Jeremiah 23:1-16

New International Version

The Righteous Branch

23 “Woe to the shepherds^(A) who are destroying and scattering^(B) the sheep of my pasture!”^(C) declares the Lord. ²Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds^(D) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock^(E) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil^(F) you have done,” declares the Lord. ³“I myself will gather the remnant^(G) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,^(H) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. ⁴I will place shepherds^(I) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid^(J) or terrified, nor will any be missing,^(K)” declares the Lord.

⁵“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will raise up for David^[a] a righteous Branch,^(L)
a King^(M) who will reign^(N) wisely
    and do what is just and right^(O) in the land.
⁶In his days Judah will be saved
    and Israel will live in safety.^(P)
This is the name^(Q) by which he will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.^(R)

⁷“So then, the days are coming,”^(S) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’^(T) ⁸but they will say, ‘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.”^(U)

Lying Prophets

⁹Concerning the prophets:

My heart^(V) is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.^(W)
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.^(X)
¹⁰The land is full of adulterers;^(Y)
    because of the curse^[b]^(Z) the land lies parched
    and the pastures^(AA) in the wilderness are withered.^(AB)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

¹¹“Both prophet and priest are godless;^(AC)
    even in my temple^(AD) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
¹²“Therefore their path will become slippery;^(AE)
    they will be banished to darkness
    and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
    in the year they are punished,^(AF)”
declares the Lord.

¹³“Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal^(AG)
    and led my people Israel astray.^(AH)
¹⁴And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:^(AI)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.^(AJ)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,^(AK)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.^(AL)
They are all like Sodom^(AM) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”^(AN)

¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,^(AO)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness^(AP) has spread throughout the land.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen^(AQ) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions^(AR) from their own minds,
not from the mouth^(AS) of the Lord.