耶利米书 23
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
將來的指望
23 “那些殘殺和趕散我牧場上的羊群的牧人，有禍了！”這是耶和華的宣告。 2 因此，耶和華以色列的 神論到牧養他（“他”原文作“我”）子民的牧人這樣說：“你們使我的羊群四散，把牠們趕走，並沒有看顧牠們；看哪！我必因你們的惡行懲罰你們。”這是耶和華的宣告。 3 “我要親自把我羊群中餘剩的，從我把牠們趕逐到的各地，招聚出來，領牠們歸回自己的羊圈，使牠們繁殖增多。 4 我要興起牧人，牧養牠們；牠們必不再恐懼驚慌，一個也不會失掉。”這是耶和華的宣告。
5 “看哪！日子快到
（這是耶和華的宣告），
我必給大衛興起一個公義的苗裔；
他必執政為王，行事有智慧，
在地上施行公正和公義。
6 在他執政的日子，猶大必得救，
以色列也必安然居住。
人要稱他的名字為‘耶和華我們的義’。”
7 “因此，看哪！日子快到（這是耶和華的宣告），人不再指著那領以色列人從埃及地上來的永活的耶和華起誓， 8 卻要指著那領以色列家的後裔從北方之地、從他（“他”原文作“我”）把他們趕逐到的各地上來的、永活的耶和華起誓。他們就必住在自己的地方。”
假先知的罪惡與報應
9 論到那些先知，
我的心在我裡面破碎，
我全身的骨頭都發抖。
因為耶和華的緣故，
又因為他的聖言的緣故，
我就像一個醉酒的人，
像一個被酒灌醉的人。
10 因為這地滿了行淫的人；
因受咒詛，地就悲哀，
曠野的草場都枯乾了；
他們走的路是邪惡的，
他們的權力誤用了。
11 “先知和祭司都不敬虔，
甚至在我殿裡我也看見他們的邪惡。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
12 “因此，他們的路必像滑地；
他們必被趕逐到黑暗中，
必在那裡仆倒。
因為到了懲罰他們的年日，
我必使災禍臨到他們。”
這是耶和華的宣告。
13 “在撒瑪利亞的先知中，
我看見可厭的事：
他們竟奉巴力的名說預言，
使我的子民以色列走錯了路。
14 在耶路撒冷的先知中，
我看見可怕的事。
他們犯姦淫，行事虛假，
堅固惡人的手，
以致沒有人離棄惡行；
在我看來，他們都像所多瑪人，
耶路撒冷的居民也像蛾摩拉人一樣。”
15 因此，論到這些先知，萬軍之耶和華這樣說：
“看哪！我必使他們吃苦堇，喝毒水，
因為有不敬虔的風氣，
從耶路撒冷的先知中散播出來，遍及全地。”
16 萬軍之耶和華這樣說：
“不要聽從這些向你們說預言的先知所說的話，
他們使你們存有虛幻的希望；
他們所講的異象是出於自己的心思，
不是出於耶和華的口。
17 他們不斷對那些藐視我的人說：
‘耶和華說：你們必平安無事！’
又對所有隨從自己頑梗的心行事的人說：
‘災禍必不臨到你們！’”
18 可是他們中間有誰曾參與耶和華的議會，
看見或聽見他的話呢？
有誰曾留心聽他的話而實在聽見呢？
19 看哪！耶和華的旋風，
在震怒中發出，
是旋轉的狂風，
必捲到惡人的頭上。
20 耶和華的怒氣必不轉消，
直到他作成和實現他心中的計劃。
在末後的日子，
你們就會完全明白這事。
21 “我沒有差派這些先知，
但他們自己到處跑；
我沒有對他們說話，
他們竟擅自說預言。
22 如果他們曾參與我的議會，
就必向我的子民宣告我的信息，
使他們轉離他們的惡道，
離開他們的惡行。
23 難道我只是近處的 神嗎？
不也是遠處的 神嗎？”
這是耶和華的宣告。
24 “人怎能躲藏在隱密處，
以致我看不見他呢？
（這是耶和華的宣告）。
我豈不是充滿天地嗎？”
這是耶和華的宣告。
25 “那些先知所說的話我都聽見了，他們冒我的名說虛假的預言：‘我作了夢！我作了夢！’ 26 那些先知心裡存著這樣的意念要到幾時呢？他們說虛假的預言，說出自己心中的詭詐； 27 他們以為藉著互相傳述自己的夢，就可以使我的子民忘記我的名，好像他們的列祖因巴力忘記了我的名一樣。 28 作了夢的先知，讓他把夢述說出來；但得了我話語的先知，該忠實地傳講我的話。禾稈怎能和麥子相比呢？”這是耶和華的宣告。 29 “我的話不是像火，不是像能打碎巖石的大鎚嗎？”這是耶和華的宣告。 30 “所以，看哪！那些先知互相偷取對方的話，當作我的話，我要對付他們。”這是耶和華的宣告。 31 “看哪！那些先知用自己的舌頭說：‘這是耶和華的宣告’，我要對付他們。”這是耶和華的宣告。 32 “看哪！那些藉虛假的夢說預言的，我要對付他們。”這是耶和華的宣告。“他們述說這些夢，以虛謊和誇張的話使我的子民走錯了路。我沒有差派他們，也沒有吩咐他們；他們對這人民毫無益處。”這是耶和華的宣告。
耶和華的默示
33 “如果這人民、或先知、或祭司問你說：‘耶和華有甚麼默示呢？’你要回答他們：‘你們就是重擔（按照《馬索拉文本》，“你們就是重擔”應作“甚麼默示？”；現參照《七十士譯本》翻譯。“重擔”和“默示”原文是同一個字），我要丟棄你們。’”這是耶和華的宣告。 34 “無論是先知、是祭司，或是人民，凡說‘這是耶和華的默示’的，我都要懲罰那人和他的家。”
35 你們各人對自己的鄰舍，對自己的兄弟要這樣說：“耶和華回答了甚麼？耶和華說了甚麼？” 36 你們不可再提耶和華的默示，你們各人所說的話將成為自己的重擔；因為你們曲解永活的 神萬軍之耶和華我們 神的話了。 37 你們要對 神的先知（“你們要對 神的先知”或譯：“耶利米啊，你要對那些先知”）說：“耶和華回答了你甚麼？耶和華說了甚麼呢？” 38 如果你們仍說：“這是耶和華的默示”，耶和華就必這樣說：“你們既然說‘這是耶和華的默示’這句話，而我又曾差派人去告訴你們不可再說‘這是耶和華的默示’； 39 因此，看哪！我必把你們當作重擔舉起來（“我必把你們當作重擔舉起來”或譯：“我必定忘記你們”），把你們連同我賜給你們和你們列祖的城都從我面前丟棄。 40 我必使你們蒙受永遠的凌辱、永遠的羞恥，是不能忘記的。”
Jeremiah 23
EasyEnglish Bible
