Jeremiah 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Restoration after Exile
23 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord.(A) 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.(B) 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall no longer fear or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.(C)
The Righteous Branch of David
5 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.(D) 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”(E)
7 Therefore the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, “As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,”(F) 8 but “As the Lord lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he[a] had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land.
False Prophets of Hope Denounced
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is crushed within me;
all my bones shake;
I have become like a drunkard,
like one overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.(G)
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land mourns,
and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course has been evil,
and their might is not right.(H)
11 Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in my house I have found their wickedness,
says the Lord.(I)
12 Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall,
for I will bring disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.(J)
13 In the prophets of Samaria
I saw a disgusting thing:
they prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.(K)
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a more shocking thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from wickedness;
all of them have become like Sodom to me
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.(L)
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
I am going to make them eat wormwood
and give them poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land.(M)
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they are deluding you. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.(N) 17 They keep saying to those who despise the word of the Lord,[b] “It shall be well with you,” and to all who stubbornly follow their own stubborn hearts, they say, “No calamity shall come upon you.”(O)
18 For who has stood in the council of the Lord
so as to see and to hear his word?
Who has given heed to his word so as to proclaim it?(P)
19 Look, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.(Q)
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intents of his mind.
In the latter days you will understand it clearly.(R)
21 I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.(S)
22 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way
and from the evil of their doings.(T)
23 Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off?(U) 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.(V) 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed! I have dreamed!”(W) 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.(X) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord.(Y) 29 Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?(Z) 30 See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another.(AA) 31 See, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their own tongues and say, “Says the Lord.” 32 See, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and who tell them and who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or command them, so they do not profit this people at all, says the Lord.
33 When this people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the burden of the Lord?” you shall say to them, “You are the burden.[c] I will cast you off, says the Lord.”(AB) 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or the people who say, “The burden of the Lord,” I will punish them and their households.(AC) 35 Thus shall you say to one another, among yourselves, “What has the Lord answered?” or “What has the Lord spoken?”(AD) 36 But “the burden of the Lord” you shall mention no more, for the burden is everyone’s own word, and so you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.(AE) 37 Thus you shall ask the prophet, “What has the Lord answered you?” or “What has the Lord spoken?” 38 But if you say, “the burden of the Lord,” thus says the Lord: Because you have said these words, “the burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘the burden of the Lord,’ ” 39 therefore, I will surely lift you up[d] and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your ancestors.(AF) 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace and perpetual shame that shall not be forgotten.(AG)
Jeremiah 23
Common English Bible
Promise of restoration
23 Watch out, you shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims about the shepherds who “tend to” my people: You are the ones who have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven’t attended to their needs, so I will take revenge on you for the terrible things you have done to them, declares the Lord. 3 I myself will gather the few remaining sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will place over them shepherds who care for them. Then they will no longer be afraid or dread harm, nor will any be missing, declares the Lord.
Promise of a righteous and just king
5 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendant[a] from David’s line, and he will rule as a wise king. He will do what is just and right in the land. 6 During his lifetime, Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And his name will be The Lord Is Our Righteousness.[b]
7 So the time is coming, declares the Lord, when no one will say, “As the Lord lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of Egypt.” 8 Instead, they will say, “As the Lord lives who brought up the descendants of the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where he[c] has banished them so that they can live in their own land.”
Oracles against the prophets
9 As for the prophets:
My heart inside me is broken;
my body aches.[d]
I stagger like a drunk
who has had too much wine to drink,
because of the Lord
and because of God’s holy words.
10 Because the country teems
with adulterers,
because of them,[e]
yes, because their might isn’t right
and their way is evil,
the land dries up,
and the grazing areas in the wilderness wither.[f]
11 Both prophet and priest are godless;
I even find their evil in my temple,
declares the Lord.
12 Therefore, they will find themselves on slippery ground
and will be thrust into darkness,
where they will collapse.
I will bring disaster upon them,
when their time comes, declares the Lord.
13 In the prophets of Samaria
I saw something shocking:
They prophesied by Baal
and led astray my people Israel.
14 In the prophets of Jerusalem
I saw something horrible:
They commit adultery and tell lies.
They encourage evildoers
so that no one turns from their wickedness.
In my eyes, they are no better than Sodom;
its people are like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of heavenly forces proclaims concerning the prophets:
I’m going to feed them bitter food
and give them poison to drink.
Wickedness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem
throughout the land.
16 The Lord proclaims:
Don’t listen to the prophets
who are speaking to you;
they are deceiving you.
Their visions come from their own hearts,
not from the Lord’s mouth.
17 They keep saying to those who scorn God’s message,
“All will go well for you,”
and to those who follow their own willful hearts,
“Nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 But who has stood in the Lord’s council
to listen to God’s word?
Who has paid attention to his word and announced it?
19 Look! The Lord’s angry storm breaks out;
it whirls around the heads of the wicked.
20 The Lord’s fierce anger
won’t turn back
until it accomplishes all that he has planned.
In the days to come,
you will understand what this means.
21 I didn’t send the prophets,
yet they ran anyway.
I didn’t speak to them,
yet they prophesied anyway.
22 If they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed
my words to my people;
they would have turned them
from their evil ways and deeds.
23 The Lord declares, Am I a God
who is only nearby and not far off?
24 Can people hide themselves in secret places
so I might not see them?
Don’t I fill heaven and earth?
25 I have heard the prophets prophesying lies in my name. They claim, “I’ve had a dream; I’ve had a dream!” 26 How long will deceitful prophecies dominate the minds of the prophets? Those prophets are treacherous. 27 They scheme to make my people forget me by their dreams that people tell each other, just as their ancestors forgot me because of Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream declare it, but let the one who has my word proclaim it faithfully.
What a difference between straw and wheat!
declares the Lord.
29 Isn’t my word like fire
and like a hammer that shatters rock?
declares the Lord.
30 Therefore, I’m against the prophets
who steal my words from each other,
declares the Lord.
31 I’m against the prophets
who carelessly deliver oracles,[g]
declares the Lord.
32 I’m against the prophets who dream up lies
and then proclaim them,
declares the Lord.
With their reckless lies,
they lead my people astray.
I didn’t send them;
I didn’t commission them.
They are completely useless to these people,
declares the Lord.
33 When these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the Lord’s message?”[h] say to them, “What message? I will cast you off, declares the Lord.” 34 I will punish anyone, including prophet or priest, who says, “This is the Lord’s message.” 35 This is what you should ask each other: “What has the Lord said?” “What has the Lord declared?” 36 But you are no longer to mention the Lord’s message, because everyone thinks they have received a message from the Lord. You destroy the very word of the living God, the Lord of heavenly forces, our God. 37 So this is what you should say to the prophet: “What has the Lord said to you?” “What has the Lord declared?” 38 But if you insist on saying, “This is the Lord’s message,” the Lord says to you: Because you have made this claim—this is the Lord’s message—when I told you not to proclaim the Lord’s message, 39 I will lift you up[i] and cast you out of my presence, together with the city that I gave to your ancestors. 40 I will make you an object of disgrace and enduring shame that no one will ever forget.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or branch
- Jeremiah 23:6 Or of Our Righteousness, possibly a play on the name Zedekiah
- Jeremiah 23:8 Or I
- Jeremiah 23:9 Heb uncertain; or my bones shake
- Jeremiah 23:10 LXX; MT a curse
- Jeremiah 23:10 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 23:31 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden
- Jeremiah 23:39 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT forget you
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible