Jeremiah 23
Legacy Standard Bible
The Righteous Branch
23 “(A)Woe to the shepherds who are [a](B)destroying and scattering the (C)sheep of My pasture!” declares Yahweh. 2 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who are shepherding My people: “You have scattered My flock and banished them and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to (D)attend to you for the (E)evil of your deeds,” declares Yahweh. 3 “Then I Myself will (F)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the land where I have banished them and cause them to return to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will also raise up (G)shepherds over them, and they will [b]shepherd them; and they will (H)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, (I)nor will any be left unattended,” declares Yahweh.
5 “Behold, the (J)days are coming,” declares Yahweh,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous [c](K)Branch;
And He will (L)reign as king and [d]prosper
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,
‘(P)Yahweh our righteousness.’
7 “(Q)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when they will no longer say, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 (R)but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who (S)brought up and brought back the seed of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the lands where I had banished them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”
False Prophets Condemned
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 Yahweh
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 evil,” declares Yahweh.
12 “Therefore their way will be like (Y)slippery paths to them;
They will be driven away into the (Z)thick darkness and fall down in it;
For I will bring their (AA)evil upon them,
The year of their [e]punishment,” declares Yahweh.
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 an (AE)appalling thing:
The committing of (AF)adultery and walking in lying;
And they strengthen the hands of (AG)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his evil.
All of them have become to Me like (AH)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the prophets,
‘Behold, I am going to (AI)feed them wormwood
And make them drink [f]poisoned water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Pollution has gone forth into all the land.’”
16 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“(AJ)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are (AK)leading you into vanity;
They speak a (AL)vision of their own heart,
Not (AM)from the mouth of Yahweh.
17 They keep saying to those who (AN)spurn Me,
‘Yahweh has said, “(AO)You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the (AP)stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘(AQ)Evil will not come upon you.’
18 But (AR)who has stood in the council of Yahweh,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has given (AS)heed to [g]His word and heard?
19 Behold, the (AT)storm of Yahweh has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling storm;
It will whirl down on the head of the wicked.
20 The (AU)anger of Yahweh will not turn back
Until He has (AV)done and established 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)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 (BA)near,” declares Yahweh,
“And not a God far off?
24 Can a man (BB)hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares Yahweh.
“(BC)Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares Yahweh.
25 “I have (BD)heard what the prophets have said who (BE)prophesy a lie 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 a lie, 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 recount to one another, just as their fathers (BI)forgot My name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may recount 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 Yahweh. 29 “Is not My word like (BL)fire?” declares Yahweh, “and like a (BM)hammer which shatters a rock? 30 Therefore behold, (BN)I am against the prophets,” declares Yahweh, “who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares Yahweh, “who take their tongues and declare, ‘Yahweh declares.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied (BO)lying dreams,” declares Yahweh, “and who recounted them and led My people astray by their lying and (BP)reckless boasting; yet (BQ)I did not send them, and I did not command them, and they do not (BR)furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares Yahweh.
33 “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, ‘What is the [h](BS)oracle of Yahweh?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What oracle?’ Yahweh declares, ‘I will (BT)abandon you.’ 34 Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The (BU)oracle of Yahweh,’ 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 Yahweh answered?’ or, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ 36 For you will no longer remember the oracle of Yahweh because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have (BW)perverted the words of the (BX)living God, Yahweh of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has Yahweh answered you?’ and, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ 38 For if you all say, ‘The oracle of Yahweh!’ surely thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of Yahweh!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of Yahweh!’”’ 39 Therefore behold, (BY)I will surely forget you and abandon you, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers, so that you are out of My presence. 40 I will put an everlasting (BZ)reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:1 Lit causing to perish
- Jeremiah 23:4 Or feed
- Jeremiah 23:5 Lit Sprout
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or act with insight
- Jeremiah 23:12 Or visitation
- Jeremiah 23:15 Or gall
- Jeremiah 23:18 Or My
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, so in ch
Jeremiah 23
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Righteous Branch
23 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord.
2 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd my people.
You have scattered my flock.
You have driven them away.
You have not taken care of them,
but I will certainly take care of you,
because of the evil things you have done,
declares the Lord.
