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Jeremiah 23:21-25:38
Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah 23:21-25:38
Contemporary English Version
21 I did not send these prophets
or speak to them,
but they ran to find you
and to preach their message.
22 If they had been in a meeting
of my council in heaven,
they would have told
you people of Judah
to give up your sins
and come back to me.
23 I am everywhere—
both near and far,
24 (A) in heaven and on earth.
There are no secret places
where you can hide from me.
25 These unfaithful prophets claim that I have given them a dream or a vision, and then they tell lies in my name. 26 But everything they say comes from their own twisted minds. How long can this go on? 27 They tell each other their dreams and try to get my people to reject me, just as their ancestors left me and worshiped Baal. 28 Their dreams and my truth are as different as straw and wheat. But when prophets speak for me, they must say only what I have told them. 29 My words are a powerful fire; they are a hammer that shatters rocks.
30-32 These unfaithful prophets claim I give them their dreams, but it isn't true. I didn't choose them to be my prophets, and yet they babble on and on, speaking in my name, while stealing words from each other. And when my people hear these liars, they are led astray instead of being helped. So I warn you that I am now the enemy of these prophets. I, the Lord, have spoken.
News and Nuisance
The Lord said to me:
33 Jeremiah, when a prophet or a priest or anyone else comes to you and asks, “Does the Lord have news for us?” tell them, “You people are a nuisance[a] to the Lord, and he[b] will get rid of you.”
34 If any of you say, “Here is news from the Lord,” I will punish you and your families, even if you are a prophet or a priest. 35 Instead, you must ask your friends and relatives, “What answer did the Lord give?” or “What has the Lord said?” 36 It seems that you each have your own news! So if you say, “Here is news from the Lord,” you are twisting my words into a lie. Remember that I am your God, the Lord All-Powerful.
37 If you go to a prophet, it's all right to ask, “What answer did the Lord give to my question?” or “What has the Lord said?” 38 But if you disobey me and say, “Here is news from the Lord,” 39 I will pick you up[c] and throw you far away. And I will abandon this city of Jerusalem that I gave to your ancestors. 40 You will never be free from your shame and disgrace.
Jeremiah Has a Vision of Two Baskets of Figs
24 (B) The Lord spoke to me in a vision after King Nebuchadnezzar[d] of Babylonia had come to Judah and taken King Jehoiachin,[e] his officials, and all the skilled workers back to Babylonia. In this vision I saw two baskets of figs in front of the Lord's temple. 2 One basket was full of very good figs that ripened early, and the other was full of rotten figs that were not fit to eat.
3 “Jeremiah,” the Lord asked, “what do you see?”
“Figs,” I said. “Some are very good, but the others are too rotten to eat.”
4 Then the Lord told me to say:
5 People of Judah, the good figs stand for those of you I sent away as exiles to Babylonia, 6 where I am watching over them. Then someday I will bring them back to this land. I will plant them, instead of uprooting them, and I will build them up, rather than tearing them down. 7 I will give them a desire to know me and to be my people. They will want me to be their God, and they will turn back to me with all their heart.
8 The rotten figs stand for King Zedekiah[f] of Judah, his officials, and all the others who were not taken away to Babylonia, whether they stayed here in Judah or went to live in Egypt. 9 I will punish them with a terrible disaster, and everyone on earth will tremble when they hear about it. I will force the people of Judah to go to foreign countries, where they will be cursed and insulted. 10 War and hunger and disease will strike them, until they finally disappear from the land that I gave them and their ancestors.
Seventy Years of Exile
25 1-2 (C) In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah,[g] which was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar[h] was king of Babylonia, the Lord told me to speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. So I told them:
3 For 23 years now, ever since the thirteenth year that Josiah[i] was king, I have been telling you what the Lord has told me. But you have not listened.
4 The Lord has sent prophets to you time after time, but you refused to listen. 5 They told you that the Lord had said:
Change your ways! If you stop doing evil, I will let you stay forever in this land that I gave your ancestors. 6 I don't want to harm you. So don't make me angry by worshiping idols and other gods.
7 But you refused to listen to my prophets. So I, the Lord, say that you have made me angry by worshiping idols, and you are the ones who were hurt by what you did. 8 You refused to listen to me, 9 and now I will let you be attacked by nations from the north, and especially by my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. You and other nearby nations will be destroyed and left in ruins forever. Everyone who sees what has happened will be shocked, but they will still make fun of you. 10 (D) I will put an end to your parties and wedding celebrations; no one will grind grain or be here to light the lamps at night. 11 (E) This country will be as empty as a desert, because I will make all of you the slaves of the king of Babylonia for 70 years.
