Jeremiah 23

1 Kaie saringnaw a pânae hmuen koe e kâkayeisakkung tukhoumnaw teh lungmathoe hanelah ao awh, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

Yahweh declares, “Terrible things will happen to [the leaders] [MET] [of my people—those who are like] shepherds of [the people who are like] my sheep—because they have scattered my people and sent them away, and have not taken care of them.

2 Hatdawkvah, BAWIPA Isarel Cathut ni ka taminaw ka khoum e tukhoumnaw kong dawkvah, hettelah a dei, ka saringhu hah na kâkayei sak awh, na pâlei awh teh, na khenyawn awh hoeh. Khenhaw! na sak awh e yonnae kecu dawk na tho sin han telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

So, this is what [I, ] Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli [people worship], say to those leaders: ‘Instead of taking care of my people and [leading them to places where they are safe, like a shepherd does for] his sheep, you have scattered them. So I will punish you for the evil things that you have done.

3 Ka saringhu, kacawirae ka saringhu hah ka pâlei ram dawk hoi ka pâkhueng vaiteh, ngai ka tho poung e a paw ka paw e lah awm awh vaiteh, a pungdaw awh han.

But later I will gather those who are still alive, from the countries where I have forced them to go. I will bring them back to their own country, where they will have many children, and their number/population will increase.

4 Ahnimouh ka kawk hane tukhoumnaw hah ka pouk pouh han, taki puennae awm hoeh toung vaiteh, kângairu awh mahoeh toe. Kahmat e hai awm mahoeh toe, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

[Then] I will appoint [other] leaders for my people, leaders who will take care of them. And my people will never be afraid [DOU] of anything again, and none of them will be [like a] lost [sheep].’”

5 Khenhaw! Devit hanelah kalan e cakang ka kangdue sak hane atueng hah a pha tawmlei toe, telah BAWIPA ni a dei. Siangpahrang buet touh ni a uk vaiteh, a hmacawn han, talai van lawkcengnae hoi lannae a kuep sak han.

Yahweh [also] says, “Some day I will appoint for you a righteous man who will be a descendant of King David. He will be a king who rules wisely. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.

6 Ahnimae tueng nah Judah teh, rungngang lah ao vaiteh, Isarel teh karoumcalah ao han. Hahoi, a min teh BAWIPA teh kaimae lannae tie lah ao han.

At that time, all the Israeli people [DOU] will be saved [from their enemies], and they will be safe. And his name will be ‘Yahweh, the one who vindicates/defends us.’”

7 Hatdawkvah, khenhaw! atueng a pha tawmlei, BAWIPA ni ati. Isarelnaw Izip ram hoi ka tâcawtkhaikhung BAWIPA teh a hring e patetlah tet awh mahoeh toe.

Yahweh [also] says that at that time, people [who are solemnly promising to do something] will no longer say, “[I will do it as surely] as Yahweh lives, who rescued the Israeli people from Egypt.”

8 Tung lae ram hoi a pâleinae ramnaw thung hoi Isarel imthung a tâcokhai teh, bout kabankhaikung BAWIPA a hring e patetlah tet awh vaiteh amamae ram dawk khosak awh han.

Instead, they will say, “[I will do it] as surely as Yahweh lives, who brought [us] Israeli people back to our own land, from the land to the northeast and from all the [other] countries to which he had exiled us.” And they will live in their own land [again].

9 Profetnaw kecu dawk ka lungthin thung vah a rek. Ka hrunaw hai koung kâhuet, yamu ka parui e tami patetlah doeh ka o, BAWIPA hoi kathounge a lawk kecu dawk yamu ni rektap e patetlah ka o.

I am very shocked because of the sacred message that Yahweh has spoken about [what will happen to] the [false] prophets; [it is as though] all my bones shake. I stagger like a man who is drunk after drinking a lot of wine.

