Jeremiah 23

Woe to the Shepherds

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

2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the LORD.

3 “I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture. They will be fruitful and multiply.”

4 “I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.

The Righteous Branch

5 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, A King who will reign wisely And do what is just and right in the land.”

6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’”

7 “So the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’”

8 “but rather, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north And out of all the countries where He had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

Against the False Prophets

9 Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; All my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, Like one overcome by wine, Because of the LORD And His holy words.

10 “The land is full of adulterers; Because of the curse the land mourns, And the pastures in the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, And their power is not right.”

11 “Both prophet and priest are ungodly; Even in My house I find their wickedness,” Declares the LORD.

12 “Therefore their path will become slippery; In the darkness they will be pushed and fall. For I will bring disaster on them In the year of their punishment,” Declares the LORD.

13 “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something disgusting: They prophesied by Baal And led My people Israel astray.”

14 “Among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers So that no one turns from wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; The people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

15 Therefore this is what the LORD of armies says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, For ungodliness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.”

Do Not Listen to Lying Prophets

16 This is what the LORD of armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are filling you with empty hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, Not from the mouth of the LORD.”

17 “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says you will have peace,’ And to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his own heart they say, ‘No disaster will come upon you.’”

18 “But who has stood in the council of the LORD To see and hear His word, Who has listened and paid attention to His word?”

19 “Look, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, A whirlwind swirling down On the heads of the wicked.”

20 “The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly.”

God Rejects the Counterfeit Prophets

21 “I did not send these prophets, yet they ran. I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.”

22 “If they had stood in My council, They would have proclaimed My words to My people And turned them from their evil ways And from their evil deeds.”

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

24 “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.

Lying Dreams

25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in My name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’”

26 “How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, Who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?”

27 “They try to make My people forget My name through their dreams, Just as their fathers forgot My name through Baal.”

28 “Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, But let the one who has My word speak it faithfully. For what has straw in common with grain,” declares the LORD.

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

God Opposes the False Prophets

30 “Therefore, I am against the prophets who steal words from one another in My name,” declares the LORD.

31 “Yes, I am against the prophets who use their own tongues and claim, ‘The LORD declares it.’”

32 “Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the LORD. “They tell them and lead My people astray with their lies and reckless boasting. I did not send them or appoint them, and they do not benefit this people in the least,” declares the LORD.

The Burden of the LORD

33 “When these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ You shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off,’ declares the LORD.”

34 “I will punish any prophet, priest, or person who says, ‘This is the burden of the LORD.’”

35 “Instead, each one should say to his neighbor or his brother: ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’”

36 “But never again should you mention ‘the burden of the LORD,’ Because every man’s own word becomes his burden For twisting the words of the living God, The LORD of armies, our God.”

37 “This is what you shall say to the prophet: ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ And ‘What has the LORD spoken?’”

38 “But if you say, ‘The burden of the LORD,’ This is what the LORD says: Because you say this and keep using that phrase when I told you not to?”

39 “I will surely forget you and cast you out of My presence, Both you and the city I gave to you and your fathers.”

40 “I will bring everlasting disgrace on you, A shame that will never be forgotten.”