12 When that time is up, I will punish the king of Babylonia and his people for everything they have done wrong, and I will turn that country into a wasteland forever. 13 My servant Jeremiah has told you what I said I will do to Babylonia and to the other nations, and he wrote it all down in this book. I will do everything I threatened. 14 I will pay back the Babylonians for every wrong they have done. Great kings from many other nations will conquer the Babylonians and force them to be slaves.
The Cup Full of God's Anger
15 The Lord God of Israel showed me a vision in which he said, “Jeremiah, here is a cup filled with the wine of my anger. Take it and make every nation drink some. 16 They will vomit and act crazy, because of the war this cup of anger will bring to them.”
17 I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and I went to the kings of the nations and made each of them drink some. 18 I started with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and the king and his officials were removed from power in disgrace. Everyone still makes insulting jokes about them and uses their names as curse words. 19 The second place I went was Egypt, where everyone had to drink from the cup, including the king and his officials, the other government workers, the rest of the Egyptians, 20 and all the foreigners who lived in the country.
Next I went to the king of Uz, and then to the four kings of Philistia, who ruled from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what was left of Ashdod.[j] 21 Then I went to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, 22 and to the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and their colonies across the sea. 23-24 After this, I went to the kings of Dedan, Tema, Buz, the tribes of the Arabian Desert,[k] 25 Zimri, Elam, Media, 26 and the countries in the north, both near and far.
I went to all the countries on earth, one after another, and finally to Babylonia.[l]
27 The Lord had said to tell each king, “The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, commands you to drink from this cup that is full of the wine of his anger. It will make you so drunk that you will vomit. And when the Lord sends war against the nations, you will be completely defeated.”
28 The Lord told me that if any of them refused to drink from the cup, I must tell them that he had said, “I, the Lord All-Powerful, command you to drink. 29 Starting with my own city of Jerusalem, everyone on earth will suffer from war. So there is no way I will let you escape unharmed.”
30 The Lord told me to say:
From my sacred temple
I will roar like thunder,
while I trample my people
and everyone else
as though they were grapes.
31 My voice will be heard
everywhere on earth,
accusing nations of their crimes
and sentencing the guilty
to death.
Disaster Is Coming
32 The Lord All-Powerful says:
You can see disaster spreading
from far across the earth,
from nation to nation
like a horrible storm.
33 When it strikes, I will kill so many people that their bodies will cover the ground like manure. No one will be left to bury them or to mourn.
The Leaders of Judah Will Be Punished
34 The Lord's people are his flock,
and you leaders
were the shepherds.
But now it's your turn
to be butchered like sheep.
You'll shatter like fine pottery
dropped on the floor.[m]
So roll on the ground,
crying and mourning.
35 You have nowhere to run,
nowhere to hide.
* 36-37 Listen to the cries
of the shepherds,
as the Lord's burning anger
turns[n] peaceful meadows
into barren deserts.
38 Like a lion leaving its den,
the Lord has abandoned
his people
to the destruction of war.
Footnotes
- 23.33 news … nuisance: The Hebrew word for “news” in verses 33-38 is the same as “nuisance” and is related to “pick up” in verse 39.
- 23.33 You people are a nuisance to the Lord, and he: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “Does the Lord have news for us? He.”
- 23.39 pick you up: A few Hebrew manuscripts and three ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts “forget you completely.”
- 24.1 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 24.1 Jehoiachin: The Hebrew text has “Jeconiah,” another form of Jehoiachin's name; he ruled for three months in 598 b.c.
- 24.8 Zedekiah: Ruled 598–586 b.c.
- 25.1,2 Jehoiakim … Judah: See the note at 1.3.
- 25.1,2 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 25.3 Josiah: Hebrew “Josiah son of Amon”; Josiah ruled 640–609 b.c.
- 25.20 what was left of Ashdod: It was defeated by the king of Egypt after being surrounded for 29 years.
- 25.23,24 the tribes of the Arabian Desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 25.26 Babylonia: The Hebrew text has “Sheshach,” a secret way of writing “Babylonia.”
- 25.34 You'll shatter … floor: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 25.36,37 anger turns: Or “anger and enemy armies turn.”