10 Bangkongtetpawiteh, ram teh uicuknae hoi a kawi teh, thoebo e kecu dawk ram ni a khui awh. Kahrawng hmuen kahawi pueng koung a ka toe. A hringnae lamthung hah a payon teh, a thaonae hai lan hoeh.

The land is full of [people who commit] adultery; and [Yahweh] has cursed the land. Even the pastures in the desert are all dried up, because the people do what is evil, and [the false prophets] use their power to do things that are not just/fair.

11 Bangkongtetpawiteh, profetnaw hoi vaihmanaw ni CAthut hah bang lah noutna awh hoeh. Hawihoehnae naw hah ka imthung vah ka hmu telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

Yahweh says, “[Yes, even] the priests and the prophets are ungodly; they do wicked things even in my temple.

12 Hatdawkvah, a lamthung pueng teh khohmo vah ka pâhnan e lamthung patetlah ao han. Hote lamthung dawk pâlei e lah awm vaiteh, ka pâhnan e dawk koung a rawp awh han. Bangkongtetpawiteh, ahnimouh lathueng vah kathoute reknae hah ka pha sak han, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

Therefore, [it will be as though] the paths that they walk on are slippery. [It will be as though] they are being chased in the darkness, and there they will fall down, because I will cause them to experience disasters at the time that I will punish them. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”

13 Samaria profetnaw dawkvah, panuettho e hah ka hmu, Baal kampang lahoi lawk hah a dei awh teh, Isarelnaw hah lampaihei lah a ceikhai awh.

[Previously] I saw that the prophets in Samaria were doing something that was wrong; they were prophesying, saying that Baal [gave them the messages that they were proclaiming], and they were deceiving my people.

14 Jerusalem e profetnaw dawk hai takitho poung e hno hah ka hmu, a uicuknae dawk a luen awh teh, laithoe hoi kho a sak awh. Apihai a thoenae dawk hoi a ban awh hoeh nahanelah, yonnae kasaknaw e kut hah a thao sak awh. Kai hanelah teh Sodom khonaw patetlah doeh ao. A kho thung e taminaw pueng hai Gomorrah kho e taminaw hoi a kâvan awh.

And [now] I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem doing terrible things. They commit adultery and habitually tell lies. They encourage evil people to continue to do evil things, with the result that the people do not stop sinning. Those prophets are as wicked as the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were.

15 Hatdawkvah, profetnaw kong dawk ransahu BAWIPA ni hettelah a dei, khenhaw! amamae cai kakhat hoi ka kawk vaiteh, kakhat e tui hah ka nei sak han. Bangkongtetpawiteh, Jerusalem e profetnaw kecu dawk ram thung pueng dawk Cathut taki teh bari hoeh nae hah a tâco.

So, this is what the Commander of the armies of angels says about those [false] prophets: “I will give those prophets bitter things to eat and poison to drink, because it is because of them that this land is filled with [people who do] wicked things.”

16 Ransahu BAWIPA ni hettelah a dei, profet ni nangmouh koe a dei awh e lawk hah ngai pouh hanh awh. Bang hoeh e hah na cangkhai awh. BAWIPA e pahni dawk hoi ka tâcawt e nahoeh niteh, amamae lungpouk e hah ouk a dei awh.

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “Do not pay any attention to what those [false] prophets say to you, because they are just deceiving you. They tell you about visions that they have thought/created [only] in their own minds, not about visions that I have given them.

17 Kai na kadudamnaw koevah, roumnae ka hmu awh han, BAWIPA ni ati, telah pout laipalah rek a dei awh. Amamae lungthin thung a ngaihawi e patetlah kacetnaw koevah, thoenae nangmae lathueng vah phat mahoeh telah ati awh.

They habitually say to those who hate me, ‘[Yahweh says that] you will have peace.’ And they say to those who stubbornly do what they want to do, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you [because of your doing those things].’

18 Bangkongtetpawiteh, BAWIPA khokhangnae hah apimaw ka hrawk boi, a lawk dawk hoi kapanuekkung apimaw kaawm. Hoeh pawiteh, a lawk teh lawkpui lah pouk teh apinimaw a thai boi vaw.

