Jeremiah 23:9-24
New King James Version
False Prophets and Empty Oracles
9 My heart within me is broken
Because of the prophets;
(A)All my bones shake.
I am like a drunken man,
And like a man whom wine has overcome,
Because of the Lord,
And because of His holy words.
10 For (B)the land is full of adulterers;
For (C)because of a curse the land mourns.
(D)The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up.
Their course of life is evil,
And their might is not right.
11 “For (E)both prophet and priest are profane;
Yes, (F)in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the Lord.
12 “Therefore(G) their way shall be to them
Like slippery ways;
In the darkness they shall be driven on
And fall in them;
For I (H)will bring disaster on them,
The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.
13 “And I have seen [a]folly in the prophets of Samaria:
(I)They prophesied by Baal
And (J)caused My people Israel to err.
14 Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem:
(K)They commit adultery and walk in lies;
They also (L)strengthen the hands of evildoers,
So that no one turns back from his wickedness.
All of them are like (M)Sodom to Me,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
‘Behold, I will feed them with (N)wormwood,
And make them drink the water of gall;
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
[b]Profaneness has gone out into all the land.’ ”
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They make you worthless;
(O)They speak a vision of their own heart,
Not from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They continually say to those who despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, (P)“You shall have peace” ’;
And to everyone who (Q)walks according to the [c]dictates of his own heart, they say,
(R)‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
18 For (S)who has stood in the counsel of the Lord,
And has perceived and heard His word?
Who has marked His word and heard it?
19 Behold, a (T)whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—
A violent whirlwind!
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
20 The (U)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.
(V)In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
21 “I(W) have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in My counsel,
And had caused My people to hear My words,
Then they would have (X)turned them from their evil way
And from the evil of their doings.
23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,
“And not a God afar off?
24 Can anyone (Y)hide himself in secret places,
So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;
(Z)“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:13 Lit. distastefulness
- Jeremiah 23:15 Or Pollution
- Jeremiah 23:17 stubbornness or imagination
Jeremiah 23:9-24
Authorized (King James) Version
9 Mine heart within me is broken
because of the prophets;
all my bones shake;
I am like a drunken man,
and like a man whom wine hath overcome,
because of the Lord,
and because of the words of his holiness.
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
for because of swearing the land mourneth;
the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up,
and their course is evil,
and their force is not right.
11 For both prophet and priest are profane;
yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.
12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them
as slippery ways in the darkness:
they shall be driven on, and fall therein:
for I will bring evil upon them,
even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria;
they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing:
they commit adultery, and walk in lies:
they strengthen also the hands of evildoers,
that none doth return from his wickedness:
they are all of them unto me as Sodom,
and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord,
and hath perceived and heard his word?
who hath marked his word, and heard it?
19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury,
even a grievous whirlwind:
it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord shall not return,
until he have executed,
and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart:
in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran:
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my counsel,
and had caused my people to hear my words,
then they should have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings.
23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord,
and not a God afar off?
24 Can any hide himself in secret places
that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.
Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.