Jeremiah 23
23
1 "Woe to the shepherds who scatter and tear apart the sheep of my pasture, says the Lord.
2 Because of this, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to the shepherds who pasture my people: You have scattered my flock, and you have driven them away, and you have not visited them. Behold, I will visit upon you because of your evil pursuits, says the Lord.
3 And I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the entire earth, from the places to which I had cast them out. And I will return them to their own fields. And they will increase and be multiplied.
4 And I will raise up shepherds over them, and they will pasture them. They will no longer dread, and they will no longer fear. And no one among their number will be seeking more, says the Lord.
5 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous branch. And a king will reign, and he will be wise. And he will exercise judgment and justice upon the earth.
6 In those days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in confidence. And this is the name that they will call him: 'The Lord, our Just One.'
7 Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when they will no longer say, 'As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of Egypt,'
8 but instead, 'As the Lord lives, who led away and brought back the offspring of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from the entire earth,' from the places to which I had cast them out. And they will live in their own land."
9 To the prophets: "My heart is crushed within me. All my bones are trembling. I have become like an inebriated man, and like a man maddened by wine, before the face of the Lord, and before the face of his holy words.
10 For the earth is full of adulterers! And the earth has mourned before the face of evil talk. The plains of the desert have dried up, and their course has become hazardous, and their firmness has become uneven."
11 "For both the prophet and the priest have become polluted, and I have found their wickedness within my own house, says the Lord.
12 For this reason, their way will be like a slippery path in the dark. For they will be impelled forward, and they will fall in it. For I will bring evils over them, in the year of their visitation, says the Lord.
13 And I have seen the foolishness of the prophets of Samaria. They have prophesied in Baal, and they have deceived my people Israel.
14 And in the prophets of Jerusalem, I have seen the likeness of adulterers and the path of falsehood. And they have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that each one would not convert from his malice. They have all become to me like Sodom, and its inhabitants have become like Gomorrah."
15 Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts to the prophets: "Behold, I will feed them absinthe, and I will give them gall to drink. For from the prophets of Jerusalem corruption has gone forth over the entire earth."
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Do not choose to listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you and deceive you. They speak a vision from their own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 To those who blaspheme me, they say: 'The Lord has said: You shall have peace.' And to every one who walks in the depravity of his own heart, they have said: 'No evil will overwhelm you.' "
18 For who has been present in the counsel of the Lord, and who has seen and heard his word? Who has considered his word and heard it?
19 Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord's indignation will go forth, and a tempest will break out; it will overwhelm the head of the impious.
20 The fury of the Lord will not return until it succeeds, and until it completes the plan of his heart. In the last days, you will understand this counsel.
21 "I did not send these prophets, yet they hurry forward. I was not speaking to them, yet they were prophesying.
22 If they had stood in my counsel, and if I had made my words known to my people, certainly I would have turned them away from their evil ways and from their most wicked plans.
23 Do you not realize that I am a God close by, says the Lord, and not a God far away?
24 If a man is hidden in concealed places, do I not see him, says the Lord? Do I not fill up heaven and earth, says the Lord?
25 I have heard what the prophets have said, prophesying falsehoods in my name, and also saying: 'I have dreamed! I have dreamed!'
26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who predict what is false, and who prophesy deceptions from their own heart?
27 They want to cause my people to forget my name, by means of their dreams, which each of them describes to his neighbor, just as their fathers forgot my name for the sake of Baal.
28 The prophet who has had a dream, let him describe the dream. And he who receives my word, let him speak my word in truth. For what has the chaff to do with the wheat, says the Lord?
29 Are not my words like a fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer crushing rock?
30 Therefore, behold: I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words, each one from his neighbor.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who take up their tongues and say: 'The Lord says it.'
32 Behold, I am against the prophets, who dream what is false, says the Lord; who explain and so seduce my people with their falsehoods and with their miracles, though I did not send them, nor did I command them. They have offer nothing beneficial to this people, says the Lord.
33 Therefore, if this people, or a prophet, or a priest questions you, saying, 'What is the burden of the Lord?' you shall say to them, 'You are the burden. And certainly I will cast you away, says the Lord.'
34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people who say, 'The burden of the Lord!' I will visit upon that man and upon his house.
35 And then you will speak in this way, each one to his neighbor and to his brother: 'What has the Lord answered? And what has the Lord said?'
36 And the burden of the Lord will be no longer be called to mind. For each one's own word will be a burden. For you have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts, our God.
37 And then you will speak in this way to the prophet: 'What has the Lord answered you? And what has the Lord spoken?'
38 But if you say, 'The burden of the Lord!' then because of this, thus says the Lord: Since you have spoken this word, 'The burden of the Lord!' though I sent to you telling you not to say: 'The burden of the Lord,'
39 because of this, behold, I will take you away, like a burden, and I will forsake you, as well as the city that I gave to you and to your fathers, before my face.
40 And I will give you over to an everlasting reproach and an eternal disgrace, which shall never be wiped away into oblivion."
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Jeremiah 23: CPDV
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Jeremiah 23
23
A Just Shepherd.#With the false rulers (shepherds) who have governed his people the Lord contrasts himself, the true shepherd, who will in the times of restoration appoint worthy rulers (vv. 1–4). He will provide a new king from David’s line who will rule justly, fulfilling royal ideals (vv. 5, 6). “The Lord our justice” is an ironic wordplay on the name of the weak King Zedekiah (“The Lord is justice”). Unlike Zedekiah, the future king will be true to the name he bears. Verses 7–8 may have been added during the exile. 1#Jer 22:22. Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture—oracle of the Lord. 2Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.#Ez 34:4–10; Zec 11:16–17. 3I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have banished them and bring them back to their folds; there they shall be fruitful and multiply.#Jer 29:14; 32:37. 4I will raise up shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear or be terrified; none shall be missing—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 3:15; Ez 34:11–12.