But none of them has ever been in a council [meeting] in heaven in order to listen to a message from me. None of them has paid attention to anything that [I], Yahweh, have said.

19 Khenhaw! ka patawpoung katang e, bongparui BAWIPA lungkhueknae bongparui hah a tâco toe, tamikathoutnaw e lû dawk ka patawpoung e lah a bo han.

So, listen to this: I will punish them; it will be [like] a great storm; it will come down [like] a whirlwind, swirling around the heads of those wicked people.

20 BAWIPA lungkhueknae teh ban mahoeh, a lungthung a noe tangcoung e teh, a kuep sak vaiteh, a cum hoehroukrak ban mahoeh toe. A hnuktengpoung e hnin ka kuepcalah na panue awh han doeh.

I will not stop being angry until I completely accomplish all that I have planned. In the future, you will understand [all of] this clearly.”

21 Profet patoun ngai laipalah a yawng awh, ahnimouh koe ka dei pouh hoeh hai lawk a dei awh.

[Yahweh also says, ] “I have not appointed those prophets, but they run [around telling people their messages]. I did not speak to them, but they [continue to] prophesy.

22 Kaie khokhannae dawk awm van pawiteh, ka lawk heh ka taminaw koe pâpho van vaiteh, a yonnae dawk hoi pankângai awh han ei.

If they had been in my council [meetings], they would have been able to speak messages from me, and they would have caused people to turn away from committing evil things.”

23 Kahlat lah kaawm e Cathut nahoeh niteh, a hnaicanae koe kaawm e CAthut lah maw ka o, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

Yahweh [also] says, “Am I a God who is only nearby? No, I am a God who is far away, also.

24 Ka hmu thai hoeh nahanlah ka kâhrawk thai e ao awh maw, telah BAWIPA ni a dei. Talai hoi kalvan dawk ka kawi nahoehmaw, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

So, no one can hide in some secret place with the result that I cannot see him. I am everywhere, in heaven and on the earth! [That is what I], Yahweh, say!

25 Mang ka mang, mang ka mang ti teh ka min lahoi laithoe ka dei e profetnaw ni dei e lawk hah ka thai.

I have heard those prophets prophesy lies, saying that they are telling people messages from me. They say, ‘[Listen to me tell you] the dream that God gave me last night! I [really] had this dream!’

26 Laithoe ouk ka dei e profet a ma hoi a lungthin a kâdum teh lawk ouk ka dei e lungthin dawk nâtotouh maw ao han.

How long will they continue to do this? How long will those lying prophets continue to prophesy things that come only from their own minds?

27 Ahni ni a imri koe a mang lah a dei pouh teh, a napanaw ni Baal kecu dawk ka min a pahnim e patetlah ka taminaw hah ka min pahnim sak hanelah a kâcai awh.

They think that because of the dreams that they tell to each other, people will forget me, like their ancestors forgot about me when they started to worship Baal.

28 Mang ka tawn e profet ni a mang hah dei naseh, kaie lawk ka tawn e profet ni kaie lawk hah yuemkamcu lah dei naseh, cahik hoi cahuem ni bangne kâvannae a tawn, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

Allow those [false] prophets to tell people their dreams, but those who have messages that [really] come from me should proclaim those messages faithfully. I, Yahweh, say [that like] straw and grain are certainly very different, [my messages and the messages from those false prophets are certainly very different].

29 Ka lawk teh hmai patetlah talung rekkâbawng lah ka dêi thai e cakkin patetlah awm hoeh namaw, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

[It is as though] my messages [burn] like a fire; they [strike people’s inner beings like] someone strikes a rock with a hammer and smashes it into pieces.

30 Hatdawkvah, thai awh haw! kaie lawk ouk ka parawt e profet hah ka taran doeh, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

Therefore, [I, ] Yahweh say, 'I oppose all those prophets who steal messages from each other and claim that those messages came from me.

