Jeremiah 23
New American Standard Bible
The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch
23 “(A)Woe to the shepherds who are causing the (B)sheep of My pasture to (C)perish and are scattering them!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says concerning the shepherds who are [a]tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not been concerned about them; behold, I am going to (D)call you to account for the (E)evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. 3 “Then I Myself will (F)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will also raise up (G)shepherds over them and they will [b]tend them; and they will (H)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, (I)nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “Behold, the (J)days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous [c](K)Branch;
And He will (L)reign as king and [d]act wisely
And (M)do justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In His days Judah will be saved,
And (N)Israel will live securely;
And this is His (O)name by which He will be called,
‘The (P)Lord Our Righteousness.’
7 “(Q)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the sons of Israel up from the land of Egypt,’ 8 (R)but, ‘As the Lord lives, who (S)brought up and led the descendants of the household of Israel back from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”
False Prophets Denounced
9 As for the prophets:
My (T)heart is broken within me,
All my bones tremble;
I have become like a drunken man,
And like a man overcome by wine,
Because of the Lord
And because of His holy words.
10 For the land is full of (U)adulterers;
For the land (V)mourns because of the curse.
The (W)pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course is evil
And their might is not right.
11 “For (X)both prophet and priest are defiled;
Even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their way will be like (Y)slippery paths to them,
They will be driven away into the (Z)gloom and fall down in it;
For I will bring (AA)disaster upon them,
The year of their punishment,” declares the Lord.
13 “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an (AB)offensive thing:
They (AC)prophesied by Baal and (AD)led My people Israel astray.
14 Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a (AE)horrible thing:
The committing of (AF)adultery and walking in deceit;
And they strengthen the hands of (AG)evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his wickedness.
All of them have become to Me like (AH)Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says concerning the prophets:
‘Behold, I am going to (AI)feed them wormwood
And make them drink poisonous water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Ungodliness has spread into all the land.’”
16 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“(AJ)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are (AK)leading you into futility;
They tell a (AL)vision of their own [e]imagination,
Not (AM)from the mouth of the Lord.
17 They keep saying to those who (AN)despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “(AO)You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the (AP)stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘(AQ)Disaster will not come on you.’
18 But (AR)who has stood in the council of the Lord,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has paid (AS)attention to [f]His word and listened?
19 Behold, the (AT)storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling tempest;
It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
20 The (AU)anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has (AV)performed and carried out the purposes of His heart;
(AW)In the last days you will clearly understand it.
21 (AX)I did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
22 But if they had (AY)stood in My council,
Then they would have (AZ)announced My words to My people,
And would have turned them back from their evil way
And from the evil of their deeds.
23 “Am I a God who is (BA)near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
24 Can a person (BB)hide himself in hiding places
So that I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“(BC)Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.
25 “I have (BD)heard what the prophets have said who (BE)prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a (BF)dream, I had a dream!’ 26 How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the (BG)deceitfulness of their own heart, 27 who intend to (BH)make My people forget My name by their dreams which they report to one another, just as their fathers (BI)forgot My name because of Baal? 28 The prophet who has a dream may report his dream, but let him who has (BJ)My word speak My word truthfully. (BK)What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is My word not like (BL)fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a (BM)hammer which shatters a rock? 30 Therefore behold, (BN)I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who [g]use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares!’ 32 Behold, I am against those who have prophesied (BO)false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and reported them and led My people astray by their lies and (BP)reckless boasting; yet (BQ)I did not send them nor command them, nor do they (BR)provide this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.
33 “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, ‘What is the [h](BS)pronouncement of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What [i]pronouncement?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will (BT)abandon you.’ 34 Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The (BU)pronouncement of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that person and his household. 35 This is what each one of you will say to his neighbor and to his brother: ‘(BV)What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 For you will no longer remember the pronouncement of the Lord, because every person’s own word will become the pronouncement, and you have (BW)perverted the words of the (BX)living God, the Lord of armies, our God. 37 This is what you will say to that prophet: ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 And if you say, ‘The pronouncement of the Lord!’ for that reason the Lord says this: ‘Because you said this word, “The pronouncement of the Lord!” I have also sent word to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The pronouncement of the Lord!’”’ 39 Therefore behold, (BY)I will certainly forget you and thrust you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. 40 I will put an everlasting (BZ)disgrace on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:2 Lit shepherding
- Jeremiah 23:4 Or shepherd
- Jeremiah 23:5 Lit Sprout
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or succeed
- Jeremiah 23:16 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 23:18 Another reading is My
- Jeremiah 23:31 Lit take
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, and so throughout the ch
- Jeremiah 23:33 Or burden, and so throughout the ch
Jeremiah 23
Young's Literal Translation
23 Wo to shepherds destroying, And scattering the flock of My pasture, An affirmation of Jehovah.
2 Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Against the shepherds who feed My people, Ye have scattered My flock, and drive them away, And have not inspected them, Lo, I am charging on you the evil of your doings, An affirmation of Jehovah.
3 And I do gather the remnant of My flock Out of all the lands whither I drove them, And have brought them back unto their fold, And they have been fruitful, and multiplied.
