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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Yirmeyahu (Jer) 23
23
1“Oh no! The shepherds are destroying and scattering the sheep in my pasture!” says Adonai. 2Therefore this is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says against the shepherds who shepherd my people: “You have scattered my flock, driven them away and not taken care of them. So I will ‘take care of’ you because of your evil deeds,” says Adonai. 3“I myself will gather what remains of my flock from all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their homes, and they will be fruitful and increase their numbers. 4I will appoint shepherds over them who will shepherd them; then they will no longer be afraid or disgraced; and none will be missing,” says Adonai.
5“The days are coming,” says Adonai
when I will raise a righteous Branch for David.
He will reign as king and succeed,
he will do what is just and right in the land.
6In his days Y’hudah will be saved,
Isra’el will live in safety,
and the name given to him will be
Adonai Tzidkenu [Adonai our righteousness].
7“Therefore,” says Adonai, “the day will come when people no longer swear, ‘As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt,’ 8but, ‘As Adonai lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Isra’el up from the land to the north’ and from all the countries where I drove them. Then they will live in their own land.”
9Concerning the prophets:
My heart within me is broken,
all my bones are shaking;
I am like a drunk,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of Adonai,
because of his holy words.
10For the land is full of adulterers;
because of a curse the land is in mourning —
the desert pastures have dried up.
Their course is evil, their power misused.
11“Both prophet and cohen are godless;
In my own house I find their wickedness,” says Adonai.
12“Therefore their way will be slippery for them;
they will be driven into darkness and fall there.
For I will bring disaster upon them,
their year of punishment,” says Adonai.
13“I have seen inappropriate conduct
in the prophets of Shomron —
they prophesied by Ba‘al
and led my people Isra’el astray.
14But in the prophets of Yerushalayim
I have seen a horrible thing —
they commit adultery, live in lies,
so encouraging evildoers
that none returns from his sin.
For me they have all become like S’dom,
its inhabitants like ‘Amora.”
15Therefore, this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says concerning the prophets:
“I will feed them bitter wormwood
and make them drink poisonous water,
for ungodliness has spread through all the land
from the prophets of Yerushalayim.”
16Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
“Don’t listen to the words of the prophets
who are prophesying to you.
They are making you act foolishly,
telling you visions from their own minds
and not from the mouth of Adonai.
17They keep reassuring those who despise me,
‘Adonai says you will be safe and secure,’
and saying to all living by their own stubborn hearts,
‘Nothing bad will happen to you.’
18But which of them has been present at the council
of Adonai to see and hear his word?
Who has paid attention to
his word enough to hear it?”
19Look! The storm of Adonai,
bursting out in fury,
a whirling storm, whirling down
upon the heads of the wicked!
20Adonai’s anger will not abate
till he fully accomplishes the purpose in his heart.
In the acharit-hayamim,
you will understand everything.
21“I did not send these prophets; yet they ran.
I did not speak to them; yet they prophesied.
22If they have been present at my council,
they should let my people hear my words
and turn them from their evil way
and the evil of their actions.
23Am I God only when near,” asks Adonai,
“and not when far away?
24Can anyone hide in a place so secret
that I won’t see him?” asks Adonai.
Adonai says, “Do I not
fill heaven and earth?
25“I have heard what these prophets prophesying lies in my name are saying: ‘I’ve had a dream! I’ve had a dream!’ 26How long will this go on? Is [my word] in the hearts of prophets who are prophesying lies, who are prophesying the deceit of their own minds? 27With their dreams that they keep telling each other, they hope to cause my people to forget my name; just as their ancestors forgot my name when they worshipped Ba‘al.
28“If a prophet has a dream,
let him tell it as a dream.
But someone who has my word
should speak my word faithfully.
What do chaff and wheat
have in common?” asks Adonai.
29“Isn’t my word like fire,” asks Adonai,
“like a hammer shattering rocks?
30So, I am against the prophets,” says Adonai,
“who steal my words from each other.
31Yes, I am against the prophets,” says Adonai,
“who speak their own words, then add, ‘He says.’
32“I am against those who concoct prophecies out of fake dreams,” says Adonai. “They tell them, and by their lies and arrogance they lead my people astray. I didn’t send them, I didn’t commission them, and they don’t do this people any good at all,” says Adonai.
33“When [someone from] this people, a prophet or a cohen asks you, ‘What is the burden of Adonai?’ you are to answer them, ‘What burden? I am throwing you off,’ says Adonai. 34As for a prophet, cohen or [someone else from] this people who speaks about ‘the burden of Adonai,’ I will punish him and his household.”
35So, when you speak with your neighbor or brother, ask, “What answer has Adonai given?” or “What has Adonai said?” 36Don’t use the expression, “burden of Adonai” any more; for every person’s own word will be his burden. Must you twist the words of the living God, of Adonai-Tzva’ot, our God? 37So, when speaking to a prophet, ask, “What answer has Adonai given you?” or “What did Adonai say?” 38But if you talk about “the burden of Adonai,” then here is what Adonai says: “Because you use this expression, ‘the burden of Adonai,’ after I have already sent you the order not to say, ‘the burden of Adonai,’ 39I will lift you up, burden that you are, and throw you off, away from my presence — you and the city I gave you and your ancestors. 40Then I will subject you to everlasting disgrace — eternal, unforgettable shame.”
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