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Jeremiah 23
Easy-to-Read Version
Jeremiah 23
Easy-to-Read Version
23 “It will be very bad for the shepherds of the people of Judah. They are destroying the sheep. They are making the sheep run from my pasture in all directions.” This message is from the Lord.
2 They are responsible for my people. And this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You shepherds have made my sheep run away in all directions. You have forced them to go away, and you have not taken care of them. But I will take care of you—I will punish you for the evil things you did.” This message is from the Lord: 3 “I sent my sheep to other countries. But I will gather together my sheep that are left, and I will bring them back to their pasture. When my sheep are back in their pasture, they will have many children and grow in number. 4 I will place new shepherds over my sheep. They will take care of my sheep, and my sheep will never again feel afraid. None of my sheep will be lost.” This message is from the Lord.
The Good “Branch”
5 This message is from the Lord:
“The time is coming,
when I will raise up a good ‘branch’ from David’s family.
He will be a king who will rule in a wise way.
He will do what is fair and right in the land.
6 When he rules, Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
This will be his name:
The Lord Makes Things Right for Us.[a]
7 “So the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not make a promise by saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the one who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt ….’ 8 But people will say something new: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the one who brought the Israelites out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had sent them ….’ Then the people of Israel will live in their own land.”
Judgments Against False Prophets
9 A message to the prophets:
I am very sad—my heart is broken.
All my bones are shaking.
Because of the Lord and his holy words,
I am like a man who is drunk.
10 The land of Judah is full of people who commit adultery.
They are unfaithful in many ways.
So God cursed the land,
and it became very dry.
The plants are dried and dying in the pastures.
The fields have become like the desert.
The prophets are evil.
They use their influence and power in the wrong way.
11 This message is from the Lord:
“The prophets and even the priests are evil.
I have seen them doing evil things in my own Temple.
12 I will stop giving my messages to them.
They will walk in darkness.
The road will be slippery for those prophets and priests,
and they will fall in that darkness.
I will bring disaster on them;
I will punish them.”
This message is from the Lord.
13 “I saw the prophets of Samaria doing wrong things.
I saw them prophesy in the name of the false god Baal.
They led the people of Israel away from me.
14 I have even seen the prophets of Jerusalem doing sinful things.
They are committing adultery and living a life of lies.
They support their fellow prophets
and never stop doing evil.
They have become like Sodom;
they are all like Gomorrah.”
15 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says about those Jerusalem prophets:
“I will make them suffer.
Their food will be bitter, their water like poison.
I will punish them because they started a spiritual sickness
that spread through the whole country.”
16 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Don’t pay attention to what those prophets are saying to you.
They are trying to fool you.
They talk about visions,
but they did not get their visions from me.
Their visions come from their own minds.
17 Some of the people hate the real messages from the Lord,
so the prophets give them a different message.
They say, ‘You will have peace.’
Some of the people are very stubborn.
They do only what they want to do.
So the prophets say,
‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’
18 But none of these prophets has stood in the heavenly council.[b]
None of them has seen or heard the message from the Lord.
None of them has paid close attention to his message.
19 Now the punishment from the Lord will come like a storm.
His anger will be like a tornado.
It will come crashing down on the heads of those wicked people.
20 The Lord’s anger will not stop
until he finishes what he plans to do.
When that day is over,
you will understand this clearly.
21 I did not send those prophets,
but they ran to tell their messages.
I did not speak to them,
but they spoke in my name.
22 If they had stood in my heavenly council,
then they would have told my messages to the people of Judah.
They would have stopped the people from doing bad things.
They would have stopped them from doing evil.”
23 This message is from the Lord.
“I am God, and I am always near.
I am not far away.
24 Someone might try to hide from me in some hiding place.
But it is easy for me to see that person, says the Lord,
because I am everywhere in heaven and earth.”
This message is from the Lord: 25 “There are prophets who tell lies in my name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ I heard them say those things. 26 How long will this continue? They think up lies and then they teach them to the people. 27 They are trying to make the people of Judah forget my name by telling each other these false dreams. They are trying to make my people forget me, just as their ancestors forgot me and worshiped the false god Baal. 28 Straw is not the same as wheat! In the same way, the dreams of those prophets are not messages from me. If people want to tell about their dreams, let them. But those who hear my message must speak it truthfully.” This is what the Lord says. 29 Yes, the Lord says, “You must treat my message carefully, like a fire or like a hammer that can smash a rock.”
