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 lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith Jehovah.
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.
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 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.
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 [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, who shall feed them; They shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; Nor shall they be lost, saith Jehovah.
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 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 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 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 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.”
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, “[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, “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 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.
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 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 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 Yahweh says, “[Yes, even] the priests and the prophets are ungodly; they do wicked things even in my temple.
Yea, both prophet and priest are profane; Even in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah.
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.”
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 [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.
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 [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.
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 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.”
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 a whirlwind from Jehovah goeth forth in fury, Even a rushing whirlwind; Upon the head of the wicked shall it rush.
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 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 [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 sent not these prophets, yet they ran; I spake not to them, yet they prophesied.
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.”
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 Yahweh [also] says, “Am I a God who is only nearby? No, I am a God who is far away, also.
Am I a God near at hand, saith Jehovah, And not a God afar off?
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!
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 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 say, Who prophesy falsehood in my name, 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 shall this be In the heart of the prophets, who prophesy falsehood, The prophets of the deceit of 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.
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 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 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 [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.
Is not my word like fire, saith Jehovah, And like a hammer, that breaketh the rock in pieces?
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, saith Jehovah, That steal my words one from another.
31 I oppose those prophets who speak their own messages but claim that those messages came from me.
Behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, That take their tongues and utter oracles.
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 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 [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!’
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 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 the prophet, the priest, and the people, Who shall say, “The burden of Jehovah,” I will punish that man and 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]?’
Thus shall ye speak, one to another: “What hath Jehovah answered?” And, “What hath Jehovah spoken?”
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 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 This is what you should ask each prophet: ‘What did Yahweh reply [when you talked to him]? What is he saying [to us]?’
Thus shalt thou say to the prophet: “What hath Jehovah answered thee?” And, “What hath Jehovah 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.’
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 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.
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 I will cause people to make fun of you forever. People will never forget that you were disgraced.”
And I will bring upon you an everlasting reproach, And a perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten.
