Jeremiah 23
1 Woe to shepherds destroying, And scattering the flock of My pasture, An affirmation of Jehovah.
What trouble is coming to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord.
2 Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Against the shepherds who feed My people, Ye have scattered My flock, and drive them away, And have not inspected them, Lo, I am charging on you the evil of your doings, An affirmation of Jehovah.
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who were meant to look after my people: You have scattered my flock. You have chased them away You didn't take care of them, so now I will take care of you for all the evil you've done, declares the Lord.
3 And I do gather the remnant of My flock Out of all the lands whither I drove them, And have brought them back unto their fold, And they have been fruitful, and multiplied.
I myself will gather what's left of my flock from all the countries where I exiled them, and I will bring them back to their pasture, where they will increase in number.
4 And I have raised for them shepherds, And they have fed them, And they fear no more, nor are affrighted, Nor are they lacking — an affirmation of Jehovah.
I will put shepherds in charge of them who will take care of them, and they won't be afraid or discouraged anymore, and none of them will be missing, declares the Lord.
5 Lo, days are coming — an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Look, the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will choose a descendant of David who does what is right. As king he will rule with wisdom and do what is just and right throughout the country.
6 In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, 'Our Righteousness.'
When he is king, Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Who Makes Us Right.
7 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they do not say any more, Jehovah liveth who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,
Look, the time is coming, declares the Lord, when people won't say anymore, “On the Lord's life, who led the Israelites out of Egypt.”
8 But — Jehovah liveth, 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 whither I drove them, And they have dwelt on their own ground!
Instead they'll say, “On the Lord's life, who led the Israelites back from the northern country and all the other countries where he had exiled them.” Then they'll live in their own country.
9 In reference to the prophets: Broken hath been my heart in my midst, Fluttered have all my bones, I have been as a man — a drunkard, And as a man — wine hath passed over him, Because of Jehovah, and of His holy words.
When it comes to the prophets: I'm really disturbed—I'm shaking inside! I stagger like a drunk, like someone who's had too much wine, because of what the Lord is like, because of his holy words.
10 For of adulterers hath the land been full, For because of these hath the land mourned, Dried up hath been the pleasant places of the wilderness, And their course is evil, and their might — not right.
For the country is full of people committing adultery so it's under a curse. The land mourns and the desert pastures have dried up. The people live evil lives, using their energy to do wrong.
11 For both prophet and priest have been profane, Yea, in My house I found their wickedness, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Both prophets and priests show no respect for me. I see wickedness even in my Temple, declares the Lord.
12 Therefore is their way to them as slippery places, Into thick darkness they are driven, And they have fallen in it, For I bring in against them evil, The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.
That's why their path will become slippery; they will be chased away in the dark and fall down. I'm going to bring disaster on them at the time when they're punished, declares the Lord.
13 And in prophets of Samaria I have seen folly, They have prophesied by Baal, And cause my people — Israel — to err.
I saw the prophets of Samaria doing something really offensive: They prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people Israel to sin.
14 And in prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing, Committing adultery, and walking falsely, Yea, they strengthened the hands of evil doers, So that they have not turned back Each from his wickedness, They have been to me — all of them — as Sodom, And its inhabitants as Gomorrah.
But now I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something even more disgusting: They commit adultery and their lives are a lie. They support the wicked, so no one stops sinning. To me they're all like Sodom; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, concerning the prophets: Lo, I am causing them to eat wormwood, And have caused them to drink water of gall, For, from prophets of Jerusalem Hath profanity gone forth to all the land.
So this is what the Lord Almighty says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poisoned water to drink, because evil has spread across the country from the prophets of Jerusalem.
16 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Ye do not hearken unto the words Of the prophets who are prophesying to you, They are making you vain things, A vision of their own heart they speak, Not from the mouth of Jehovah.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: Don't pay attention to what these prophets say when they prophesy to you. They're fooling you with visions they make up in their own minds. They're not from me.
17 Saying diligently to those despising The word of Jehovah: Peace is for you, And [to] every one walking in the stubbornness of his heart they have said: Evil doth not come in unto you.
They keep on telling people who don't respect me, “The Lord says that you'll live in peace,” and to everyone following their own stubborn attitude, “Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of Jehovah, And seeth and heareth His word? Who hath regarded My word, and hearkeneth?
But who of them has attended the Lord's council to hear and understand what he's saying? Who has paid attention to his instructions and followed them?
19 Lo, a whirlwind of Jehovah — Fury hath gone out, even a piercing whirlwind, On the head of the wicked it stayeth.
Watch out! The Lord has sent out a furious storm, a tornado swirling around the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of Jehovah doth not turn back Till His doing, and till His establishing, The thoughts of His heart, In the latter end of the days ye attend to it With understanding.
