Jeremiah 23
1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
“Woe to shepherds destroying, And scattering the flock of My pasture,” A declaration of YHWH.
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.
Therefore, thus said YHWH, God of Israel, Against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, and drive them away, And have not inspected them, Behold, I am charging on you the evil of your doings,” A declaration of YHWH.
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.
“And I gather the remnant of My flock Out of all the lands to where I drove them, And have brought them back to their fold, And they have been fruitful, and multiplied.
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.
And I have raised shepherds for them, And they have fed them, And they no longer fear, nor are frightened, Nor are they lacking,” A declaration of YHWH.
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.
“Behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have raised a righteous shoot to David, And a king has reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth.
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.
Judah is saved in His days, and Israel dwells confidently, And this [is] His Name that YHWH proclaims Him: 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.’
Therefore, behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And they no longer say, YHWH lives who brought up The sons of Israel 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.”
But—YHWH lives, who brought up, And who brought in, the seed of the house of Israel, From the land of the north, And from all the lands to where I drove them, And they have dwelt on their own ground!”
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.
In reference to the prophets: My heart has been broken in my midst, All my bones have fluttered, I have been as a man—a drunkard, And as a man—wine has passed over him, Because of YHWH, and 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.
For the land has been full of adulterers, For the land has mourned because of these, The pleasant places of the wilderness have dried up, And their course is evil, and their might—not right.
11 “For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,”
“For both prophet and priest have been profane, Indeed, I found their wickedness in My house,” A declaration of YHWH.
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,”
“Therefore their way is as slippery places to them, They are driven into thick darkness, And they have fallen in it, For I bring in calamity against them, The year of their inspection,” A declaration of YHWH.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.
“And I have seen folly in prophets of Samaria, They have prophesied by Ba‘al, And cause My people—Israel—to err.
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.”
And I have seen a horrible thing in prophets of Jerusalem, Committing adultery, and walking falsely, Indeed, they strengthened the hands of evildoers, So that they have not turned back, Each from his wickedness, All of them have been as Sodom to me, And its inhabitants as 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.”
Therefore, thus said YHWH of Hosts, concerning the prophets: “Behold, I am causing them to eat wormwood, And have caused them to drink water of gall, For from prophets of Jerusalem Profanity has gone forth to all 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.
Thus said YHWH of Hosts: “You do not listen to the words Of the prophets who are prophesying to you, They are making you vain things, They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of YHWH.
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.’
Diligently saying to those despising, The word of YHWH: Peace is for you, And [to] everyone walking in the stubbornness of his heart, they have said: Evil does not 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?
For who has stood in the counsel of YHWH, And sees and hears His word? Who has regarded My word, and listens?
19 Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
Behold, a whirlwind of YHWH—Fury has gone out, even a piercing whirlwind, It stays on the head 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.
The anger of YHWH does not turn back Until His doing, and until His establishing, The thoughts of His heart, In the latter end of the days You attend to it with understanding.
21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
“I have not sent the prophets, and they have run, I have not spoken to them, and 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.”
But if they stood in My counsel, Then they cause My people to hear My words, And they turn them back from their evil way, And from the evil of their doings.
23 “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”
[Am] I a God near,” A declaration of YHWH, “And not a God far off?
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.
Is anyone hidden in secret places, And I do not see him?” A declaration of YHWH, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” A declaration of YHWH.
25 “I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
“I have heard that which the prophets said, Who prophesy falsehood in My Name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?
Until when is it in the heart of the prophets? The prophets of falsehood, Indeed, prophets of the deceit of their heart,
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.
Who are devising to cause My people To forget My Name by their dreams, That they each recount to his neighbor, As their fathers forgot My Name for Ba‘al.
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.
The prophet with whom [is] a dream, Let him recount the dream, And he with whom [is] My word, Let him truly speak My word. What does the straw [have to do] with the grain?” A declaration of YHWH.
29 “Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”
“Is it not thus? My word [is] as fire,” A declaration of YHWH. “And as a hammer—it breaks a rock in pieces.
30 “Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.”
Therefore, behold, I [am] against the prophets,” A declaration of YHWH, “Each stealing My words from his neighbor.
31 “Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’”
Behold, I [am] against the prophets,” A declaration of YHWH, “Who are making their tongue smooth, And they affirm—an affirmation.
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.
Behold, I [am] against the prophets of false dreams,” A declaration of YHWH, “And they recount them, and cause My people to err, By their falsehoods, and by their instability, And I have not sent them, Nor have I commanded them, And they are not profitable to this people at all,” A declaration of YHWH.
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.’
“And when this people, or the prophet, Or a priest, asks you, saying, What [is] the burden of YHWH? Then you have said to them: You [are] the burden, and I have left you,” A declaration of YHWH.
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.
“And the prophet, and the priest, and the people, That says, The burden of YHWH, I have seen after that man, and after his house.
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?’
Thus you each say to his neighbor, And each to his brother: What has YHWH answered? And what has YHWH 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.
And you do not mention the burden of YHWH anymore, For the burden to each is His word, And you have overturned the words of the living God, YHWH 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?’
Thus you say to the prophet, What has YHWH answered you? And what has YHWH 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,
And if you say, The burden of YHWH, Therefore, thus said YHWH: Because of your saying this word, The burden of YHWH, And I send to you, saying, You do not say, The burden of YHWH.
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.
Therefore, behold, I have utterly taken you away, And I have sent you out, And the city that I gave to you, And to your fathers, from before My face,
40 And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”
And I have put continuous reproach on you, And continuous shame that is not forgotten!”