5See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—
when I will raise up a righteous branch for David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.#Jer 33:14–16; Is 4:2; 9:5–6; 11:1–5.
6In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name to be given him:
“The Lord our justice.”#Dn 9:24.
7#Jer 16:14–15. Therefore, the days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt”; 8but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north”—and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own soil.
The False Prophets#After the collection of oracles against the kings, the editor of the book placed this collection of oracles against the false prophets. With them are associated the priests, for both have betrayed their trust as instructors in the ways of the Lord; cf. 2:8; 4:9; 6:13–14.
9Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,
all my bones tremble;
I am like a drunk,
like one overcome by wine,
Because of the Lord,
because of his holy words.
10The land is filled with adulterers;
because of the curse the land mourns,
the pastures of the wilderness are withered.#Jer 4:22; 5:7–8; 9:2, 10.
Theirs is an evil course,
theirs is unjust power.
11Both prophet and priest are godless!
In my very house I find their wickedness—
oracle of the Lord.#Jer 6:13.
12Hence their way shall become for them
slippery ground.
Into the darkness they shall be driven,
and fall headlong;
For I will bring disaster upon them,
the year of their punishment—oracle of the Lord.#Ps 35:6.
13Among Samaria’s prophets
I saw something unseemly:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.#1 Kgs 18:19.
14But among Jerusalem’s prophets
I saw something more shocking:
Adultery, walking in deception,#Cf. note on 13:25.
strengthening the power of the wicked,
so that no one turns from evil;
To me they are all like Sodom,
its inhabitants like Gomorrah.#Jer 29:21–23; Is 1:9–10.
15Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts against the prophets:
Look, I will give them wormwood to eat,
and poisoned water to drink;
For from Jerusalem’s prophets
ungodliness has gone forth into the whole land.#Jer 8:14; 9:14.
16Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Do not listen to the words of your prophets,
who fill you with emptiness;
They speak visions from their own fancy,
not from the mouth of the Lord.#Jer 14:14.
17They say to those who despise the word of the Lord,#Not only are the false prophets personally immoral, but they encourage immorality by prophesying good for evildoers. The true prophet, on the other hand, sees the inevitable consequences of evil behavior.
“Peace shall be yours”;
And to everyone who walks in hardness of heart,
“No evil shall overtake you.”#Jer 5:12; Ez 13:10; Mi 3:11; Zec 10:2.
18Now, who has stood in the council of the Lord,
to see him and to hear his word?
Who has heeded his word so as to announce it?#Jb 15:8; Is 40:13; 1 Cor 2:16.
19See, the storm of the Lord!
His wrath breaks forth
In a whirling storm
that bursts upon the heads of the wicked.#Jer 30:23.
20The anger of the Lord shall not abate
until he has carried out completely
the decisions of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand fully.
21I did not send these prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.#Jer 29:9.
22Had they stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
They would have brought them back from their evil ways
and from their wicked deeds.
23Am I a God near at hand only—oracle of the Lord—#Jer 16:17; Ps 139:8.
and not a God far off?#Near at hand only…far off: a divine claim that no one can hide from God and that God is aware of all that happens.
24Can anyone hide in secret
without my seeing them?—oracle of the Lord.
Do I not fill
heaven and earth?—oracle of the Lord.
25I have heard the prophets who prophesy lies in my name say, “I had a dream! I had a dream!” 26How long? Will the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies and their own deceitful fancies ever turn back? 27By the dreams they tell each other, they plan to make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.#Jgs 3:7; 8:33. 28Let the prophets who have dreams tell their dreams; let those who have my word speak my word truthfully!
What has straw to do with wheat?#Straw…wheat: a contrast between false and true prophecy. True prophecy is also like fire (cf. 5:14; 20:9), producing violent results (v. 29); Jeremiah’s own life is a testimony of this.
—oracle of the Lord.#Nm 12:6.
29Is not my word like fire—oracle of the Lord—
like a hammer shattering rock?
30Therefore I am against the prophets—oracle of the Lord—those who steal my words from each other.#Dt 18:20. 31Yes, I am against the prophets—oracle of the Lord—those who compose their own speeches and call them oracles. 32Yes, I am against the prophets who tell lying dreams—oracle of the Lord—those who lead my people astray by recounting their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them; they do this people no good at all—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 28:15–17.
33#A wordplay on massa’, which means both “oracle” (usually of woe) and “burden.” In vv. 34–40 the word massa’ itself is forbidden to the people under the meaning of a divine oracle. And when this people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the burden of the Lord?” you shall answer, “You are the burden, and I cast you off”—oracle of the Lord. 34If a prophet or a priest or anyone else mentions “the burden of the Lord,” I will punish that man and his household. 35Thus you shall ask, when speaking to one another, “What answer did the Lord give?” or “What did the Lord say?” 36But “the burden of the Lord” you shall mention no more. For each of you, your own word becomes the burden so that you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37Thus shall you ask the prophet, “What answer did the Lord give?” or “What did the Lord say?” 38But if you ask about “the burden of the Lord,” then thus says the Lord: Because you use this phrase, “the burden of the Lord,” though I forbade you to use it, 39therefore I will lift you on high and cast you from my presence, you and the city which I gave to you and your ancestors. 40And I will bring upon you eternal reproach, eternal shame, never to be forgotten.#Jer 20:11.
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