Jeremiah 23:11, 1, 3-10, 2, 12-20

“Both the prophets and the priests are evil. I have seen them doing evil things even in my own Temple,” says the Lord.

“How terrible it will be for the leaders of Judah. They are destroying my people. They are making them run in all directions,” says the Lord.

“I sent my people to other countries. But I will gather my people who are left alive. And I will bring them back to their own country. When they are back in their own land, they will have many children. And they will grow in number. I will place new leaders over my people. They will take care of my people. And my people will not be afraid or terrified. None of them will be lost,” says the Lord. “The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a good descendant in David’s family. This descendant will be a king who will rule in a wise way. And he will do what is fair and right in the land. In his time Judah will be saved. Israel will live in safety. This will be his name: The Lord Does What Is Right. “So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not say: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel out of Egypt . . .’ But people will say something new: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where he had sent them away . . .’ Then the people of Israel will live in their own land.” A message to the prophets: My heart is broken. All my bones shake. I’m like a man who is drunk. I’m like a man who has been overcome with wine. This is because of the Lord and his holy words. The land of Judah is full of people who are guilty of adultery. Because of this, the Lord cursed the land. And it has become very dry. The pastures have dried up. The people are evil. They use their power in the wrong way.

They are responsible for the people. And the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have made my people run away in all directions. You have forced them away. And you have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” says the Lord.

“So they will be in danger. They will be forced into darkness. There they will be defeated. I will bring disaster on them. At that time I will punish those prophets and priests,” says the Lord. “I saw the prophets of Samaria do something wrong. I saw those prophets prophesy by the false god Baal. And they led my people, the Israelites, away. And I have seen the prophets of Jerusalem do some terrible things. These prophets are guilty of adultery and live by lies. They encourage evil people to keep on doing evil. So the people don’t stop sinning. All of those people are like the city of Sodom. The people of Jerusalem are like the city of Gomorrah to me!” So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says about the prophets: “I will make those prophets eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. This is because the prophets of Jerusalem spread wickedness through the whole country.” This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says: “Don’t pay attention to the things those prophets are saying to you. They are trying to fool you. Those prophets talk of visions from their own minds. But they did not get their visions from me. They say to those who hate me: ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ They say to those who are stubborn and do as they please: ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’ But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels. None of them has seen or heard the message of the Lord. None of them has paid close attention to the Lord’s message. Look, the punishment from the Lord will come like a storm. His anger will be like a hurricane. It will come crashing down on the heads of those wicked people. The Lord’s anger will not stop until he finishes what he plans to do. When that day is over, you will understand this clearly.