Jeremiah 23:1-15
New King James Version
The Branch of Righteousness
23 “Woe (A)to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. (B)Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. 3 “But (C)I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 I will set up (D)shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
5 “Behold, (E)the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and [a]prosper,
(F)And execute [b]judgment and righteousness in the [c]earth.
6 (G)In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel (H)will dwell safely;
Now (I)this is His name by which He will be called:
[d]THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 “Therefore, behold, (J)the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country (K)and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own (L)land.”
False Prophets and Empty Oracles
9 My heart within me is broken
Because of the prophets;
(M)All my bones shake.
I am like a drunken man,
And like a man whom wine has overcome,
Because of the Lord,
And because of His holy words.
10 For (N)the land is full of adulterers;
For (O)because of a curse the land mourns.
(P)The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course of life is evil,
And their might is not right.
11 “For (Q)both prophet and priest are profane;
Yes, (R)in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord.
12 “Therefore(S) their way shall be to them
Like slippery ways;
In the darkness they shall be driven on
And fall in them;
For I (T)will bring disaster on them,
The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
13 “And I have seen [e]folly in the prophets of Samaria:
(U)They prophesied by Baal
And (V)caused My people Israel to err.
14 Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:
(W)They commit adultery and walk in lies;
They also (X)strengthen the hands of evildoers,
So that no one turns back from his wickedness.
All of them are like (Y)Sodom to Me,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
‘Behold, I will feed them with (Z)wormwood,
And make them drink the water of gall;
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
[f]Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:5 act wisely
- Jeremiah 23:5 justice
- Jeremiah 23:5 land
- Jeremiah 23:6 Heb. YHWH Tsidkenu
- Jeremiah 23:13 Lit. distastefulness
- Jeremiah 23:15 Or Pollution
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