3 I will gather what is left of my flock
out of all the countries where I have driven them,
and I will bring them back to their pastures.
They will be fruitful and multiply.
4 I will raise up shepherds over them
who will shepherd them.
They will no longer be afraid or terrified,
nor will any be missing, declares the Lord.
5 Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
who will reign wisely as king
and establish justice and righteousness on earth.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is his name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.
7 So, mark my words, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no longer be said, “As surely as the Lord lives who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,” 8 but, “as surely as the Lord lives who brought up the descendants of the house of Israel and led them out of a land in the north and from all the countries where I had driven them.” Then they will dwell in their own land.
Against False Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken inside me.
All my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord,
and because of his holy words.
10 Look, the land is full of adulterers.
Because of the curse, the land mourns.
The pastures in the wilderness are dried up.
Their way of life is evil,
and their use of power is unjust.
11 Both prophet and priest are godless.
I have found their wickedness even in my House,
declares the Lord.
12 Therefore, they will discover that their path
is like slippery places in the darkness.
They will be driven away,
and they will fall there,
because I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment, declares the Lord.
13 Among the prophets of Samaria[a]
I saw something offensive.
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14 Now among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrifying.
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns away from his wickedness.
They have all become like Sodom to me.
The people who live there are like Gomorrah.
15 So this is what the Lord of Armies says concerning the prophets.
Watch, I will feed them wormwood
and give them bitter water to drink,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has gone out into all the land.
16 This is what the Lord of Armies says.
Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They are giving you false hope.
They proclaim visions that come from their own hearts
and not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
“The Lord has said that you will have peace.”
And to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart,
they say, “No harm will come to you.”
18 But have any of them stood in the council of the Lord,
to see and hear his word?
Who has listened to his word and heard it?
19 Look, a storm from the Lord!
His wrath has gone out,
like a whirlwind twisting down,
whirling over the heads of the wicked.
20 The Lord’s anger will not turn back until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart. In later days you will understand it fully.
21 I did not send these prophets, yet they ran.
I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have made my people hear my words,
and they would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
23 Am I a God who is only nearby, declares the Lord,
and not a God far away?
24 Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
25 I have heard what the prophets who prophesy lies in my name have said. They say, “I have had a dream! I have had a dream!” 26 How long will this be in the hearts of these lying prophets? These prophets proclaim the fantasies of their own hearts. 27 They think they can make my people forget my name with the dreams each one tells his neighbor, the way their fathers forgot my name because of Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream. But let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully.
What has chaff to do with grain? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like a fire? declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 30 Therefore listen to this, declares the Lord. I am against the prophets who steal my words from each other. 31 Indeed, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their own tongues to say, “This is what the Lord declares!” 32 Yes, I am against those who prophesy about lying dreams, declares the Lord. I am against those who tell lying dreams to lead my people astray with their extravagant lies. But I did not send them or command them. They provide no benefit for this people, declares the Lord.
33 When these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the message[b] from the Lord?” say to them, “What is the message? This is the Lord’s message: I will abandon you.”
34 As for the prophet, the priest, or anyone who says “the message from the Lord,” I will punish that man and his household. 35 Each man will ask his neighbor, “What has the Lord answered?” or “What has the Lord said?” 36 But do not refer to “the message of the Lord” anymore, because each man’s word has become his own message, because you have perverted the words of the Living God, the Lord of Armies, our God.
37 You say this to the prophet: “What has the Lord answered you?” or “What has the Lord said?” 38 But if you say that you have the message[c] of the Lord, this is what the Lord says to you: Since you say “the message of the Lord,” although I have sent a message telling you not to say “the message of the Lord,” 39 watch out, because I will completely forget you and throw you out of my presence. I will abandon you and this city, which I gave to your fathers. 40 I will bring everlasting scorn and everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:13 Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 722 bc because of its idolatry. See 2 Kings 17:7-20.
- Jeremiah 23:33 The Hebrew word translated message also has the negative connotation burden. If this first line is translated what is the burden from the Lord, the Lord’s response may be translated you are the burden.
- Jeremiah 23:38 This word also has the negative connotation burden.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.