30 This message is from the Lord: “So I am against the false prophets. They keep stealing my words from each other.” 31 Yes, the Lord says, “I am against the false prophets. They use their own words and pretend that it is a message from me. 32 I am against the false prophets who tell false dreams.” This message is from the Lord. “They mislead my people with their lies and false teachings. I did not send them to teach the people. I never commanded them to do anything for me. They cannot help the people of Judah at all.” This message is from the Lord.
The Sad Message From the Lord
33 “The people of Judah, or a prophet, or a priest may ask you, ‘Jeremiah, what is the announcement of the Lord?’ You will answer them and say, ‘You are a heavy load[c], and I will throw down this heavy load.’ This message is from the Lord.
34 “A prophet, or a priest, or maybe one of the people might say, ‘This is an announcement from the Lord ….’ Because of that lie, I will punish that person and their whole family. 35 This is what you will say to one another: ‘What did the Lord answer?’ or ‘What did the Lord say?’ 36 But you will never again use the expression, ‘The announcement of the Lord.’ That is because his message should not be a heavy load for anyone. But you changed the words of our God. He is the living God, the Lord All-Powerful!
37 “If you want to learn about God’s message, ask a prophet, ‘What answer did the Lord give you?’ or ‘What did the Lord say?’ 38 But don’t say, ‘What was the announcement from the Lord?’ If you use these words, the Lord will say this to you: ‘You should not have called my message an “announcement from the Lord.” I told you not to use those words. 39 But you called my message a heavy load, so I will pick you up like a heavy load and throw you away from me. I gave the city of Jerusalem to your ancestors. But I will throw you and that city away from me, 40 and I will make you a disgrace forever. You will never forget your shame.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:6 The Lord Makes Things Right for Us This is a wordplay. In Hebrew this is like the name Zedekiah, the king of Judah at the time this prophecy was probably given. But Jeremiah is talking about another king.
- Jeremiah 23:18 heavenly council The people in the Old Testament often talk about God as the leader of a council of heavenly beings (angels). Compare 1 Kings 22:19-23; Isa. 6:1-8 and Job 1 and 2.
- Jeremiah 23:33 heavy load This is a wordplay. The Hebrew word for “announcement” is like the word translated “heavy load.”
Jeremiah 23
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 23
English Standard Version
The Righteous Branch
23 (A)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning (B)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. (C)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 (D)Then I will gather the remnant of my flock (E)out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, (F)and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 (G)I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
5 (H)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous (I)Branch, and (J)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and (K)Israel will (L)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: (M)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
7 (N)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he[a] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
(O)My heart is broken within me;
(P)all my bones shake;
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.
10 (Q)For the land is full of adulterers;
(R)because of the curse (S)the land mourns,
and (T)the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
(U)Their course is evil,
and their might is not right.
11 (V)“Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even (W)in my house I have found their evil,
declares the Lord.
12 (X)Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths (Y)in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall,
for I will bring disaster upon them
(Z)in the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
13 In the prophets of (AA)Samaria
(AB)I saw an unsavory thing:
(AC)they prophesied by Baal
(AD)and led my people Israel astray.
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
(AE)they commit adultery and walk in lies;
(AF)they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
(AG)all of them have become like Sodom to me,
(AH)and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
(AI)“Behold, I will feed them with bitter food
(AJ)and give them (AK)poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has gone out into all the land.”
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, (AL)filling you with vain hopes. (AM)They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, (AN)‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who (AO)stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, (AP)‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
18 For (AQ)who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
19 (AR)Behold, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
(AS)a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
20 (AT)The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and (AU)accomplished
the intents of his heart.
(AV)In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
21 (AW)“I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 (AX)But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
(AY)and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and (AZ)from the evil of their deeds.
23 (BA)“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 (BB)Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. (BC)Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said (BD)who prophesy lies in my name, saying, (BE)‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of (BF)the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name (BG)by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their (BH)fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 (BI)Let the prophet who has a dream (BJ)tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. (BK)What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 (BL)Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and (BM)like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 (BN)Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and (BO)lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when (BP)I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.
33 (BQ)“When one of 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,[b] and (BR)I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ (BS)I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and (BT)you pervert the words of (BU)the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to 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, behold, I will surely lift you up[c] and (BV)cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 (BW)And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and (BX)perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:8 Septuagint; Hebrew I
- Jeremiah 23:33 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew What burden?
- Jeremiah 23:39 Or surely forget you
Jérémie 23
Louis Segond
Jérémie 23
Louis Segond
23 Malheur aux pasteurs qui détruisent et dispersent Le troupeau de mon pâturage! dit l'Éternel.
2 C'est pourquoi ainsi parle l'Éternel, le Dieu d'Israël, Sur les pasteurs qui paissent mon peuple: Vous avez dispersé mes brebis, vous les avez chassées, Vous n'en avez pas pris soin; Voici, je vous châtierai à cause de la méchanceté de vos actions, Dit l'Éternel.