A righteous King
23 The Lord says, ‘Terrible trouble will come to the rulers of my people. They should have taken care of my people, as shepherds take care of their sheep. Instead, they have caused them to run away.’ 2 So the Lord, Israel's God, says to the leaders who rule over his people, ‘You have not taken care of my people. You have chased them away to other places. So now I will come and punish you, because of the evil things that you have done. I, the Lord, tell you that!
3 I myself will bring back together all my people who are still alive. I will fetch them from the countries where I have sent them. I will bring them back to the land that is their home. They will give birth to many children and they will grow in number. 4 I will choose rulers for them who will truly take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid. They will all be safe.’ That is what the Lord says.
5 The Lord says, ‘The time will come when I do this:
I will cause a descendant of David to be born.
He will be righteous.
He will grow like a branch on the tree of David's family.
He will rule as king in a wise way.
He will do what is right and fair in the land.
6 While he rules, the people of Judah will be safe.
And Israel's people will live in peace.
People will give this name to him:
“The Lord is our righteous Saviour.” ’
7 The Lord says, ‘Yes, a new time will come. When people make a promise, they will not say, “I promise to do this as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites safely out of Egypt.” 8 Instead they will say, “I promise to do this as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel safely back from the land in the north. He brought them back from all the places where he had sent them as prisoners.” At that time they will live in their own land.’
A message about the false prophets
9 I am very upset about what the prophets are doing.
My body is shaking.
I move like a man who has become drunk,
someone who has drunk too much wine.
I am afraid because of the Lord
and the holy message that he has spoken.
10 The land is full of people who are not faithful to God.
The prophets live wicked lives.
They use their power in a bad way.
Because of that, God has cursed the land.
The land is as dry as a desert,
and the fields have no grass.
11 The Lord says,
‘The prophets and the priests are all wicked.
I see the evil things that they do,
even in my temple.
12 Because of that, the paths that they travel on will be dark.
They will easily slip and fall to the ground.