4 And I have raised for them shepherds, And they have fed them, And they fear no more, nor are affrighted, Nor are they lacking -- an affirmation of Jehovah.
5 Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have raised to David a righteous shoot, And a king hath reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In his days is Judah saved, and Israel dwelleth confidently, And this his name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, `Our Righteousness.'
7 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they do not say any more, Jehovah liveth who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,
8 But -- Jehovah liveth, who brought up, And who brought in, the seed of the house of Israel, From the land of the north, And from all the lands whither I drove them, And they have dwelt on their own ground!
9 In reference to the prophets: Broken hath been my heart in my midst, Fluttered have all my bones, I have been as a man -- a drunkard, And as a man -- wine hath passed over him, Because of Jehovah, and of His holy words.
10 For of adulterers hath the land been full, For because of these hath the land mourned, Dried up hath been the pleasant places of the wilderness, And their course is evil, and their might -- not right.
11 For both prophet and priest have been profane, Yea, in My house I found their wickedness, An affirmation of Jehovah.
12 Therefore is their way to them as slippery places, Into thick darkness they are driven, And they have fallen in it, For I bring in against them evil, The year of their inspection, An affirmation of Jehovah.
13 And in prophets of Samaria I have seen folly, They have prophesied by Baal, And cause my people -- Israel -- to err.
14 And in prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing, Committing adultery, and walking falsely, Yea, they strengthened the hands of evil doers, So that they have not turned back Each from his wickedness, They have been to me -- all of them -- as Sodom, And its inhabitants as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, concerning the prophets: Lo, I am causing them to eat wormwood, And have caused them to drink water of gall, For, from prophets of Jerusalem Hath profanity gone forth to all the land.
16 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Ye do not hearken unto the words Of the prophets who are prophesying to you, They are making you vain things, A vision of their own heart they speak, Not from the mouth of Jehovah.
17 Saying diligently to those despising The word of Jehovah: Peace is for you, And [to] every one walking in the stubbornness of his heart they have said: Evil doth not come in unto you.
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of Jehovah, And seeth and heareth His word? Who hath regarded My word, and hearkeneth?
19 Lo, a whirlwind of Jehovah -- Fury hath gone out, even a piercing whirlwind, On the head of the wicked it stayeth.
20 The anger of Jehovah doth not turn back Till His doing, and till His establishing, The thoughts of His heart, In the latter end of the days ye attend to it With understanding.
21 I have not sent the prophets, and they have run, I have not spoken unto them, and they have prophesied.
22 But -- if they stood in My counsel, Then they cause My people to hear My words, And they turn them back from their evil way, And from the evil of their doings.
23 A God near [am] I -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And not a God afar off?
24 Is any one hidden in secret places, And I see him not? an affirmation of Jehovah, Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? An affirmation of Jehovah.
25 I have heard that which the prophets said, Who prophesy in My name falsehood, saying, `I have dreamed, I have dreamed.'
26 Till when is it in the heart of the prophets? The prophets of falsehood, Yea, prophets of the deceit of their heart,
27 Who are devising to cause My people To forget My name by their dreams, That they recount each to his neighbour, As their fathers forgot my name for Baal.
28 The prophet with whom [is] a dream, Let him recount the dream, And he with whom [is] My word, Let him truly speak My word. What -- to the straw with the corn? An affirmation of Jehovah.
29 Is it not thus? My word [is] as a fire, An affirmation of Jehovah. And as a hammer -- it breaketh in pieces a rock.
30 Therefore, lo, I [am] against the prophets, An affirmation of Jehovah, Stealing My words each from his neighbour.
31 Lo, I [am] against the prophets, An affirmation of Jehovah, Who are making smooth their tongue, And they affirm -- an affirmation.
32 Lo, I [am] against the prophets of false dreams, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they recount them, and cause my people to err, By their falsehoods, and by their instability, And I -- I have not sent them, Nor have I commanded them, And they are not at all profitable to this people, An affirmation of Jehovah.
33 And when this people, or the prophet, Or a priest, doth ask thee, saying, What [is] the burden of Jehovah? Then thou hast said unto them: Ye [are] the burden, and I have left you, An affirmation of Jehovah.
34 And the prophet, and the priest, and the people, That saith, The burden of Jehovah, I have seen after that man, and after his house.
35 Thus do ye say each unto his neighbour, And each unto his brother: What hath Jehovah answered? And what hath Jehovah spoken?
36 And the burden of Jehovah ye do not mention any more, For the burden to each is -- His word, And ye have overturned the words of the living God, Jehovah of Hosts, our God.
37 Thus dost thou say unto the prophet What hath Jehovah answered thee? And what hath Jehovah spoken?
38 And if the burden of Jehovah ye say, Therefore thus said Jehovah: Because of your saying this word, The burden of Jehovah, And I do send unto you, saying, Ye do not say, The burden of Jehovah.
39 Therefore, lo, I -- I have taken you utterly away, And I have sent you out, And the city that I gave to you, And to your fathers, from before My face,
40 And I have put on you reproach age-during, And shame age-during that is not forgotten!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
