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False Prophets Condemned

As for the prophets:
My (A)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 Yahweh
And because of His holy words.
10 For the land is full of (B)adulterers;
For the land (C)mourns because of the curse.
The (D)pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course also is evil,
And their might is not right.
11 “For (E)both prophet and priest are polluted;
Even in My house I have found their evil,” declares Yahweh.
12 “Therefore their way will be like (F)slippery paths to them;
They will be driven away into the (G)thick darkness and fall down in it;
For I will bring their (H)evil upon them,
The year of their [a]punishment,” declares Yahweh.

13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an (I)offensive thing:
They (J)prophesied by Baal and (K)led My people Israel astray.
14 Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen an (L)appalling thing:
The committing of (M)adultery and walking in lying;
And they strengthen the hands of (N)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his evil.
All of them have become to Me like (O)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the prophets,

‘Behold, I am going to (P)feed them wormwood
And make them drink [b]poisoned water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’”

16 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,

(Q)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are (R)leading you into vanity;
They speak a (S)vision of their own heart,
Not (T)from the mouth of Yahweh.
17 They keep saying to those who (U)spurn Me,
‘Yahweh has said, “(V)You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the (W)stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘(X)Evil will not come upon you.’
18 But (Y)who has stood in the council of Yahweh,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has given (Z)heed to [c]His word and heard?
19 Behold, the (AA)storm of Yahweh has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling storm;
It will whirl down on the head of the wicked.
20 The (AB)anger of Yahweh will not turn back
Until He has (AC)done and established the purposes of His heart;
(AD)In the last days you will clearly understand it.
21 (AE)I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
22 But if they had (AF)stood in My council,
Then they would have (AG)caused My words to be heard by 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 (AH)near,” declares Yahweh,
“And not a God far off?
24 Can a man (AI)hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares Yahweh.
(AJ)Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares Yahweh.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:12 Or visitation
  2. Jeremiah 23:15 Or gall
  3. Jeremiah 23:18 Or My

An Oracle about False Prophets

Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me,
    and all my bones shake.
I’m like a drunk man,
    like a person overcome with wine,
because of the Lord,
    and because of his holy words.
10 Indeed, the land is full of adulterers.
    Indeed, the land mourns because of the curse;
        the pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
The adulterers’[a] lifestyles are evil,
    and they use[b] their strength for what[c] is not right.
11 Indeed, both priest and prophet are ungodly.
    Even in my house I find evil,” declares the Lord.
12 Therefore their way will be slippery.
    They’ll be driven out into the darkness,
        where they’ll fall.
For I’ll bring disaster on them,
    the year of their judgment,”
        declares the Lord.

13 “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw a disgusting thing,
    for they prophesied by Baal
        and led my people Israel astray.
14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem I saw a horrible thing,
    for they commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of those who do evil,
    so that no one repents of his evil.
All of them are like Sodom to me,
    and her[d] residents like Gomorrah.”

15 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies says about the prophets,

“I’m about to make them eat wormwood[e]
    and drink poisoned water,
because godlessness has spread from the
    prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.”

16 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:

“Don’t listen to the words of the prophets
    who are prophesying to you;
        they’re giving you false hopes.
They declare visions from their own minds—
    they don’t come from the Lord![f]
17 They keep on saying to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace.”’
To all who stubbornly follow their own desires[g] they say,
    ‘Disaster won’t come upon you.’
18 But who has stood in the Lord’s council
    to see and hear his message?
        Who has paid attention to his message and obeyed it?[h]
19 Look, the storm of the Lord’s wrath has gone forth,
    a whirling tempest,
and it will swirl down
    around the head of the wicked.
20 The Lord’s anger won’t turn back
    until he has accomplished
        what he intended to do.
In the future
    you will clearly understand it.
21 I didn’t send these prophets,[i]
    but they ran anyway.
I didn’t speak to them,
    but they prophesied.
22 If they had stood in my council
    and had delivered my words to my people,
then they would have turned them back
    from their evil way,
        from their evil deeds.”

23 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
    “rather than a God who is far away?
24 If a person hides himself in secret places,
    will I not see him?”
        declares the Lord.
“I fill the heavens and the earth, do I not?”
    declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:10 Lit. Their
  2. Jeremiah 23:10 The Heb. lacks they use
  3. Jeremiah 23:10 The Heb. lacks for what
  4. Jeremiah 23:14 I.e. Jerusalem’s
  5. Jeremiah 23:15 Wormwood is a plant with an extremely bitter taste
  6. Jeremiah 23:16 Lit. not from the mouth of the Lord
  7. Jeremiah 23:17 Lit. walk in the stubbornness of their heart
  8. Jeremiah 23:18 Or listened to
  9. Jeremiah 23:21 Lit. prophets

Lying Prophets

Concerning the prophets:

My heart(A) is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.(B)
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.(C)
10 The land is full of adulterers;(D)
    because of the curse[a](E) the land lies parched
    and the pastures(F) in the wilderness are withered.(G)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

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

13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal(L)
    and led my people Israel astray.(M)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:(N)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.(O)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(P)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(Q)
They are all like Sodom(R) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(S)

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

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

16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen(V) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(W) from their own minds,
    not from the mouth(X) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(Y) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(Z)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(AA) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm(AB) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(AC) of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(AD) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(AE) swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(AF) of the Lord will not turn back(AG)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(AH) these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,(AI)
    they would have proclaimed(AJ) my words to my people
and would have turned(AK) them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.(AL)

23 “Am I only a God nearby,(AM)
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(AN) in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(AO)
declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things