⁶ Then the king of Israel ^(A)gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount ^(A)Carmel, and the ^(B)450 prophets of Baal and ^(C)the 400 prophets of Asherah, ^(D)who eat at Jezebel's table.”

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, ^(H)filling you with vain hopes. ^(I)They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷ They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ^(J)‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who ^(K)stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ^(L)‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

^22 (A)Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and ^(B)you have encouraged the wicked, that ^(C)he should not turn from his evil way to save his life,

⁷ Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, ^(A)whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, ^(B)I am against you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, ^(C)nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, ^(D)nor shall they enter the land of Israel. ^(E)And you shall know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ Precisely because they have misled my people, ^(F)saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, ^(G)these prophets smear it with whitewash,^{[a] 11} say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! ^(H)There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. ¹² And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(I)I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, ^(J)and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. ¹⁴ And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, ^(K)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem ^(L)and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.

²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with it ^(A)the false prophet ^(B)who in its presence^[a] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who ^(C)worshiped its image. These two were ^(D)thrown alive into the lake of ^(E)fire that burns with sulfur.

False Prophets and Teachers

2 But ^(A)false prophets also arose among the people, ^(B)just as there will be false teachers among you, who will ^(C)secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master ^(D)who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth ^(E)will be blasphemed. ³ And ^(F)in their greed they will exploit you ^(G)with false words. ^(H)Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

^3 (A)For the time is coming when people will not endure ^(B)sound^[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

A Tree and Its Fruit

^15 (A)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ^(B)ravenous wolves.