Lying Prophets

Concerning the prophets:

My heart(A) is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.(B)
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.(C)
10 The land is full of adulterers;(D)
    because of the curse[a](E) the land lies parched
    and the pastures(F) in the wilderness are withered.(G)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;(H)
    even in my temple(I) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;(J)
    they will be banished to darkness
    and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
    in the year they are punished,(K)
declares the Lord.

13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal(L)
    and led my people Israel astray.(M)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:(N)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.(O)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(P)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(Q)
They are all like Sodom(R) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(S)

15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
    and drink poisoned water,(T)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
    ungodliness(U) has spread throughout the land.”

16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen(V) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(W) from their own minds,
    not from the mouth(X) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(Y) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(Z)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(AA) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm(AB) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(AC) of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(AD) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(AE) swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(AF) of the Lord will not turn back(AG)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(AH) these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,(AI)
    they would have proclaimed(AJ) my words to my people
and would have turned(AK) them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.(AL)

23 “Am I only a God nearby,(AM)
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(AN) in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(AO)
declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things

Oracles against the prophets

As for the prophets:
My heart inside me is broken;
    my body aches.[a]
I stagger like a drunk
    who has had too much wine to drink,
        because of the Lord
        and because of God’s holy words.
10 Because the country teems
    with adulterers,
    because of them,[b]
        yes, because their might isn’t right
        and their way is evil,
        the land dries up,
        and the grazing areas in the wilderness wither.[c]
11 Both prophet and priest are godless;
    I even find their evil in my temple,
        declares the Lord.
12 Therefore, they will find themselves on slippery ground
    and will be thrust into darkness,
    where they will collapse.
I will bring disaster upon them,
    when their time comes, declares the Lord.
13 In the prophets of Samaria
    I saw something shocking:
    They prophesied by Baal
        and led astray my people Israel.
14 In the prophets of Jerusalem
    I saw something horrible:
    They commit adultery and tell lies.
    They encourage evildoers
        so that no one turns from their wickedness.
In my eyes, they are no better than Sodom;
    its people are like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of heavenly forces proclaims concerning the prophets:

    I’m going to feed them bitter food
        and give them poison to drink.
Wickedness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem
    throughout the land.

16 The Lord proclaims:
Don’t listen to the prophets
    who are speaking to you;
        they are deceiving you.
    Their visions come from their own hearts,
        not from the Lord’s mouth.
17 They keep saying to those who scorn God’s message,
        “All will go well for you,”
    and to those who follow their own willful hearts,
        “Nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 But who has stood in the Lord’s council
    to listen to God’s word?
        Who has paid attention to his word and announced it?
19 Look! The Lord’s angry storm breaks out;
    it whirls around the heads of the wicked.
20 The Lord’s fierce anger
    won’t turn back
    until it accomplishes all that he has planned.
In the days to come,
    you will understand what this means.

21 I didn’t send the prophets,
    yet they ran anyway.
I didn’t speak to them,
    yet they prophesied anyway.
22 If they had stood in my council,
    they would have proclaimed
    my words to my people;
        they would have turned them
        from their evil ways and deeds.
23 The Lord declares, Am I a God
    who is only nearby and not far off?
24 Can people hide themselves in secret places
    so I might not see them?
        Don’t I fill heaven and earth?

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 23:9 Heb uncertain; or my bones shake
  2. Jeremiah 23:10 LXX; MT a curse
  3. Jeremiah 23:10 Heb uncertain