Jeremiah 23
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 23
Messianic Oracles. 1 Woe to the shepherds who lead astray and scatter the sheep of my pasture, says the Lord. 2 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has to say in regard to the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my flock and driven them away, and you showed not the slightest concern about taking care of them. Therefore, I will not hesitate to punish you for your evil deeds, says the Lord.
3 I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their meadows where they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will appoint shepherds for them who will treat them kindly, so that they will no longer fear or experience terror, nor will any be discovered missing, says the Lord.
5 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will raise up a righteous branch
from the line of David.
He will reign as king and rule wisely
and ensure justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah will live in safety,
and Israel will dwell in security.
And this is the name that will be given to him:
“The Lord Our Righteousness.”
7 Therefore, the days are coming, says the Lord, when people will no longer say, “As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt,” 8 but rather, “As the Lord lives who brought forth the offspring of the house of Israel up from the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had dispersed them.” Then they will again inhabit their own land.
The False Prophets[a]
9 As for the prophets,
my heart is broken within me,
and all my bones never cease to tremble.
I have become like a drunken man,
like someone overcome with wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.
10 For the land swarms with adulterers;
because of them the country mourns
and the pastures in the desert have withered.
11 Both the prophets and the priests are godless;
even in my own house have I observed their wickedness,
says the Lord.
12 Therefore, they will find that the paths they travel
will be slippery beneath their feet;
in the darkness where they are driven,
they will fall headlong.
For I will inflict disaster upon them
in the year of their punishment,
says the Lord.
13 Among the prophets of Samaria
I beheld this repulsive deed:
they prophesied in the name of Baal
and led my people astray.
14 But among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen deeds that are even more shocking:
they commit adultery and persist in lying
and uphold those who are evil
so that no one turns away from wickedness.
To me they have all become like Sodom,
and its inhabitants are like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts in regard to the prophets:
I intend to give them wormwood to eat
and force them to drink poisoned water.
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land.
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Do not listen to the words of the prophets;
their prophecies are designed to delude you.
They concoct visions from their own minds
and not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 To those who despise the word of the Lord
they say, “Peace will be yours.”
To those who follow their own stubborn inclinations
they say, “No harm will befall you.”
18 Yet which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Which of them has heeded his word and proclaimed it?
19 Behold the storm of the Lord!
His wrath bursts forth
like a frightening tempest
that whirls around the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not subside
until he has fully accomplished
the purposes he has in mind.
When the time comes,
you will understand this clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets,
yet they went forth in haste.
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have then proclaimed my words to my people
and caused them to turn back from their evil ways
and from the wickedness of their deeds.
23 The Lord asks:
Am I a God only when I am near at hand,
but not when I am far away?
24 Can someone hide in a secret place
so that I cannot see him?
Do I not fill heaven and earth?
25 I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. “I have had a dream,” they cry out. “I have had a dream.” 26 How much longer must we endure prophets who prophesy lies and proclaim their own delusions? 27 By means of the dreams that they relate to one another, they believe that they will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name and replaced it with Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream relate his dream, but let the one who receives my word deliver it truthfully.
What does straw have in common with wheat?
asks the Lord.
29 Is not my word like fire, says the Lord,
like a hammer shattering a rock?
30 Therefore, says the Lord, I have set myself in opposition to the prophets who steal my words from one another. 31 I am against those prophets who concoct their own prophecies and then assert, “Thus says the Lord.” 32 I am against those prophets who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and then recount them, thereby leading my people astray with their lies and reckless bragging. They have not received any commission from me, and so they are of no benefit to this people in any way, says the Lord.
33 And when this people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the burden of the Lord?” you are to reply, “You are the burden, and I will cast you off,” says the Lord. 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else speaks of “the burden of the Lord,” I will punish that man and his household.
35 Therefore, when speaking to one another, you are to ask, “What answer did the Lord give?” or “What did the Lord say?” 36 But you must never again speak of “the burden of the Lord,” because each man’s word becomes his own burden, and you therefore pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God.
37 Therefore, you are to ask a prophet, “What answer has the Lord given?” or “What has the Lord said?” 38 But if you say “the burden of the Lord,” the Lord will reply, “Because you have used the words ‘the burden of the Lord’ when I forbade you to use that expression, 39 therefore, I will lift you up and cast you away from my presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I will inflict upon you everlasting disgrace and eternal and unforgettable shame.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:9 Jeremiah is heartsick at these professional prophets who flatter the people instead of shaking them up, and who take their dreams as the word of God or accommodate their message to the tastes of the day.
Jeremiah 23
King James Version
23 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.
3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.
7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness.
10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.
12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.
16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
17 They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?
24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.
29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord.
34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house.
35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?
36 And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.
37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?
38 But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord;
39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:
40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
Jeremiah 23
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Restoration after Exile
23 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. 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. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.
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. 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.’
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’, 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.
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.
11 Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even in my house I have found their wickedness,
says the Lord.
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.
13 In the prophets of Samaria
I saw a disgusting thing:
they prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
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.
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.’
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. 17 They keep saying to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to all who stubbornly follow their own stubborn hearts, they say, ‘No calamity shall come upon you.’
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?
19 Look, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
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.
21 I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak 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 turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings.
23 Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? 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. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 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. 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. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 30 See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 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 appoint 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,[b] and I will cast you off, says the Lord.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or the people who say, ‘The burden of the Lord’, I will punish them and their households. 35 Thus shall you say to one another, among yourselves, ‘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 everyone’s own word, and so you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 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[c] and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:8 Gk: Heb I
- Jeremiah 23:33 Gk Vg: Heb What burden
- Jeremiah 23:39 Heb Mss Gk Vg: MT forget you
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.