3 Et je rassemblerai le reste de mes brebis De tous les pays où je les ai chassées; Je les ramènerai dans leur pâturage; Elles seront fécondes et multiplieront.
4 J'établirai sur elles des pasteurs qui les paîtront; Elles n'auront plus de crainte, plus de terreur, Et il n'en manquera aucune, dit l'Éternel.
5 Voici, les jours viennent, dit l'Éternel, Où je susciterai à David un germe juste; Il régnera en roi et prospérera, Il pratiquera la justice et l'équité dans le pays.
6 En son temps, Juda sera sauvé, Israël aura la sécurité dans sa demeure; Et voici le nom dont on l'appellera: L'Éternel notre justice.
7 C'est pourquoi voici, les jours viennent, dit l'Éternel, Où l'on ne dira plus: L'Éternel est vivant, Lui qui a fait monter du pays d'Égypte les enfants d'Israël!
8 Mais on dira: L'Éternel est vivant, Lui qui a fait monter et qui a ramené La postérité de la maison d'Israël du pays du septentrion Et de tous les pays où je les avais chassés! Et ils habiteront dans leur pays.
9 Sur les prophètes. Mon coeur est brisé au dedans de moi, Tous mes os tremblent; Je suis comme un homme ivre, Comme un homme pris de vin, A cause de l'Éternel et à cause de ses paroles saintes.
10 Car le pays est rempli d'adultères; Le pays est en deuil à cause de la malédiction; Les plaines du désert sont desséchées. Ils courent au mal, Ils n'ont de la force que pour l'iniquité.
11 Prophètes et sacrificateurs sont corrompus; Même dans ma maison j'ai trouvé leur méchanceté, Dit l'Éternel.
12 C'est pourquoi leur chemin sera glissant et ténébreux, Ils seront poussés et ils tomberont; Car je ferai venir sur eux le malheur, L'année où je les châtierai, dit l'Éternel.
13 Dans les prophètes de Samarie j'ai vu de l'extravagance; Ils ont prophétisé par Baal, Ils ont égaré mon peuple d'Israël.
14 Mais dans les prophètes de Jérusalem j'ai vu des choses horribles; Ils sont adultères, ils marchent dans le mensonge; Ils fortifient les mains des méchants, Afin qu'aucun ne revienne de sa méchanceté; Ils sont tous à mes yeux comme Sodome, Et les habitants de Jérusalem comme Gomorrhe.
15 C'est pourquoi ainsi parle l'Éternel des armées sur les prophètes: Voici, je vais les nourrir d'absinthe, Et je leur ferai boire des eaux empoisonnées; Car c'est par les prophètes de Jérusalem Que l'impiété s'est répandue dans tout le pays.
16 Ainsi parle l'Éternel des armées: N'écoutez pas les paroles des prophètes qui vous prophétisent! Ils vous entraînent à des choses de néant; Ils disent les visions de leur coeur, Et non ce qui vient de la bouche de l'Éternel.
17 Ils disent à ceux qui me méprisent: L'Éternel a dit: Vous aurez la paix; Et ils disent à tous ceux qui suivent les penchants de leur coeur: Il ne vous arrivera aucun mal.
18 Qui donc a assisté au conseil de l'Éternel Pour voir, pour écouter sa parole? Qui a prêté l'oreille à sa parole, qui l'a entendue?
19 Voici, la tempête de l'Éternel, la fureur éclate, L'orage se précipite, Il fond sur la tête des méchants.
20 La colère de l'Éternel ne se calmera pas, Jusqu'à ce qu'il ait accompli, exécuté les desseins de son coeur. Vous le comprendrez dans la suite des temps.
21 Je n'ai point envoyé ces prophètes, et ils ont couru; Je ne leur ai point parlé, et ils ont prophétisé.
22 S'ils avaient assisté à mon conseil, Ils auraient dû faire entendre mes paroles à mon peuple, Et les faire revenir de leur mauvaise voie, De la méchanceté de leurs actions.
23 Ne suis-je un Dieu que de près, dit l'Éternel, Et ne suis-je pas aussi un Dieu de loin?
24 Quelqu'un se tiendra-t-il dans un lieu caché, Sans que je le voie? dit l'Éternel. Ne remplis-je pas, moi, les cieux et la terre? dit l'Éternel.
25 J'ai entendu ce que disent les prophètes Qui prophétisent en mon nom le mensonge, disant: J'ai eu un songe! j'ai eu un songe!
