Jeremiah 23:9-24

New International Reader's Version

My heart is broken inside me.
    All my bones tremble with fear.
I am like a man who is drunk.
    I am like a strong man who has had too much wine.
That’s what the Lord’s holy words
    have done to me.
¹⁰ The land is full of people
    who aren’t faithful to the Lord.
Now the land is under his curse.
    And that’s why it is thirsty for water.
    That’s why the desert grasslands are dry.
The prophets are leading sinful lives.
    They don’t use their power in the right way.

¹¹ “Prophets and priests alike are ungodly,”
    announces the Lord.
    “Even in my temple I find them sinning.
¹² So their path will become slippery.
    They will be thrown out into darkness.
    There they will fall.
I will bring trouble on them
    when the time to punish them comes,”
    announces the Lord.

¹³ “Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw something I can’t stand.
They were prophesying in the name of Baal.
    They were leading my people Israel astray.
¹⁴ I have also seen something horrible among Jerusalem’s prophets.
    They are not faithful to me.
    They are not living by the truth.
They strengthen the hands of those who do evil.
    So not one of them turns from their sinful ways.
All of them are like the people of Sodom to me.
    They are just like the people of Gomorrah.”

“I will make them eat bitter food.
    I will make them drink poisoned water.
The prophets of Jerusalem have spread
    their ungodly ways all through the land.”

“Do not listen to what the prophets are saying to you.
    They fill you with false hopes.
They talk about visions that come from their own minds.
    What they say does not come from my mouth.
¹⁷ They keep speaking to those who hate me. They say,
    ‘The Lord says you will have peace.’
They speak to all those who do
    what their stubborn hearts want them to do.
    They tell them, ‘No harm will come to you.’
¹⁸ But which of them has ever stood in my courts?
    Have they been there to see a vision or hear my message?
    Who has listened and heard my message there?
¹⁹ A storm will burst out
    because of my great anger.
A windstorm will sweep down
    on the heads of sinful people.
²⁰ My anger will not turn back.
    I will accomplish everything
    I plan to do.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
²¹ I did not send these prophets.
    But they have run to tell you their message anyway.
I did not speak to them.
    But they have still prophesied.
²² Suppose they had stood in my courts.
    Then they would have announced my message to my people.
They would have turned my people from their evil ways.
    They would have turned them away from their sins.

²³ “Am I only a God who is nearby?”
    announces the Lord.
    “Am I not a God who is also far away?
²⁴ Who can hide in secret places
    so that I can’t see them?”
    announces the Lord.
“Don’t I fill heaven and earth?”
    announces the Lord.