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14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.(A) 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.(B) 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters—for I will pour out their wickedness upon them.”(C)

17 You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
    and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people is struck down with a crushing blow,
    with a very grievous wound.(D)
18 If I go out into the field,
    look—those killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
    look—those sick with[a] famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land
    and have no knowledge.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 14.18 Heb look—the sicknesses of

14 Then the Lord said to me: The prophets are telling lies in my name. I haven’t sent them. I haven’t commanded them. I haven’t spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, worthless predictions, and deceit they have made up on their own. 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord proclaims concerning the prophets who are speaking in my name when I didn’t send them, and who are telling you that war or famine will never come to this land: Those very prophets will die in war and by famine! 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one to bury them or their wives and children. I will pour out on them their own wickedness.

17 So deliver this word to them:
My eyes well up with tears;
    I can’t stop weeping—day and night,
    because my virgin daughter, my people,
        has suffered a crushing blow
        and is mortally wounded.
18 If I go into the fields,
    I see only the slain in battle.
If I enter the city,
    I see only those suffering from famine.
Even both prophet and priest
    wander about aimlessly in ignorance.

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