26 Jusques à quand ces prophètes veulent-ils prophétiser le mensonge, Prophétiser la tromperie de leur coeur?
27 Ils pensent faire oublier mon nom à mon peuple Par les songes que chacun d'eux raconte à son prochain, Comme leurs pères ont oublié mon nom pour Baal.
28 Que le prophète qui a eu un songe raconte ce songe, Et que celui qui a entendu ma parole rapporte fidèlement ma parole. Pourquoi mêler la paille au froment? dit l'Éternel.
29 Ma parole n'est-elle pas comme un feu, dit l'Éternel, Et comme un marteau qui brise le roc?
30 C'est pourquoi voici, dit l'Éternel, j'en veux aux prophètes Qui se dérobent mes paroles l'un à l'autre.
31 Voici, dit l'Éternel, j'en veux aux prophètes Qui prennent leur propre parole et la donnent pour ma parole.
32 Voici, dit l'Éternel, j'en veux à ceux qui prophétisent des songes faux, Qui les racontent, et qui égarent mon peuple Par leurs mensonges et par leur témérité; Je ne les ai point envoyés, je ne leur ai point donné d'ordre, Et ils ne sont d'aucune utilité à ce peuple, dit l'Éternel.
33 Si ce peuple, ou un prophète, ou un sacrificateur te demande: Quelle est la menace de l'Éternel? Tu leur diras quelle est cette menace: Je vous rejetterai, dit l'Éternel.
34 Et le prophète, le sacrificateur, ou celui du peuple Qui dira: Menace de l'Éternel, Je le châtierai, lui et sa maison.
35 Vous direz, chacun à son prochain, chacun à son frère: Qu'a répondu l'Éternel? Qu'a dit l'Éternel?
36 Mais vous ne direz plus: Menace de l'Éternel! Car la parole de chacun sera pour lui une menace; Vous tordez les paroles du Dieu vivant, De l'Éternel des armées, notre Dieu.
37 Tu diras au prophète: Que t'a répondu l'Éternel? Qu'a dit l'Éternel?
38 Et si vous dites encore: Menace de l'Éternel! Alors ainsi parle l'Éternel: Parce que vous dites ce mot: Menace de l'Éternel! Quoique j'aie envoyé vers vous pour dire: Vous ne direz pas: Menace de l'Éternel!
39 A cause de cela voici, je vous oublierai, Et je vous rejetterai, vous et la ville Que j'avais donnée à vous et à vos pères, Je vous rejetterai loin de ma face;
40 Je mettrai sur vous un opprobre éternel Et une honte éternelle, Qui ne s'oublieront pas.
Jeremiah 23
New International Version
Jeremiah 23
New International Version
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds(A) who are destroying and scattering(B) the sheep of my pasture!”(C) declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds(D) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock(E) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil(F) you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant(G) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,(H) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds(I) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid(J) or terrified, nor will any be missing,(K)” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch,(L)
a King(M) who will reign(N) wisely
and do what is just and right(O) in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.(P)
This is the name(Q) by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.(R)
7 “So then, the days are coming,”(S) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(T) 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”(U)
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart(V) is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.(W)
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and his holy words.(X)
10 The land is full of adulterers;(Y)
because of the curse[b](Z) the land lies parched
and the pastures(AA) in the wilderness are withered.(AB)
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;(AC)
even in my temple(AD) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;(AE)
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,(AF)”
declares the Lord.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal(AG)
and led my people Israel astray.(AH)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:(AI)
They commit adultery and live a lie.(AJ)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(AK)
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(AL)
They are all like Sodom(AM) to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(AN)
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,(AO)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness(AP) has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen(AQ) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(AR) from their own minds,
not from the mouth(AS) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(AT) to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(AU)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(AV) of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm(AW) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(AX) of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(AY) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(AZ) swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(BA) of the Lord will not turn back(BB)
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(BC) 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,(BD)
they would have proclaimed(BE) my words to my people
and would have turned(BF) them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.(BG)
23 “Am I only a God nearby,(BH)”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(BI) in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(BJ)
declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(BK) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(BL) I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions(BM) of their own minds?(BN) 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget(BO) my name, just as their ancestors forgot(BP) my name through Baal worship.(BQ) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream(BR) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word(BS) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”(BT) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer(BU) that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against(BV) the prophets(BW) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’(BX) 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(BY)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(BZ) with their reckless lies,(CA) yet I did not send(CB) or appoint them. They do not benefit(CC) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message(CD) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake(CE) you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message(CF) from the Lord,’ I will punish(CG) them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’(CH) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort(CI) the words of the living God,(CJ) the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast(CK) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace(CL)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or up from David’s line
- Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
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Louis Segond (LSG)
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