Jeremiah 23

The Branch of Righteousness

1“Woe #Is. 56:9–12; Jer. 10:21to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. 2Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. #Ex. 32:34Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. 3“But #Is. 11:11, 12, 16; Jer. 32:37I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4I will set up #Jer. 3:15; (Ezek. 34:23)shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.

5“Behold, #Is. 4:2; 11:1; 40:10, 11; Jer. 33:14; (Dan. 9:24; Zech. 6:12); Matt. 1:1, 6; Luke 3:31; (John 1:45; 7:42)the days are coming,” says the Lord,

“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;

A King shall reign and prosper,

#Ps. 72:2; Is. 9:7; 32:1, 18; (Dan. 9:24)And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

6#Deut. 33:28; Jer. 30:10; Zech. 14:11In His days Judah will be saved,

And Israel #Jer. 32:37will dwell safely;

Now #Is. 45:24; Jer. 33:16; (Dan. 9:24; Rom. 3:22; 1 Cor. 1:30)this is His name by which He will be called:

THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

7“Therefore, behold, #Is. 43:18, 19; Jer. 16:14the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country #Is. 43:5, 6; Ezek. 34:13; Amos 9:14, 15and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own #Gen. 12:7; Jer. 16:14, 15; 31:8land.”

False Prophets and Empty Oracles

9My heart within me is broken

Because of the prophets;

#Jer. 8:18; Hab. 3:16All my bones shake.

I am like a drunken man,

And like a man whom wine has overcome,

Because of the Lord,

And because of His holy words.

10For #Jer. 9:2the land is full of adulterers;

For #Hos. 4:2; Mal. 3:5because of a curse the land mourns.

#Ps. 107:34; Jer. 9:10The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up.

Their course of life is evil,

And their might is not right.

11“For #Jer. 6:13; Zeph. 3:4both prophet and priest are profane;

Yes, #Jer. 7:30; 32:34; Ezek. 8:11; 23:39in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord.

12“Therefore#Ps. 35:6; (Prov. 4:19); Jer. 13:16 their way shall be to them

Like slippery ways;

In the darkness they shall be driven on

And fall in them;

For I #Jer. 11:23will bring disaster on them,

The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.

13“And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria:

#1 Kin. 18:18–21; Jer. 2:8They prophesied by Baal

And #Is. 9:16caused My people Israel to err.

14Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:

#Jer. 29:23They commit adultery and walk in lies;

They also #Jer. 23:22; Ezek. 13:22, 23strengthen the hands of evildoers,

So that no one turns back from his wickedness.

All of them are like #Gen. 18:20; Deut. 32:32; Is. 1:9, 10Sodom to Me,

And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

15“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:

‘Behold, I will feed them with #Deut. 29:18; Jer. 9:15wormwood,

And make them drink the water of gall;

For from the prophets of Jerusalem

Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ”

16Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.

They make you worthless;

#Jer. 14:14; Ezek. 13:3, 6They speak a vision of their own heart,

Not from the mouth of the Lord.

17They continually say to those who despise Me,

‘The Lord has said, #Jer. 8:11; Ezek. 13:10; Zech. 10:2“You shall have peace” ’;

And to everyone who #Deut. 29:19; Jer. 3:17walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say,

#Jer. 5:12; Amos 9:10; Mic. 3:11‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”

18For #Job 15:8, 9; (Jer. 23:22; 1 Cor. 2:16)who has stood in the counsel of the Lord,

And has perceived and heard His word?

Who has marked His word and heard it?

19Behold, a #Jer. 25:32; 30:23; Amos 1:14whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—

A violent whirlwind!

It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.

20The #2 Kin. 23:26, 27; Jer. 30:24anger of the Lord will not turn back

Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.

#Gen. 49:1In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.

21“I#Jer. 14:14; 23:32; 27:15 have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.

I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

22But if they had stood in My counsel,

And had caused My people to hear My words,

Then they would have #Jer. 25:5turned them from their evil way

And from the evil of their doings.

23“Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,

“And not a God afar off?

24Can anyone #(Ps. 139:7); Amos 9:2, 3hide himself in secret places,

So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;

#(1 Kin. 8:27); Ps. 139:7“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

25“I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, #Judg. 3:7as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.

28“The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;

And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.

What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.

29“Is not My word like a #Jer. 5:14fire?” says the Lord,

“And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

30“Therefore behold, #Deut. 18:20; Ps. 34:16; Jer. 14:14, 15; Ezek. 13:8, 9I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. 31Behold, I am #Ezek. 13:9against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ 32Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their #Jer. 20:6; 27:10; Lam. 2:14; 3:37lies and by #Zeph. 3:4their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not #Jer. 7:8; Lam. 2:14profit this people at all,” says the Lord.

33“So when these people or the prophet or the priest ask you, saying, ‘What is #Is. 13:1; Nah. 1:1; Hab. 1:1; Zech. 9:1; Mal. 1:1the oracle of the Lord?’ you shall then say to them, ‘What oracle?’ I will even forsake you,” says the Lord. 34“And as for the prophet and the priest and the people who say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ I will even punish that man and his house. 35Thus every one of you shall say to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36And the oracle of the Lord you shall mention no more. For every man’s word will be his oracle, for you have #Deut. 4:2perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38But since you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Because you say this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” and I have sent to you, saying, “Do not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ ” 39therefore behold, I, even I, #Hos. 4:6will utterly forget you and forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and will cast you out of My presence. 40And I will bring #Jer. 20:11; Ezek. 5:14, 15an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual #Mic. 3:5–7shame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ”

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Jeremiah 23: NKJV

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Jeremiah 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.

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