Jeremiah
Chapter 23
1 God says, “Trouble will come to the leaders who ruin and disperse the sheep of my land!”
2 So this is what God of Israel says to the leaders who take care of my people: You have scattered my sheep and made them run away, and you did not care for them. Look, I will punish you for the bad things you’ve done, says God.
3 I will bring the remaining ones of my flock from all the countries where I sent them, and they will return to their homes; they will have many children and grow in number.
4 I will put shepherds in charge of them who will take care of them; they will not be afraid or discouraged or be in need anymore, says God.
5 Look, the time will come, God says, when I will bring forth a righteous descendant from David, and a King will rule successfully, carrying out fair and just decisions on the earth.
6 During his time, Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And he will be called God Our Righteousness.
7 So, God says, “Look, the time is coming when people won’t say anymore, ‘God is alive, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt.’”
8 But God lives, who brought and led the descendants of Israel out of the north and from all countries where I had sent them; and they will live in their own land.
9 My heart is broken because of the prophets; my whole body trembles; I am like a drunk man, beaten by wine, because of God and his holy words.
10 The land is full of cheaters; because of cursing, the land is sad; the nice parts of the desert have dried out, people’s actions are bad, and their power is not used rightly.
11 Both the prophet and the priest are unholy; yes, I have seen their evil in my house, says God.
12 So their path will be like slippery roads in the dark: they will be pushed and will fall on it, because I will bring disaster on them, the time when I punish them, says God.
13 I have seen foolishness in Samaria’s prophets; they spoke messages from Baal and led my people Israel astray.
14 I have also seen terrible things among Jerusalem’s prophets: they are unfaithful and live in lies; they encourage the wicked so no one turns from their evil ways; to me, they are like Sodom and its people like Gomorrah.
15 So this is what God says about the prophets: I will give them bitter food to eat and poison water to drink, because the prophets of Jerusalem have spread corruption throughout the land.
16 God says, “Don’t listen to the prophets who speak to you; they fill you with false hopes. They talk about visions from their own minds, not from God.”
17 They keep telling those who hate me, “God has said, you will have peace”; and they tell everyone who follows their own desires, “No harm will come to you.”
18 Who has been in God’s council and understood and listened to his message? Who has paid attention to his message and heard it?
19 Look, a violent storm from God has come out in anger, a terrible storm: it will hit the wicked very hard.
20 God’s anger will not stop until He has done what He plans. In the future, you will fully understand this.
21 I did not send these prophets, but they went; I did not speak to them, but they spoke my message.
22 If they had followed my advice and had made my people listen to my words, then they would have turned away from their bad behavior and their wicked actions.
23 Am I not a close God, says God, and not a distant one?
24 Can anyone hide in secret places where I won’t see him? says God. Don’t I fill heaven and earth? says God.
25 I have heard the prophets who tell lies in my name, saying, “I had a dream, I had a dream.”
26 How long will the prophets who tell lies plan this in their hearts? Yes, they are prophets led by their own deceit.
27 They try to make my people forget my name with the dreams they share with each other, just like their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.
28 The prophet who has a dream should share that dream; and whoever has my message should speak it truthfully. What do the worthless bits matter compared to the grain? says God.
29 Isn’t my word like a fire? says God, and like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces?
30 So, I am against the prophets who take my words from each other, says God.
31 Look, I am against the prophets, says God, who speak on their own and claim, ‘God says.’
32 Look, I am against those who tell false dreams, says God, and share them, leading my people astray with their lies and carelessness; I did not send them or tell them to do this: so they will not help my people at all, says God.
33 When the people, a prophet, or a priest ask you, “What is God’s message?” You should say, “What message? God says He will abandon you.”
34 If a prophet, a priest, or anyone else claims, “This is God’s message,” I will punish that person and his family.
35 Everyone should ask their neighbor and their brother, “What has God answered?” and “What has God said?”
36 You should not talk about God’s burden anymore: everyone’s own words will be their burden because you have twisted the words of the living God, our God of all.
37 You should ask the prophet, “What has God replied to you?” and “What has God said?”
38 Since you say, “God’s message,” this is what God says: “Because you call it ‘God’s message,’ even though I told you not to call it ‘God’s message,’”
39 So, look, I myself will completely forget you, and I will leave you, and the city I gave to you and your ancestors, and I will throw you out of my sight.
40 I will make you suffer lasting shame and disgrace that will never be forgotten.