Jeremiah 23

1 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.

“Woe to the shepherds who scatter and tear apart the sheep of my pasture, says the Lord.

2 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.

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 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.

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 [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].’”

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 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.

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 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.’”

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 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.”

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 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].

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 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.

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 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.

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

“For both the prophet and the priest have become polluted, and I have found their wickedness within my own house, says the Lord.

12 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.”

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 [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.

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 [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.

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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].’

To those who blaspheme me, they say: ‘The Lord has said: You shall have peace.’ And to everyone who walks in the depravity of his own heart, they have said: ‘No evil will overwhelm you.’”

18 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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 [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.

“I did not send these prophets, yet they hurry forward. I was not speaking to them, yet they were prophesying.

22 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.”

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

Do you not realize that I am a God close by, says the Lord, and not a God far away?

24 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!

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 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!’

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

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 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.

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 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].

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 [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.

Are not my words like a fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer crushing rock?

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

Therefore, behold: I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words, each one from his neighbor.

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

Behold, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who take up their tongues and say: ‘The Lord says it.’

32 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.”

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 offered nothing beneficial to this people, says the Lord.

33 [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!’

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

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

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 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.

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

And then you will speak in this way to the prophet: ‘What has the Lord answered you? And what has the Lord spoken?’

38 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.’

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 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.

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

And I will give you over to an everlasting reproach and an eternal disgrace, which shall never be wiped away into oblivion.”