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23 Горко на пастирите, Които погубват и разпръсват овцете на паството Ми! казва Господ.

Затова, така говори Господ Израилевият Бог Против пастирите, които пасат людете Ми: Вие разпръснахте овцете Ми, и ги разпъдихте, И не ги посетихте; Ето, Аз ще ви накажа За злите ви дела, казва Господ.

И ще събера останалите Си овце от всичките страни, гдето ги изпъдих, И ще ги върна пак в кошарите им, Гдето ще се наплодят и умножат.

И ще поставя над тях пастири, които ще ги пасат; И те няма да се плашат вече, нито ще треперят, Нито ще загине някоя, казва Господ.

Ето, идат дни, казва Господ, Когато ще въздигна на Давида праведен отрасъл, Който като цар ще царува, ще благоденствува, И ще върши правосъдие и правда по земята.

В неговите дни Юда ще бъде спасен, И Израил ще обитава в безопасност; И ето името, с което ще се нарича - Господ е Наша Правда.

Затова, ето, идат дни, казва Господ, Когато не ще рекат вече: Заклеваме се в в живота на Господа, Който възведе Израилтяните из Египетската земя!

Но: Заклеваме се в живота на Господа, Който възведе и който доведе потомството на Израилевия дом От северната земя, и от всичките страни, гдето ги бях изгонил! И ще се заселят в своята земя.

За Пророците. Сърцето ми дълбоко се съкрушава Всичките ми кости треперят, Като пиян съм, И като човек, обладан от вино, Поради Господа, И поради светите Негови думи.

10 Защото земята е пълна с прелюбодейци; Защото поради проклятията земята плаче, Изсъхнаха пасбищата на степите; И стремежът им стана лош, И силата им неправедна.

11 Защото и пророкът и свещеникът се оскверниха; Дори в дома Си намерих нечестието им, казва Господ.

12 Затова, пътят им ще бъде Като плъзгави места в тъмнина, По който, като бъдат тласкани, ще паднат; Защото ще докарам зло върху тях В годината на наказанието им, казва Господ.

13 Тоже в Самарийските пророци видях безумие; Те пророкуваха чрез Ваала, и заблудиха людете Ми Израиля.

14 Още и в Ерусалимските пророци видях ужасно нещо; Прелюбодействуват, и ходят в лъжа, И подкрепват ръцете на злодейците, Тъй щото никой не се връща от злото си; Те всички станаха за Мене като Содом, И жителите му като Гомор.

15 Затова, така казва Господ на Силите за пророците: Ето, Аз ще ги нахраня с пелин, И ще ги напоя с горчива вода; Защото от Ерусалимските пророци Се е разпространило нечестие по цялата страна.

16 Така казва Господ на Силите: Не слушайте думите на пророците, които ви пророкуват; Те ви учат суета, Изговарят видения от собственото си сърце, А не от устата Господни.

17 На ония, които Ме презират, винаги казват: Господ рече: Ще имате мир; И на всекиго, който ходи по своето упорито сърце, казват: Няма да ви постигне зло.

18 Защото кой от тях е стоял в съвета на Господа Та е видял и чул Неговото слово? Кой от тях е внимавал в словото Му и е чул?

19 Ето, ураган от Господа, неговата ярост, излезе, Дори ураган-вихрушка; Ще избухне върху главата на нечестивите.

20 Гневът на Господа няма да се върне Догдето Той не извърши, и догдето не изпълни Намеренията на сърцето Си; В послешните дни ще разберете това напълно.

21 Аз не съм изпратил тия пророци, а при все това те се завтекоха; Не им съм говорил, а при все това те пророкуваха.

22 Но ако бяха стояли в съвета Ми, Тогава те щяха да правят людете Ми да чуят думите Ми, И щяха да ги връщат от лошия им път И от злите им дела.

23 Аз само отблизо ли съм Бог, казва Господ, А не Бог и отдалеч?

24 Може ли някой да се скрие в тайни места, Та аз да го не видя? казва Господ. Не аз ли изпълвам небесата и земята? казва Господ.

25 Чух що говорят пророците, Които в Мое име пророкуват лъжа, Като казват: Видях сън, видях сън!

26 До кога ще бъде това в сърцето на пророците, Които пророкуват лъжа, - На ония, които пророкуват измамата на своето сърце?

27 Които мислят да направят людете Ми да забравят Моето име Чрез сънищата си, които разказват всеки за ближния си, Както забравиха бащите им името Ми заради Ваала.

28 Пророк, който има истински сън, нека разказва съня, И оня, който има послание от Мене, нека говори Моето послание вярно. Що има плявата с житото? казва Господ.

29 Не е ли словото Ми като огън? казва Господ, И като чук, който строшава скалата?