The Lord's anger won't fade until he's finished doing everything he wants. Only then will you really understand.
21 I have not sent the prophets, and they have run, I have not spoken unto them, and they have prophesied.
I didn't send these prophets, but they run to deliver their messages. I didn't tell them to say anything, but they still go on prophesying.
22 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.
Now if they had attended my council, they would have delivered my instructions to my people and brought them back from their evil way of life, from their evil actions.
23 A God near [am] I — an affirmation of Jehovah, And not a God afar off?
Am I only a local God and not a God who operates widely? asks the Lord.
24 Is any one hidden in secret places, And I see him not? an affirmation of Jehovah, Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? An affirmation of Jehovah.
Can people hide in secret places where I can't see them? asks the Lord. Don't I operate everywhere in heaven and on earth? asks the Lord.
25 I have heard that which the prophets said, Who prophesy in My name falsehood, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed.'
I've listened to the prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They say, “I've had a dream! I've had a dream!”
26 Till when is it in the heart of the prophets? The prophets of falsehood, Yea, prophets of the deceit of their heart,
How long will this continue? How long will these prophets go on prophesying these lies which are just the product of their own deluded minds?
27 Who are devising to cause My people To forget My name by their dreams, That they recount each to his neighbour, As their fathers forgot my name for Baal.
They think the dreams that they repeat to one another will lead my people to forget me, just like their forefathers forgot me by worshiping Baal.
28 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 — to the straw with the corn? An affirmation of Jehovah.
A prophet who has a dream should say it's just a dream, but anyone I've spoken to should deliver my message faithfully. What is straw in comparison to grain? asks the Lord.
29 Is it not thus? My word [is] as a fire, An affirmation of Jehovah. And as a hammer — it breaketh in pieces a rock.
Doesn't my word burn like fire? asks the Lord. Isn't it like a hammer smashing a rock?
30 Therefore, lo, I [am] against the prophets, An affirmation of Jehovah, Stealing My words each from his neighbour.
Pay attention to this, declares the Lord. I'm opposed to those prophets who steal words from one another and then say it's a message from me.
31 Lo, I [am] against the prophets, An affirmation of Jehovah, Who are making smooth their tongue, And they affirm — an affirmation.
Pay attention to this declares the Lord. I'm opposed to those prophets who make up their own stories and then announce, “This is what the Lord says.”
32 Lo, I [am] against the prophets of false dreams, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they recount them, and cause my people to err, By their falsehoods, and by their instability, And I — I have not sent them, Nor have I commanded them, And they are not at all profitable to this people, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Pay attention to this declares the Lord, I'm opposed to those who prophesy fictional dreams. They tell them in order to lead my people into sin with their wild lies. I didn't send them or give them any instructions, and they don't do anybody any good, declares the Lord.
33 And when this people, or the prophet, Or a priest, doth ask thee, saying, What [is] the burden of Jehovah? Then thou hast said unto them: Ye [are] the burden, and I have left you, An affirmation of Jehovah.
So when a prophet or priest or anyone else comes and asks you, “What is ‘the burden of the Lord?’” tell them, I'm not giving you a burden. I'm giving up on you, declares the Lord.
34 And the prophet, and the priest, and the people, That saith, The burden of Jehovah, I have seen after that man, and after his house.
If a prophet or priest or anyone else claims, “This is the burden of the Lord,” I will punish that person and their family.
35 Thus do ye say each unto his neighbour, And each unto his brother: What hath Jehovah answered? And what hath Jehovah spoken?
This is what everybody should say to their friends and relatives: “What answer has the Lord given?” or, “What has the Lord said?”
36 And the burden of Jehovah ye do not mention any more, For the burden to each is — His word, And ye have overturned the words of the living God, Jehovah of Hosts, our God.
Don't talk about “the burden of the Lord” anymore, because everybody has different ideas about this “burden,” perverting the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God.
37 Thus dost thou say unto the prophet What hath Jehovah answered thee? And what hath Jehovah spoken?
This is what you are to say ask any prophet: “What message has the Lord given you?” and “What has the Lord told you?”
38 And if the burden of Jehovah ye say, Therefore thus said Jehovah: Because of your saying this word, The burden of Jehovah, And I do send unto you, saying, Ye do not say, The burden of Jehovah.
If they say, “This is the burden of the Lord,” then this is the Lord's response: Because you said, “This is the burden of the Lord,” and I warned you not to,
39 Therefore, lo, I — I have taken you utterly away, And I have sent you out, And the city that I gave to you, And to your fathers, from before My face,
now I'm going to pick you up like a burden and throw you away, you and the city that I gave to you and your forefathers.
40 And I have put on you reproach age-during, And shame age-during that is not forgotten!
I will disgrace you forever, you shame will never be forgotten.
