
9When I think of the prophets,
I am shocked, and I tremble#23.9 tremble: Or “become weak.”
like someone drunk,
because of the Lord
and his sacred words.
10Those unfaithful prophets
misuse their power
all over the country.
So God turned the pasturelands
into scorching deserts.#23.10 deserts: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
The Lord Will Punish Unfaithful Prophets
11The Lord told me to say:
You prophets and priests
think so little of me, the Lord,
that you even sin
in my own temple!
12Now I will punish you
with disaster,
and you will slip and fall
in the darkness.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
13The prophets in Samaria
were repulsive to me,
because they preached
in the name of Baal
and led my people astray.
14 #
Gn 18.20; Ez 16.49. And you prophets in Jerusalem
are even worse.
You're unfaithful in marriage#23.14 in marriage: Or “to me.”
and never tell the truth.#23.14 never tell the truth: Or “worship other gods.”
You even lead others to sin
instead of helping them
turn back to me.
You and the people of Jerusalem
are evil like Sodom
and Gomorrah.#23.14 Sodom and Gomorrah: Two cities that the Lord destroyed because their people were so evil (see Genesis 18.16—19.29).
15You prophets in Jerusalem
have spread evil everywhere.
That's why I, the Lord, promise
to give you bitter poison
to eat and drink.
The Lord Gives a Warning
The Lord said:
16Don't listen to the lies
of these false prophets,
you people of Judah!
The message they preach
is something they imagined;
it did not come from me,
the Lord All-Powerful.
17These prophets go to people
who refuse to respect me
and who are stubborn
and do whatever they please.
The prophets tell them,
“The Lord has promised
everything will be fine.”
18But I, the Lord, tell you
that these prophets
have never attended a meeting
of my council in heaven#23.18 a meeting of my council in heaven: Sometimes, prophets had visions of the Lord meeting with his angels (see 1 Kings 22.19-23).
or heard me speak.
19They are evil! So in my anger
I will strike them
like a violent storm.
20I won't calm down,
until I have finished
what I have decided to do.
Someday you will understand
exactly what I mean.
21I did not send these prophets
or speak to them,
but they ran to find you
and to preach their message.
22If they had been in a meeting
of my council in heaven,
they would have told
you people of Judah
to give up your sins
and come back to me.
23I am everywhere—
both near and far,
24 #
Ws 1.7; Si 16.17. in heaven and on earth.
There are no secret places
where you can hide from me.
25These unfaithful prophets claim that I have given them a dream or a vision, and then they tell lies in my name. 26But everything they say comes from their own twisted minds. How long can this go on? 27They tell each other their dreams and try to get my people to reject me, just as their ancestors left me and worshiped Baal. 28Their dreams and my truth are as different as straw and wheat. But when prophets speak for me, they must say only what I have told them. 29My words are a powerful fire; they are a hammer that shatters rocks.
30-32These unfaithful prophets claim I give them their dreams, but it isn't true. I didn't choose them to be my prophets, and yet they babble on and on, speaking in my name, while stealing words from each other. And when my people hear these liars, they are led astray instead of being helped. So I warn you that I am now the enemy of these prophets. I, the Lord, have spoken.
News and Nuisance
The Lord said to me:
33Jeremiah, when a prophet or a priest or anyone else comes to you and asks, “Does the Lord have news for us?” tell them, “You people are a nuisance#23.33 news … nuisance: The Hebrew word for “news” in verses 33-38 is the same as “nuisance” and is related to “pick up” in verse 39. to the Lord, and he#23.33 You people are a nuisance to the Lord, and he: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “Does the Lord have news for us? He.” will get rid of you.”
34If any of you say, “Here is news from the Lord,” I will punish you and your families, even if you are a prophet or a priest. 35Instead, you must ask your friends and relatives, “What answer did the Lord give?” or “What has the Lord said?” 36It seems that you each have your own news! So if you say, “Here is news from the Lord,” you are twisting my words into a lie. Remember that I am your God, the Lord All-Powerful.
37If you go to a prophet, it's all right to ask, “What answer did the Lord give to my question?” or “What has the Lord said?” 38But if you disobey me and say, “Here is news from the Lord,” 39I will pick you up#23.39 pick you up: A few Hebrew manuscripts and three ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts “forget you completely.” and throw you far away. And I will abandon this city of Jerusalem that I gave to your ancestors. 40You will never be free from your shame and disgrace.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.