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
The Righteous Branch
1“How horrible it will be for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep in my care,” declares the Lord. 2“This is what I, the Lord God of Israel, said to the shepherds who take care of my people: You have scattered my sheep and chased them away. You have not taken care of them, so now I will take care of you by punishing you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.
3“Then I will gather the remaining part of my flock from all the countries where I chased them. I will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fertile and increase in number. 4I will put shepherds over them. Those shepherds will take care of them. My sheep will no longer be afraid or terrified, and not one of them will be missing,” declares the Lord.
5“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will grow a righteous branch for David.
He will be a king who will rule wisely.
He will do what is fair and right in the land.
6In his lifetime, Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety. This is the name that he will be given: The Lord is our righteousness.
7“That is why the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people’s oaths will no longer be, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. As the Lord lives….’ 8Instead, their oaths will be, ‘The Lord brought the descendants of the nation of Israel out of the land of the north and all the lands where he #23:8 Greek; Masoretic Text “I.” had scattered them. As the Lord lives….’ At that time they will live in their own land.
Warnings to the False Prophets
9“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets:
I am deeply disturbed.
All my bones tremble.
I am like a drunk,
like a person who has had too much wine,
because of the Lord and his holy words.
10The land is filled with adulterers.
The land mourns because of the curse.
Pastures in the wilderness have dried up.
The people are evil,
and they use their strength to do the wrong things.
11The prophets and priests are godless.
Even in my temple I’ve found them doing evil,” declares the Lord.
12“That is why their own way will become
like slippery paths in the dark.
They will be chased away, and they will fall down in the dark.
I will bring disaster on them.
It is time for them to be punished,” declares the Lord.
13“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets of Samaria:
I saw something disgusting.
The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets of Jerusalem:
I see something horrible.
The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie.
They support those who do evil
so that no one turns back from his wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me,
and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15This is what the Lord of Armies says about the prophets:
I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink.
The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness
throughout the land.
16This is what the Lord of Armies says:
Don’t listen to what the prophets are saying to you.
They fill you with false hope.
They speak about visions that they dreamed up.
These visions are not from the Lord.
17They keep saying to those who despise me,
“The Lord says, ‘Everything will go well for you.’ ”
They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways,
“Nothing bad will happen to you.”
18Who is in the Lord’s inner circle
and sees and hears his word?
Who pays attention and listens to his word?
19The storm of the Lord will come with his anger.
Like a windstorm, it will swirl down on the heads of the wicked.
20The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has done everything he intends to do.
In the last days you will understand this clearly.
21I didn’t send these prophets,
yet they ran ⌞with their message⌟.
I didn’t speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22If they had been in my inner circle,
they would have announced my words to my people.
They would have turned back from their evil ways
and the evil they have done.
23“I am a God who is near.
I am also a God who is far away,” declares the Lord.
24“No one can hide so that I can’t see him,” declares the Lord.
“I fill heaven and earth!” declares the Lord.
25“I’ve heard the prophets who speak lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26How long will these prophets continue to lie and deceive? 27They tell each other the dreams they had, because they want to make my people forget my name, as their ancestors forgot my name because of Baal. 28The prophet who has a dream should tell his dream. However, the person who has my word should honestly speak my word. What does grain have to do with straw?” asks the Lord. 29“Isn’t my word like fire or like a hammer that shatters a rock?” asks the Lord. 30“I’m against the prophets who steal my words from each other,” declares the Lord. 31“I’m against the prophets who speak their own thoughts and say that they speak for me. 32I’m against those who prophesy dreams they made up,” declares the Lord. “They tell the dreams they made up and lead my people astray with their lies and their wild talk. I didn’t send them or command them to go. They don’t help these people at all,” declares the Lord.
33“When these people, the prophets, or the priests ask you, ‘What revelation has the Lord burdened you with now?’ say to them, ‘You are the burden! I will abandon you, declares the Lord.’ 34Suppose the prophets, the priests, or these people say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation!’ I will punish them and their families. 35They should ask their neighbors and their relatives, ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ and ‘What did the Lord say?’ 36They should never again say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation,’ because each person’s word becomes the revelation. They will twist the words of the living God, the Lord of Armies, our God.
37“Jeremiah, say this to the prophets, ‘What was the Lord’s answer to you?’ and ‘What did the Lord say?’ 38Suppose they say, ‘This is the Lord’s revelation!’ Then say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have said, “This is the Lord’s revelation!” even though I commanded you not to repeat this saying, 39I will certainly forget you. I will throw you out of my presence and out of the city that I gave you and your ancestors. 40I will bring eternal disgrace and shame on you. It will never be forgotten.’ ”
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