30 Затова, ето, Аз съм против пророците, казва Господ, Които крадат думите Ми всеки от ближния си.

31 Ето, Аз съм против пророците, казва Господ, Които клатят езиците си и казват: Той говори.

32 Ето, аз съм против ония, които пророкуват лъжливи сънища, казва Господ, И, като ги разказват, с лъжите си и с надменността си Правят людете Ми да се заблуждават, Тогаз когато Аз не съм ги изпратил, нито им съм заповядал; Прочее, те никак няма да ползуват тия люде, казва Господ.

33 И когато тия люде, Или някой пророк или свещеник, те попитат като рекат: Какво е наложеното върху тебе от Господа слово? Тогава да им кажеш що е наложеното, - Че Господ дума: Аз ще ви отхвърля.

34 А колкото за пророка, свещеника и оня от людете, Който би рекъл: Наложеното от Господа слово! Аз ще накажа оня човек и дома ум.

35 Така да речете всеки на ближния си И всеки на брата си: Какво е отговорил Господ? Или: Що е рекъл Господ?

36 А да не споменете вече - Наложеното от Господа слово; Понеже товар ще бъде на всекиго Неговото слово; Защото извратихте думите на живия Бог, На Господа на Силите, нашия Бог.

37 Така да кажеш на пророка: Какво ти е отговорил Господ? Или: Що е рекъл Господ?

38 Но понеже казвате: Наложеното от Господа слово, Затова, така казва Господ: Понеже употребяват това изречение - Наложеното от Господа слово, При все, че Аз пратих до вас да ви кажат Да не казвате - Наложеното от Господа слово,

39 Затова, ето, Аз ще ви забравя съвсем, И ще отхвърля от присъствието си вас И град, който дадох вам и на бащите ви;

40 И ще докарам върху вас вечен укор, И вечно посрамление, което няма да се забрави.

Restoration after Exile

23 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

The Righteous Branch of David

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, “As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the Lord lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he[a] had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land.

False Prophets of Hope Denounced

Concerning the prophets:

My heart is crushed within me,
    all my bones shake;
I have become like a drunkard,
    like one overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and because of his holy words.
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
    because of the curse the land mourns,
    and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course has been evil,
    and their might is not right.
11 Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
    even in my house I have found their wickedness,
says the Lord.
12 Therefore their way shall be to them
    like slippery paths in the darkness,
    into which they shall be driven and fall;
for I will bring disaster upon them
    in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
13 In the prophets of Samaria
    I saw a disgusting thing:
they prophesied by Baal
    and led my people Israel astray.
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen a more shocking thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
    they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
    so that no one turns from wickedness;
all of them have become like Sodom to me,
    and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
“I am going to make them eat wormwood,
    and give them poisoned water to drink;
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
    ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they are deluding you. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They keep saying to those who despise the word of the Lord, “It shall be well with you”; and to all who stubbornly follow their own stubborn hearts, they say, “No calamity shall come upon you.”

18 For who has stood in the council of the Lord
    so as to see and to hear his word?
    Who has given heed to his word so as to proclaim it?
19 Look, the storm of the Lord!
    Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he has executed and accomplished
    the intents of his mind.
In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

21 I did not send the prophets,
    yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
    then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
    and from the evil of their doings.

23 Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 30 See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 See, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their own tongues and say, “Says the Lord.” 32 See, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and who tell them, and who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or appoint them; so they do not profit this people at all, says the Lord.

33 When this 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,[b] and I will cast you off, says the Lord.” 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or the people who say, “The burden of the Lord,” I will punish them and their households. 35 Thus shall you say to one another, among yourselves, “What has the Lord answered?” or “What has the Lord spoken?” 36 But “the burden of the Lord” you shall mention no more, for the burden is everyone’s own word, and so you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall ask the prophet, “What has the Lord answered you?” or “What has the Lord spoken?” 38 But if you say, “the burden of the Lord,” thus says the Lord: Because you have said these words, “the burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, You shall not say, “the burden of the Lord,” 39 therefore, I will surely lift you up[c] and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:8 Gk: Heb I
  2. Jeremiah 23:33 Gk Vg: Heb What burden
  3. Jeremiah 23:39 Heb Mss Gk Vg: MT forget you

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

Therefore 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.

And 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.

And 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.

Behold, 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.

In 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.

Therefore, 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;

But, 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.

Mine 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.

10 For 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.

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

12 Wherefore 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.

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

14 I 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.

15 Therefore 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.

16 Thus 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.

17 They 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.

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

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

20 The 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.

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

22 But 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.

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

24 Can 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.

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

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

27 Which 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.

28 The 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.

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

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

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

32 Behold, 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.

33 And 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.

34 And 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.

35 Thus 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?

36 And 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.

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

38 But 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;

39 Therefore, 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:

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