Jeremiah 23:21-25:38
New International Version
Jeremiah 23:21-25:38
New International Version
21 I did not send(A) 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,(B)
they would have proclaimed(C) my words to my people
and would have turned(D) them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.(E)
23 “Am I only a God nearby,(F)”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(G) in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(H)
declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(I) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(J) I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions(K) of their own minds?(L) 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget(M) my name, just as their ancestors forgot(N) my name through Baal worship.(O) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream(P) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word(Q) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”(R) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer(S) that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against(T) the prophets(U) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’(V) 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(W)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(X) with their reckless lies,(Y) yet I did not send(Z) or appoint them. They do not benefit(AA) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message(AB) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake(AC) you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message(AD) from the Lord,’ I will punish(AE) them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’(AF) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort(AG) the words of the living God,(AH) the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast(AI) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace(AJ)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Two Baskets of Figs
24 After Jehoiachin[a](AK) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs(AL) placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early;(AM) the other basket had very bad(AN) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(AO) Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent(AP) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.[b] 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back(AQ) to this land. I will build(AR) them up and not tear them down; I will plant(AS) them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know(AT) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,(AU) and I will be their God, for they will return(AV) to me with all their heart.(AW)
8 “‘But like the bad(AX) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah(AY) king of Judah, his officials(AZ) and the survivors(BA) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.(BB) 9 I will make them abhorrent(BC) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword,(BD) a curse[c](BE) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish(BF) them. 10 I will send the sword,(BG) famine(BH) and plague(BI) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.(BJ)’”
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(BK) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar(BL) king of Babylon. 2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah(BM) and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah(BN) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,(BO) but you have not listened.(BP)
4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets(BQ) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.(BR) 5 They said, “Turn(BS) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land(BT) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods(BU) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused(BV) my anger with what your hands have made,(BW) and you have brought harm(BX) to yourselves.”
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon(BY) all the peoples of the north(BZ) and my servant(CA) Nebuchadnezzar(CB) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[d](CC) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,(CD) and an everlasting ruin.(CE) 10 I will banish from them the sounds(CF) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,(CG) the sound of millstones(CH) and the light of the lamp.(CI) 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,(CJ) and these nations will serve(CK) the king of Babylon seventy years.(CL)
12 “But when the seventy years(CM) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon(CN) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[e] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate(CO) forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written(CP) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved(CQ) by many nations(CR) and great kings; I will repay(CS) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup(CT) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send(CU) you drink it. 16 When they drink(CV) it, they will stagger(CW) and go mad(CX) because of the sword(CY) I will send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent(CZ) me drink it: 18 Jerusalem(DA) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin(DB) and an object of horror and scorn,(DC) a curse[f](DD)—as they are today;(DE) 19 Pharaoh king(DF) of Egypt,(DG) his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;(DH) all the kings of the Philistines(DI) (those of Ashkelon,(DJ) Gaza,(DK) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom,(DL) Moab(DM) and Ammon;(DN) 22 all the kings of Tyre(DO) and Sidon;(DP) the kings of the coastlands(DQ) across the sea; 23 Dedan,(DR) Tema,(DS) Buz(DT) and all who are in distant places[g];(DU) 24 all the kings of Arabia(DV) and all the kings of the foreign people(DW) who live in the wilderness; 25 all the kings of Zimri,(DX) Elam(DY) and Media;(DZ) 26 and all the kings of the north,(EA) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms(EB) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak[h](EC) will drink it too.
27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk(ED) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword(EE) I will send among you.’ 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink(EF), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster(EG) on the city that bears my Name,(EH) and will you indeed go unpunished?(EI) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword(EJ) on all(EK) who live on the earth,(EL) declares the Lord Almighty.’
30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
“‘The Lord will roar(EM) from on high;
he will thunder(EN) from his holy dwelling(EO)
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread(EP) the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult(EQ) will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring charges(ER) against the nations;
he will bring judgment(ES) on all(ET) mankind
and put the wicked to the sword,(EU)’”
declares the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Look! Disaster(EV) is spreading
from nation to nation;(EW)
a mighty storm(EX) is rising
from the ends of the earth.”(EY)
33 At that time those slain(EZ) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered(FA) up or buried,(FB) but will be like dung lying on the ground.
34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;(FC)
roll(FD) in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered(FE) has come;
you will fall like the best of the rams.[i](FF)
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
the leaders of the flock no place to escape.(FG)
36 Hear the cry(FH) of the shepherds,(FI)
the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion(FJ) he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate(FK)
because of the sword[j] of the oppressor(FL)
and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.(FM)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 24:5 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
- Jeremiah 25:9 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 25:18 That is, their names to be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, to be seen by others as cursed
- Jeremiah 25:23 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
- Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
- Jeremiah 25:34 Septuagint; Hebrew fall and be shattered like fine pottery
- Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 46:16 and 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger
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