Jeremiah 23:9-24
Lexham English Bible
The Unfaithful Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken in my midst.
All my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunken man,
even like a man over whom wine has passed,
because of Yahweh,
and because of his holy words.[a]
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
for the land mourns because of a curse.
The pastures of the desert[b] are dry,
and their evil has been their way of running,
and their power is not right.
11 “For both prophet as well as priest are godless,
even in my temple I have found their wickedness,” declares[c] Yahweh.
12 “Therefore[d] their way will be to them like the slippery places,
they will be pushed in the darkness,
and they will fall into it,
for I will bring disaster on them in the year of their punishment,” declares[e] Yahweh.
13 “Now in the prophets of Samaria I saw a disgusting thing.
They prophesied by Baal and they caused my people Israel to err.
14 And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible.
They commit adultery, and they walk in lies,[f]
and they make strong the hands of evildoers,
so that they have not turned back each from his wickedness.
All of them have become to me like Sodom,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore[g] thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets,
“Look, I am going to let them eat wormwood
and I will give them water of poison to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
went out ungodliness to all the land.”
16 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“You must not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They are deluding you with visions of their mind,[h]
They do not speak from the mouth of Yahweh.
17 They are[i] continually saying to those who disregard the word of Yahweh,
‘Peace it will be to you,’
and to each one[j] who walks in the stubbornness of his heart they say,
‘Calamity will not come upon you.’
18 For who has stood in the council of Yahweh,
that he has seen and heard his word?
Who has listened attentively to his word
and heard it?[k]
19 Look, the storm of Yahweh has gone forth in wrath,
even a whirling tempest.
It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger[l] of Yahweh will not turn back
until his doing and until his keeping the plans of his mind.[m]
In latter days[n] you will look closely at it with understanding.
21 I have not sent the prophets, yet they ran.
I have not spoken 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 caused them to turn from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.
23 Am I a God from near,” declares[o] Yahweh,
“and not a God from far?
24 Or can a person hide himself in secret places
and I cannot see him?” declares[p] Yahweh.
“Do I not fill up the heaven and the earth?” declares[q] Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:9 Literally “words of his holiness”
- Jeremiah 23:10 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 23:11 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:12 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:14 Hebrew “the lie”
- Jeremiah 23:15 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 23:16 Literally “heart”
- Jeremiah 23:17 Here the subject and verb are supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 23:17 Literally “all”
- Jeremiah 23:18 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 23:20 Literally “nose”
- Jeremiah 23:20 Literally “heart”
- Jeremiah 23:20 Literally “In the last of the days”
- Jeremiah 23:23 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:24 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 23:24 Literally “a declaration of”
Jeremiah 23:9-24
Christian Standard Bible
False Prophets Condemned
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,(A)
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord,
because of his holy words.
10 For the land is full of adulterers;(B)
the land mourns(C) because of the curse,(D)
and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.
Their way of life[a] has become evil,
and their power is not rightly used
11 because both prophet and priest are ungodly,(E)
even in my house(F) I have found their evil.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 Therefore, their way will seem
like slippery paths in the gloom.(G)
They will be driven away and fall down there,
for I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment.(H)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13 Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw something disgusting:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.(I)
14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem also
I saw a horrible thing:(J)
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
and none turns his back on evil.
They are all like Sodom(K) to me;
Jerusalem’s residents are like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says concerning the prophets:
I am about to feed them wormwood(L)
and give them poisoned water to drink,(M)
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness[b] has spread throughout the land.
16 This is what the Lord of Armies says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are deluding you. They speak visions from their own minds,(N) not from the Lord’s mouth.(O) 17 They keep on saying to those who despise me,(P) ‘The Lord has spoken: You will have peace.’(Q) They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’”
18 For who has stood in the council(R) of the Lord
to see and hear his word?
Who has paid attention to his word and obeyed?
19 Look, a storm from the Lord!(S)
Wrath has gone out,
a whirling storm.
It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.
20 The Lord’s anger will not turn away(T)
until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart.
In time to come you will understand it clearly.(U)
21 I did not send out these prophets,(V)
yet they ran.(W)
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 If they had really stood in my council,
they would have enabled my people to hear my words
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and their evil deeds.(X)
23 “Am I a God who is only near”(Y)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and not a God who is far away? 24 Can a person hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” (Z)—the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” (AA)—the Lord’s declaration.
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