Jeremiah 23

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

Woe to the shepherds, Who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith Jehovah.

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.

For concerning the shepherds, the feeders of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, And have not taken care of them. Behold, I am about to requite you For the evil of your doings, saith Jehovah.

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.

But I will gather the remnant of my flock From all the countries whither I have driven them, And I will bring them back to their folds, And they shall be fruitful and increase.

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 will raise up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; They shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; Nor shall they be lost, saith Jehovah.

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, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, When I will raise up from David a righteous Branch, And a king shall reign and prosper, And shall maintain justice and equity 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.

In his days Judah shall be saved, And Israel shall dwell securely; And this is the name which shall be given him, Jehovah-is-our-salvation.

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, the days shall come, saith Jehovah, When they shall no more say, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up the children of Israel from 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, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up and led the race of Israel from the north country, And from all the countries whither I had driven them!” And they shall dwell 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.

Concerning the Prophets. My heart is broken within me; All my bones tremble. I am become like a drunken man, Like a man whom wine hath overcome, Because of Jehovah, And 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.

For the land is full of adulteries; Because of a curse doth the land mourn; The pastures of the waste are dried up; For they run to do evil, And their might is without right.

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

Yea, both prophet and priest are profane; Even in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah.

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 shall their way become as slippery places in the dark; They shall be driven on and fall therein; For I will bring evil upon them In the time of their visitation, saith Jehovah.

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

In the prophets of Samaria have I seen folly; They prophesy in the name of Baal, 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.”

In the prophets of Jerusalem also have I seen a horrible thing; They commit adultery, and walk in falsehood; They strengthen the hands of evil-doers, So that none doth turn from his iniquity. They have all become to me as Sodom, And her 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 saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And give them the water of hemlock to drink; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Hath profaneness gone forth into 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 saith Jehovah of hosts: Hearken not to the words of the prophets; They lead you to vanity; They utter the vision of their own heart, And not from the mouth of Jehovah.

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.’

To them that despise me they say continually, “Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace”; And to every one that walketh after the perverseness of his heart, “No evil shall come upon 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 of them hath stood in the council of Jehovah, And hath seen and heard his word? Who hath listened to his word and heard it?

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 from Jehovah goeth forth in fury, Even a rushing whirlwind; Upon the head of the wicked shall it rush.

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 fierce anger of Jehovah shall not turn back, Until he shall have executed, until he shall have accomplished the purpose of his heart. In the latter days ye shall understand it fully.

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 sent not these prophets, yet they ran; I spake not to them, yet they 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.”

For if they had stood in my council, Then would they have caused my people to hear my words, And would have turned them from their evil way. And from the wickedness of their doings.

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

Am I a God near at hand, saith Jehovah, And not a God afar 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.

Can any one hide himself in secret places, So that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah; Do I nor fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah.

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 what the prophets say, 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?

How long shall this be In the heart of the prophets, who prophesy falsehood, The prophets of the deceit of their own 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 think to cause my people to forget my name By the dreams which they relate one to another, As their fathers forgot my name through 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.

The prophet who hath a dream, let him tell a dream; And he that hath my word, let him speak my word truly! What is the chaff to the wheat? saith Jehovah.

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

Is not my word like fire, saith Jehovah, And like a hammer, that breaketh the 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, saith Jehovah, That steal my words one from another.

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, saith Jehovah, That take their tongues and utter oracles.

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, saith Jehovah, Who tell them, and cause my people to err By their lies and their arrogance. I have not sent them, nor commanded them, And they shall not profit this people at all, saith Jehovah.

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 a prophet, or a priest Shall ask thee, saying, “What is the burden from Jehovah?” Then say thou to them, “What is the burden?” That I will cast you away, saith Jehovah.

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, the priest, and the people, Who shall say, “The burden of Jehovah,” I will punish that man and 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 shall ye speak, one to another: “What hath Jehovah answered?” And, “What hath Jehovah 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 of a burden of Jehovah shall ye speak no more; Else shall every man's word be his burden, Because ye pervert the words of the living God, Of Jehovah 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 shalt thou say to the prophet: “What hath Jehovah answered thee?” And, “What hath Jehovah 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,

If ye shall say, “The burden of Jehovah,” Then thus saith Jehovah: Because ye say, “The burden of Jehovah,” Although I sent to you and said, Ye shall not say, “The burden of Jehovah,”

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 will utterly forget you, And I will cast you, and the city which I gave to your fathers, out of my presence;

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

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