Jeremiah 23:9-24

International Children’s Bible

My heart is broken.
    All my bones shake.
I’m like a man who is drunk.
    I’m like a man who has been overcome with wine.
This is because of the Lord
    and his holy words.
¹⁰ The land of Judah is full of people who are guilty of adultery.
    Because of this, the Lord cursed the land.
    And it has become very dry.
    The pastures have dried up.
The people are evil.
    They use their power in the wrong way.

¹¹ “Both the prophets and the priests are evil.
    I have seen them doing evil things even in my own Temple,” says the Lord.
¹² “So they will be in danger.
    They will be forced into darkness.
    There they will be defeated.
I will bring disaster on them.
    At that time I will punish those prophets and priests,” says the Lord.

¹³ “I saw the prophets of Samaria
    do something wrong.
I saw those prophets prophesy by the false god Baal.
    And they led my people, the Israelites, away.
¹⁴ And I have seen the prophets of Jerusalem
    do some terrible things.
These prophets are guilty of adultery
    and live by lies.
They encourage evil people to keep on doing evil.
    So the people don’t stop sinning.
All of those people are like the city of Sodom.
    The people of Jerusalem are like the city of Gomorrah to me!”

“I will make those prophets eat bitter food.
    I will make them drink poisoned water.
This is because the prophets of Jerusalem spread wickedness
    through the whole country.”

“Don’t pay attention to the things those prophets are saying to you.
    They are trying to fool you.
Those prophets talk of visions from their own minds.
    But they did not get their visions from me.
¹⁷ They say to those who hate me:
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
They say to those who are stubborn and do as they please:
    ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’
¹⁸ But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels.
    None of them has seen or heard the message of the Lord.
    None of them has paid close attention to the Lord’s message.
¹⁹ Look, the punishment from the Lord
    will come like a storm.
His anger will be like a hurricane.
    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 message.
I did not speak to them.
    But they prophesied anyway.
²² But if they had stood in the meeting of angels,
    they would have told my message to my people.
They would have turned the people from their evil ways.
    They would have turned them from doing evil.

²³ “I am a God who is near,” says the Lord.
    “I am also a God who is far away.”
²⁴ “No one can hide
    where I cannot see him,” says the Lord.
“I fill all of heaven and earth,” says the Lord.