I will cause terrible trouble to happen to them.
I will decide the time when I will punish them.’
That is what the Lord says.
13 ‘I saw the disgusting thing that the prophets in Samaria did.[a]
They used the name of Baal to prophesy.
Their messages deceived my people, Israel.
14 But now some prophets in Jerusalem do even worse things!
They are not faithful to their wives.[b]
They always deceive people.
They encourage people to do evil things.
They do not try to stop them.
They are as bad as the people of Sodom long ago.
The people of Jerusalem are as bad as the people of Gomorrah.[c]
15 So I, the Lord Almighty,
say this about these prophets:
I will cause them to have much pain and trouble.
They will eat bitter food.
They will drink water that is poison.
It is because of Jerusalem's prophets
that people do wicked things everywhere in the land.’
16 The Lord Almighty says to the people,
‘Do not listen to the messages that the prophets are telling you.
They are only deceiving you.
They speak about visions that are their own ideas.
They do not speak a message that comes from the Lord himself.
17 When people refuse to listen to me,
the prophets still encourage them.
They say to them,
“The Lord will give you peace.”
When people refuse to change their wicked way of life,
the prophets tell them,
“Nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 But none of those prophets has met with the Lord.
They have not seen him
and they have not heard his voice.
So none of them has ever listened to him
to know what he is saying.
19 But look! The Lord's anger will come
like a strong storm.
It will blow away the heads of those wicked people.
20 The Lord will not stop being angry,
until he has finished what he has decided to do.
When the time comes,
you will understand this clearly.
21 I did not send those prophets.
But they have still run to speak to you.
I did not tell them what to say,
but they have continued to prophesy.
22 If they had really met with me,
they would have spoken my message to my people.
They would have caused my people to turn away from their wicked way of life.
They would have stopped my people doing evil things.’
23 The Lord says, ‘Am I a God in only one place?
No! I see everything everywhere!
24 Do you think you can hide
in a place where I cannot see you?
You should know that I am everywhere,
in the heavens above and on the earth.’
That is what the Lord says.
25 ‘I have heard the lies that these prophets are saying. They say that they have messages from me. They say, “God has spoken to me in a dream!” 26 But all their words are lies. Their messages are their own ideas. When will they stop deceiving people? 27 They want to make my people forget who I am. They use their dreams to do this. They tell them to each other. They are as bad as their ancestors. They also forgot who I am when they worshipped the false god, Baal.
28 If a prophet has a dream, he should say what it is. If a prophet receives a message from me, he should speak that message faithfully. But dreams are very different from my messages. Straw is not the same as wheat! 29 A message from me is like a fire that burns things. It is like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.’ That is what the Lord says.
30 ‘I tell you that I am against those prophets! They say that they speak messages from me. But they are using each other's ideas. 31 They say, “This message is from the Lord,” but it is their own words that they speak. 32 Yes, I am against those who have dreams and use them to deceive people. They are using cruel lies to lead the people away from me. I did not send those prophets to speak on my behalf. They do nothing to help my people.’ That is what the Lord says.
33 The Lord said, ‘Jeremiah, someone may ask you a question. He may be one of these people or a prophet or a priest. He may ask you, “What message of trouble is the Lord telling us now?” Then you must say to him, “You are the trouble! The Lord says that he will go away from you.” 34 If a prophet, a priest, or anyone else says, “I have a message of trouble from the Lord,” I will punish that person. I will punish his whole family too.
35 Instead, each of you should ask your friends, “What is the Lord's answer?” or “What has the Lord said?” 36 But you must not speak any more about “a message of trouble from the Lord”. It is the person's own message that brings the trouble. In that way, you change the true message of our God, the living God who is the Lord Almighty. 37 You should ask the prophet, “What answer did the Lord give to you?” or “What did the Lord say?” 38 You must no longer say, “What is the message of trouble from the Lord?” If you continue to say that when I have told you not to say it, this is what will happen: 39 I will pick you up and I will throw you away! I will send you all a long way away from me. I will chase out all the people of this city that I gave to you and to your ancestors. 40 I will make you very ashamed. People will never forget your great shame.’
Footnotes
- 23:13 Samaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel.
- 23:14 ‘faithful to their wives’ or ‘faithful to God’.
- 23:14 There were not even 10 good men in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. So the Lord had destroyed those cities. See Genesis 18:20-33; 19:5-9.
Jeremiah 23
King James Version
23 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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;
8 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.
9 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.
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