Jeremiah 23
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch
23 “(A)Woe to the shepherds who are (B)destroying and scattering the (C)sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are [a]tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to (D)attend to you for the (E)evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. 3 “Then I Myself will (F)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will also raise up (G)shepherds over them and they will [b]tend them; and they will (H)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, (I)nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “Behold, the (J)days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous [c](K)Branch;
And He will (L)reign as king and [d]act wisely
And (M)do justice and righteousness in the land.
6 “In His days Judah will be saved,
And (N)Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His (O)name by which He will be called,
‘The (P)Lord our righteousness.’
7 “(Q)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 (R)but, ‘As the Lord lives, who (S)brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”
False Prophets Denounced
9 As for the prophets:
My (T)heart is broken within me,
All my bones tremble;
I have become like a drunken man,
Even like a man overcome with wine,
Because of the Lord
And because of His holy words.
10 For the land is full of (U)adulterers;
For the land (V)mourns because of the curse.
The (W)pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course also is evil
And their might is not right.
11 “For (X)both prophet and priest are polluted;
Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their way will be like (Y)slippery paths to them,
They will be driven away into the (Z)gloom and fall down in it;
For I will bring (AA)calamity upon them,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.
13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an (AB)offensive thing:
They (AC)prophesied by Baal and (AD)led My people Israel astray.
14 “Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a (AE)horrible thing:
The committing of (AF)adultery and walking in falsehood;
And they strengthen the hands of (AG)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his wickedness.
All of them have become to Me like (AH)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,
‘Behold, I am going to (AI)feed them wormwood
And make them drink poisonous water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’”
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“(AJ)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are (AK)leading you into futility;
They speak a (AL)vision of their own [e]imagination,
Not (AM)from the mouth of the Lord.
17 “They keep saying to those who (AN)despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “(AO)You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the (AP)stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘(AQ)Calamity will not come upon you.’
18 “But (AR)who has stood in the council of the Lord,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has given (AS)heed to [f]His word and listened?
19 “Behold, the (AT)storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling tempest;
It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
20 “The (AU)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has (AV)performed and carried out the purposes of His heart;
(AW)In the last days you will clearly understand it.
21 “(AX)I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
22 “But if they had (AY)stood in My council,
Then they would have (AZ)announced My words to My people,
And would have turned them back from their evil way
And from the evil of their deeds.
23 “Am I a God who is (BA)near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
24 “Can a man (BB)hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“(BC)Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.
25 “I have (BD)heard what the prophets have said who (BE)prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a (BF)dream, I had a dream!’ 26 How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the (BG)deception of their own heart, 27 who intend to (BH)make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers (BI)forgot My name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has (BJ)My word speak My word in truth. (BK)What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not My word like (BL)fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a (BM)hammer which shatters a rock? 30 Therefore behold, (BN)I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied (BO)false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and (BP)reckless boasting; yet (BQ)I did not send them or command them, nor do they (BR)furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.
33 “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, ‘What is the [g](BS)oracle of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What [h]oracle?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will (BT)abandon you.’ 34 Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The (BU)oracle of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. 35 Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘(BV)What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord, because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have (BW)perverted the words of the (BX)living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 For if you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’”’ 39 Therefore behold, (BY)I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. 40 I will put an everlasting (BZ)reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:2 Lit shepherding
- Jeremiah 23:4 Or shepherd
- Jeremiah 23:5 Lit Sprout
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or succeed
- Jeremiah 23:16 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 23:18 Another reading is My
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, and so throughout the ch
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, and so throughout the ch
Ezekiel 34:2-31
New American Standard Bible 1995
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the (A)shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to [a]those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord [b]God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been [c](B)feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds [d](C)feed the flock? 3 You (D)eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you (E)slaughter the fat sheep without [e]feeding the flock. 4 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the [f]diseased you have not healed, (F)the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you (G)sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5 They were (H)scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became (I)food for every beast of the field and were scattered. 6 My flock (J)wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; (K)My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was (L)no one to search or seek for them.”’”
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely because My flock has become a (M)prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am (N)against the shepherds, and I will demand My [g]sheep [h]from them and make them (O)cease from feeding [i]sheep. So the shepherds will not [j]feed themselves anymore, but I will (P)deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”
The Restoration of Israel
11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will (Q)search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 (R)As a shepherd [k]cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered [l]sheep, so I will [m](S)care for My [n]sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a (T)cloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will (U)feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the (V)streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a (W)good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in [o](X)rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will (Y)feed My flock and I will [p]lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. 16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the (Z)fat and the strong I will destroy. I will (AA)feed them with judgment.
17 “As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will (AB)judge between one [q]sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. 18 Is it too (AC)slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must [r]foul the rest with your feet? 19 As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you [s]foul with your feet!’”
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with side and with shoulder, and (AD)thrust at all the [t]weak with your horns until you have scattered them [u]abroad, 22 therefore, I will (AE)deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another.
23 “Then I will (AF)set over them one (AG)shepherd, My servant (AH)David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant (AI)David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.
25 “I will make a (AJ)covenant of peace with them and (AK)eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may (AL)live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places around My hill a (AM)blessing. And I will cause (AN)showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of (AO)blessing. 27 Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be (AP)secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have (AQ)broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will (AR)live securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will establish for them a (AS)renowned planting place, and they will (AT)not again be [v]victims of famine in the land, and they will not (AU)endure the insults of the nations anymore. 30 Then they will know that (AV)I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God. 31 “As for you, My (AW)sheep, the (AX)sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 34:2 Lit them, the shepherds
- Ezekiel 34:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 34:2 Lit pasturing, pasture
- Ezekiel 34:2 Lit pasturing, pasture
- Ezekiel 34:3 Lit pasturing
- Ezekiel 34:4 Lit sick
- Ezekiel 34:10 Or (a) flock
- Ezekiel 34:10 Lit from their hand
- Ezekiel 34:10 Or (a) flock
- Ezekiel 34:10 Lit pasture, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 34:12 Or seek(s) out
- Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
- Ezekiel 34:12 Or seek(s) out
- Ezekiel 34:12 Or flock
- Ezekiel 34:14 Lit fat
- Ezekiel 34:15 Lit cause them to lie down
- Ezekiel 34:17 Or lamb
- Ezekiel 34:18 Lit foul by trampling
- Ezekiel 34:19 Lit foul by trampling
- Ezekiel 34:21 Or sick
- Ezekiel 34:21 Lit to the outside
- Ezekiel 34:29 Lit those gathered
John 10:1
New American Standard Bible 1995
Parable of the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is (A)a thief and a robber.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