31 Khenhaw! a lai ka pâhnan e profet BAWIPA ni a dei, ka tet e hah ka taran doeh, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

I oppose those prophets who speak their own messages but claim that those messages came from me.

32 Khenhaw! a mang hah laithoe a dei teh, kâhat laipalah a dei awh e laithoe lahoi, lam teng lah ka taminaw kacetsakkung, profet hah ka taran doeh telah BAWIPA ni a dei. Hateiteh, ahnimouh ka patoun teh kâ ka poe hoeh. Hatdawkvah, taminaw hawinae poe kalawn hoeh, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

I oppose those prophets who falsely say that I told them something in a vision, but they are [only] telling lies that cause my people to sin. I did not send those prophets. I did not even appoint them [to be prophets]. And they have no messages that will benefit my people at all.' [That is what I, ] Yahweh, declare.”

33 Tamimaya thungup hoi thoseh, profetnaw thung hoi thoseh, vaihmanaw thung hoi thoseh, BAWIPA ni a pâpho e bangne telah na pacei awh pawiteh, hettelah na dei pouh han, bang lawk pâpho e maw, nangmanaw totouh na ceitakhai awh han, telah BAWIPA ni a dei.

[Yahweh said to me], “If one of those prophets or priests or one of the [other] people asks you, ‘What problem has Yahweh told you about [now]?’, you must reply, ‘You are the problem! And Yahweh says that he will abandon you!’

34 Profet thoseh, vaihma thoseh, tami buetbuet touh thoseh, BAWIPA e pâpho lawk ao ka tet e tami awm pawiteh, hote tami hoi a imthung hah kai ni ka rek han.

And if any prophet or priest or anyone [else falsely] says, ‘[I have] a prophecy from Yahweh,’ I will punish that person and his family.

35 Hottelah tami bangpatet nihai, a imri thoseh, a hmaunawngha koe thoseh, BAWIPA ni bangtelamaw a pathung, BAWIPA ni bangne a dei telah a pacei awh han.

What you should continually ask each other is, ‘[When you spoke to Yahweh, ] what did he reply? What is he saying [to us]?’

36 BAWIPA ni a pâpho e doeh katetkung hah teh, na dei awh mahoeh toe. Bangkongtetpawiteh, tami bangpatet hai amae lawk hah ama hanelah a pâpho e lah kaawm han.

But stop saying ‘[I have] a prophecy/message from Yahweh,’ because those who say that are doing it only because they want people to accept their ideas, and by doing that they distort/change the messages that are from our God, the Commander of the armies of angels.

37 Profet koevah, BAWIPA ni bangtelamaw na pathung, BAWIPA ni bangmaw a dei, na ti pouh han.

This is what you should ask each prophet: ‘What did Yahweh reply [when you talked to him]? What is he saying [to us]?’

38 Nangmouh ni BAWIPA e pâpho lawk doeh na ti awh dawkvah, BAWIPA ni a dei e teh, BAWIPA e pâpho lawk ao na ti awh hoeh nahanlah, kai ni kâ na poe awh eiteh, nangmouh ni BAWIPA e pâpho lawk ao na ti awh e lawk na hno awh dawkvah,

If he replies, ‘[What I told you] is a prophecy/message from Yahweh,’ you should say to him, ‘You have continued to say, “[I received] a prophecy/message from Yahweh” even though I told you to not claim that you have received prophecies/messages from Yahweh.’

39 thaihaw! betbet na sawn awh han. Kai koe na onae koehoi na tâkhawng awh han, nangmouh hoi na khopui, nangmouh koe thoseh, na mintoenaw koe thoseh, na poe awh e hoi,

So I [, Yahweh, ] will get rid of you [false prophets]. I will expel you from my presence. And I will get rid of this city that I gave to you and to your ancestors.

40 a yungyoe pathoenae hoi kayayeirai pahnim thai e lah kaawm hoeh e hah nangmouh koe ka pha sak han.

I will cause people to make fun of you forever. People will never forget that you were disgraced.”