Jeremiah 23

1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.

2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.

3 Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply.

4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.

5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

7 So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’

8 Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ Then they will dwell once more in their own land.”

9 As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD, because of His holy words.

10 For the land is full of adulterers—because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up—their course is evil and their power is misused.

11 “For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.

12 “Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.

13 “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.

14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

15 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

16 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

17 They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’

18 But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and obeyed it?

19 Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.

20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.

21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”

23 “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”

24 “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

25 “I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’

26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?

27 They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal.

28 Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.

29 “Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”

30 “Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.”

31 “Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’”

32 “Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.

33 “Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’

34 As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household.

35 This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother: ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’

36 But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man’s word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God.

37 Thus you are to say to the prophet: ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and ‘What has the LORD spoken?’

38 But if you claim, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ then this is what the LORD says: Because you have said, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ and I specifically told you not to make this claim,

39 therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers.

40 And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”

1 ¶ Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

9 ¶ Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.

10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force [is] not right.

11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery [ways] in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, [even] the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, [and] not out of the mouth of the LORD.

17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard [it]?

19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

23 [Am] I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

26 How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, [they are] prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What [is] the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.

29 [Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces?

30 Therefore, behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

31 Behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.

32 Behold, I [am] against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

33 ¶ And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What [is] the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.

34 And [as for] the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.

35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.

37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;

39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, [and cast you] out of my presence:

40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

1 Woe unto you shepherds, that destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture! saith the LORD.

2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock, and cast them out, and have not visited them. Behold, I will punish you for your wickedness, saith the LORD.

3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their fences, and they shall increase and be many.

4 And I will set shepherds over them, which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor be visited, saith the LORD.

5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise up a righteous seed unto David; and he shall be a king that shall reign well, and do justice and righteousness in the earth.

6 In that day shall Judah be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this shall be his name, that they shall call him: LORD, who is our righteousness.

7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said: As the LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,

8 But, As the LORD liveth, which brought up the seed of the house of Israel, and brought them out of the land of the north, and out of all the countries whither I had driven them, to dwell in their own land.

9 Against the prophets. My heart wants to break in my body, all my bones tremble; I am like a drunken man and like one reeling from wine before the Lord and before his holy words,

10 That the land is full of adulterers, and that the land standeth in desolation, and is cursed, and the pastures of the wilderness are withered: and their life is evil, and their government is not good.

11 For both prophets and priests are husks, and find also in my house their wickedness, saith the LORD.

12 Therefore their way is as a smooth path in the darkness, whereon they slide and fall. For I will bring evil upon them in the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

13 For I saw folly in the prophets of Samaria, that they prophesied by Baal, and deceived my people Israel.

14 But with the prophets of Jerusalem I see abominations, how they commit adultery, and deal in lies, and strengthen the wicked, lest any man turn from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom before me, and their people like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and water them with gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem cometh hypocrisy throughout all the land.

16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you. They deceive you: for they preach the words of their heart, and not of the LORD'S mouth.

17 They say to them that blaspheme me, The LORD hath said, It shall be well with you. And to all that walk after the stinking of their hearts, they say, There shall no evil come upon you.

18 For who hath stood in the council of the LORD, seeing and hearing his word? Who hath heard and heard his word?

19 Behold, the weather of the LORD shall come with fury, and a terrible tempest shall fall upon the head of all the wicked.

20 And the wrath of the LORD shall not abate, until he do and execute that which he hath in mind. Afterward ye shall know it.

21 I sent not the prophets, neither did they run: I spake not unto them, neither did they prophesy.

22 For if they had kept my counsel, and had preached my words unto my people, they would have converted them from their evil nature, and from their evil living.

23 Am not I a God that is near, saith the LORD, and not a God that is far off?

24 Thinkest thou that any man can hide himself secretly, that I should not see him? saith the LORD. Is it not I that fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

25 I have heard that the prophets preach and prophesy falsely in my name, and say: I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

26 When will the prophets cease from prophesying falsely, and from prophesying the deceitfulness of their hearts?

27 And will my people forget my name above their dreams, which they preach one to another, as their fathers forgot my name above Baal?

28 A prophet that hath dreams, let him preach dreams: but he that hath my word, let him preach my word aright. How do straw and wheat rhyme together? saith the LORD.

29 Is not my word as a fire, saith the LORD, and as a hammer that breaketh in pieces the rock?

30 Wherefore, behold, I will look unto the prophets, saith the LORD, which steal my word one from another.

31 Behold, I will look unto the prophets, saith the LORD, which speak and speak their own word: He hath spoken it.

32 Behold, I will speak unto them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and preach them, and deceive my people with their lies, and with their loose words, when I have not sent them, neither commanded them, neither are they of any use unto this people, saith the LORD.

33 And when this people, or a prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt say unto them, What is the burden? I will cast you down, saith the LORD.

34 And if any prophet, or priest, or people, shall say, This is the burden of the LORD; I will punish him, and his house also.

35 And they shall speak one to another, saying one to another, What answereth the LORD, and what saith the LORD?

36 And call it no more the burden of the LORD: for every man's own word shall be a burden unto him, because ye thus pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God.

37 Therefore thus shall ye say unto the prophet, What answer answereth thee, and what saith the LORD?

38 But because ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; If ye call this word the burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not call it the burden of the LORD,

39 Behold, I will take you away, and cast you out of my sight, and the city which I have given you and your fathers;

40 And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and everlasting reproach, which shall never be forgotten.