Jeremiah 23

1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

2Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

3And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

4And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

5Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.footnote a

7Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

8But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

9Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.

10For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.footnote bfootnote c

11For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

13And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.footnote d

14I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.footnote e

15Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.footnote f

16Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

17They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.footnote g

18For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?footnote h

19Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

20The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

21I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

22But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

23Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

25I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

26How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

27Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

28The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.footnote i

29Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

30Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

31Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.footnote j

32Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

33And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.

34And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house.footnote k

35Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

36And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.

37Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?

38But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;

39Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:

40And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

David’s Righteous Branch

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

2Therefore 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.

3Then 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. 4I 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.

5Behold, the days are coming,declares the LORD,when I will raise up for Davidfootnote aa righteous Branch,and He will reign wisely as Kingand will administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6In 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.footnote b

7So 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.’ 8Instead 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.”

Lying Prophets

9As 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. 10For the land is full of adulterers—because of the curse, the land mournsand the pastures of the wilderness have dried up—their course is eviland their power is misused.

11“For both prophet and priest are ungodly;even in My house I have found their wickedness,”declares the LORD. 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 themin the year of their punishment,”declares the LORD. 13“Among the prophets of SamariaI saw an offensive thing:They prophesied by Baaland led My people Israel astray. 14And among the prophets of JerusalemI have seen a horrible thing:They commit adulteryand 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.”

15Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets:“I will feed them wormwoodand give them poisoned water to drink,for from the prophets of Jerusalemungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

16This 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. 17They 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.’

18But which of them has stood in the council of the LORDto see and hear His word?Who has given heed to His wordand obeyed it? 19Behold, the storm of the LORDhas gone out with fury,a whirlwind swirling downupon the heads of the wicked. 20The anger of the LORD will not turn backuntil He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart.In the days to comeyou will understand this clearly.

21I did not send these prophets,yet they have run with their message;I did not speak to them,yet they have prophesied. 22But if they had stood in My council,they would have proclaimed My words to My peopleand turned them backfrom their evil ways and deeds.”

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

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. 25“I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds? 27They 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.

28Let 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. 29“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”

30“Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.”

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

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.

False Prophecies

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.’

34As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household.

35This 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?’ 36But 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.

37Thus you are to say to the prophet: ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and ‘What has the LORD spoken?’

38But 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, 39therefore 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. 40And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”