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
Lexham English Bible
Woe to the Evil Shepherds
23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture,” declares[a] Yahweh. 2 Therefore[b] thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people, “You yourselves have scattered my flock, and you have driven them away, and you do not attend to them. Look, I will punish you for the evil of your deeds,” declares[c] Yahweh. 3 “Then I myself will gather together the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their grazing place, and they will be fruitful, and they will become numerous. 4 And I will raise up over them shepherds, and they will shepherd them, and they will no longer fear, and they will not be dismayed, and they will not be missing,” declares[d] Yahweh.
The Righteous Branch
5 “Look, days are coming,” declares[e] Yahweh,
“when I will raise up for David a righteous branch,
and he will reign as king, and he will achieve success,
and he will do justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell in safety,[f]
and this is his name by which he will be called:
‘Yahweh is our righteousness.’
7 “Therefore[g] look, days are coming,” declares[h] Yahweh, “when they will no longer say, ‘As Yahweh lives,[i] who led up the Israelites[j] from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As Yahweh lives,[k] who led up, and who brought the offspring of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where he had driven them.’ Then they will live in their land.”
The Unfaithful Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken in my midst.
All my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunken man,
even like a man over whom wine has passed,
because of Yahweh,
and because of his holy words.[l]
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
for the land mourns because of a curse.
The pastures of the desert[m] are dry,
and their evil has been their way of running,
and their power is not right.
11 “For both prophet as well as priest are godless,
even in my temple I have found their wickedness,” declares[n] Yahweh.
12 “Therefore[o] their way will be to them like the slippery places,
they will be pushed in the darkness,
and they will fall into it,
for I will bring disaster on them in the year of their punishment,” declares[p] Yahweh.
13 “Now in the prophets of Samaria I saw a disgusting thing.
They prophesied by Baal and they caused my people Israel to err.
14 And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible.
They commit adultery, and they walk in lies,[q]
and they make strong the hands of evildoers,
so that they have not turned back each from his wickedness.
All of them have become to me like Sodom,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore[r] thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets,
“Look, I am going to let them eat wormwood
and I will give them water of poison to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
went out ungodliness to all the land.”
16 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“You must not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They are deluding you with visions of their mind,[s]
They do not speak from the mouth of Yahweh.
17 They are[t] continually saying to those who disregard the word of Yahweh,
‘Peace it will be to you,’
and to each one[u] who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they say,
‘Calamity will not come upon you.’
18 For who has stood in the council of Yahweh,
that he has seen and heard his word?
Who has listened attentively to his word
and heard it?[v]
19 Look, the storm of Yahweh has gone forth in wrath,
even a whirling tempest.
It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger[w] of Yahweh will not turn back
until his doing and until his keeping the plans of his mind.[x]
In latter days[y] you will look closely at it with understanding.
21 I have not sent the prophets, yet they ran.
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have caused them to turn from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.
23 Am I a God from near,” declares[z] Yahweh,
“and not a God from far?
24 Or can a person hide himself in secret places
and I cannot see him?” declares[aa] Yahweh.
“Do I not fill up the heaven and the earth?” declares[ab] Yahweh.
25 “I have heard what the prophets who prophesy lies[ac] have said in my name, saying,[ad] ‘I have dreamed! I have dreamed!’ 26 How long[ae] will this be in the hearts[af] of the prophets who prophesy lies,[ag] even the prophets of the deceitfulness of their hearts,[ah] 27 who plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell each one to his neighbor, just as their ancestors[ai] forgot my name through Baal? 28 The prophet who has with him a dream, let him tell the dream. But the prophet[aj] who has my word with him, let him speak my word faithfully. What is straw compared to wheat?”[ak] declares[al] Yahweh. 29 “Is not my word like fire?” declares[am] Yahweh, “and like a blacksmith’s hammer that breaks a rock into pieces?
30 “Therefore[an] look, I am against the prophets,” declares[ao] Yahweh, “who steal my words each one from his neighbor. 31 Look, I am against the prophets,” declares[ap] Yahweh, “who take their tongues[aq] and declare as prophets, ‘Yahweh declares.’[ar] 32 Look, I am against those who prophesy dreams of lies,”[as] declares[at] Yahweh, “and tell them, and they caused my people to err through their lies, and in their recklessness, when I myself have not sent them nor commanded them, so they profit not this people at all,” declares[au] Yahweh.
33 “Now when this people, or a prophet, or a priest, ask you, saying,[av] ‘What is the burden[aw] of Yahweh?’ then you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,[ax] and I will forsake you,’” declares[ay] Yahweh. 34 “And the prophet, and the priest, and the people who say, ‘The burden[az] of Yahweh,’ I will punish that man and his house. 35 Thus you shall say, each one to his neighbor and each one to his brother: ‘What has Yahweh answered?’ or, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ 36 But you shall not mention the burden[ba] of Yahweh, for the burden[bb] is to each one his word, and so you twist the words of the living God, Yahweh of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to that prophet, ‘What has Yahweh answered you?’ or, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden[bc] of Yahweh,’ therefore[bd] thus says Yahweh, ‘because of your saying these words,[be] “The burden[bf] of Yahweh,” then I will send to you, saying,[bg] “You shall not say, ‘The burden[bh] of Yahweh.’”’ 39 Therefore[bi] look, here I am, and I will surely lift you up and forsake you and the city that I gave to you and to your ancestors[bj] from my presence[bk], 40 and I will bring upon you an everlasting disgrace[bl] and an everlasting shame[bm] that will not be forgotten.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:1 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:2 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:2 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:4 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:5 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:6 Literally “with confidence”
- Jeremiah 23:7 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:7 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:7 Literally “the life of Yahweh”
- Jeremiah 23:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Jeremiah 23:8 Literally “the life of Yahweh”
- Jeremiah 23:9 Literally “words of his holiness”
- Jeremiah 23:10 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 23:11 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:12 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:14 Hebrew “the lie”
- Jeremiah 23:15 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:16 Literally “heart”
- Jeremiah 23:17 Here the subject and verb are supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 23:17 Literally “all”
- Jeremiah 23:18 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 23:20 Literally “nose”
- Jeremiah 23:20 Literally “heart”
- Jeremiah 23:20 Literally “In the last of the days”
- Jeremiah 23:23 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:24 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:24 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:25 Hebrew “lie”
- Jeremiah 23:25 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 23:26 Literally “Until when”
- Jeremiah 23:26 Hebrew “heart”
- Jeremiah 23:26 Hebrew “the lie”
- Jeremiah 23:26 Hebrew “heart”
- Jeremiah 23:27 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 23:28 Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 23:28 Literally “What to the straw in comparison with the wheat”
- Jeremiah 23:28 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:29 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:30 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:30 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:31 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:31 Hebrew “tongue”
- Jeremiah 23:31 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:32 Hebrew “lie”
- Jeremiah 23:32 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:32 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:33 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:33 Literally “What burden”
- Jeremiah 23:33 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:34 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:36 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:36 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:38 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:38 Literally “to thus”
- Jeremiah 23:38 Hebrew “word”
- Jeremiah 23:38 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:38 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 23:38 Or “oracle”
- Jeremiah 23:39 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:39 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 23:39 Literally “my face”
- Jeremiah 23:40 Literally “a disgrace of eternity”
- Jeremiah 23:40 Literally “a shame of eternity”
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