CHAPTER 23
Therefore,
this is what
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
says
about
the shepherds
who tend
My people:
“You
have scattered
My flock
and driven them away,
and have not
attended to them.
Behold,
I will attend
to
you
for the evil
of your deeds,
declares
the LORD.
Then I Myself
will gather
the remnant
of My flock
from all
the lands
to which
I have banished them,
and I will return them
to
their pasture,
where they will be fruitful
and multiply.
I will raise up
shepherds
over them
who will tend them,
and they will no
longer
be afraid
or dismayed,
nor
will any go missing,
declares
the LORD.
Behold,
the days
are coming,
declares
the LORD,
when I will raise up
for David
a Righteous
Branch,
and He will reign
wisely
as king
and administer
justice
and righteousness
in the land.
In His days
Judah
will be saved,
and Israel
will dwell
securely.
And this
is His name
by which
He will be called:
The LORD
Our Righteousness.
So
behold,
the days
are coming,
declares
the LORD,
when they will no
longer
say,
‘As surely as the LORD
lives,
who
brought
the Israelites
out of the land
of Egypt.’
Instead,
they will say,
‘As surely as the LORD
lives,
who
brought
and led
the descendants
of the house
of Israel
from the land
of the north
and from all
the other countries
to which
I had banished them.’
They will dwell
once more in
their own land.”
As for the prophets:
My heart
is broken
within me,
and all
my bones
tremble.
I have become
like a drunkard,
like a man
overcome
by wine,
because of
the LORD,
because of
His holy
words.
For
the land
is full of
adulterers—
because of
the curse
the land
mourns,
and the pastures
of the wilderness
have dried up—
their course
is
evil
and their power
is misused.
“For
both
prophet
and
priest
are ungodly;
even
in My house
I have found
their wickedness,”
declares
the LORD.
“Therefore
their path
will become
slick;
they will be driven away
into the gloom
and fall
into it.
For
I will bring
disaster
upon them
in the year
of their punishment,”
declares
the LORD.
“Among the prophets
of Samaria
I saw
an offensive thing:
They prophesied
by Baal
and led My people
Israel
astray.
And among the prophets
of Jerusalem
I have seen
a horrible thing:
They commit adultery
and walk
in lies.
They strengthen
the hands
of evildoers,
so that no
one
turns his back
on wickedness.
They are
all
like Sodom to Me;
the people of Jerusalem
are like Gomorrah."
Therefore,
this is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says
concerning
the prophets:
“I will feed
them wormwood
and give them poisoned
water
to drink,
for
from the prophets
of Jerusalem
ungodliness
has spread
throughout the land.”
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
“Do not
listen
to
the words
of the prophets
who prophesy
to you.
They are filling you with false hopes.
They speak
visions
from their own minds,
not
from the mouth
of the LORD.
They keep saying
to those who despise Me,
‘The LORD
says that
you will have
peace,’
and
to everyone
who walks
in the stubbornness
of his own heart,
‘No
harm
will come
to you.’
But
which of them
has stood
in the council
of the LORD
to see
and hear
His word?
Who
has given heed
to His word
and obeyed it?
Behold,
the storm
of the LORD
has gone out
in fury,
a whirlwind
swirling down
upon
the heads
of the wicked.
The anger
of the LORD
will not
diminish
until
He has fully accomplished
the purposes
of His heart.
In the days
to come
you will understand
it clearly.
I did not
send
these prophets,
yet they
have run with their message;
I did not
speak
to them,
yet they
prophesied.
But if
they had stood
in My council,
they would have proclaimed
My words
to My people
and turned them back
from their evil
ways
and evil
deeds.”
“Can
a man
hide
in secret places
where I
cannot
see him?”
declares
the LORD.
“Do I
not
fill
the heavens
and
earth?”
declares
the LORD.
“I have heard
the sayings
of the prophets
who prophesy
lies
in My name:
‘I had a dream!
I had a dream!’
How long
will this continue
in the hearts
of these prophets
who prophesy
falsehood,
these prophets
of the delusion
of their own minds?
They suppose
the dreams
that
they tell
one
another
will make My people
forget
My name,
just as
their fathers
forgot
My name
through the worship of Baal.
Let the prophet
who
has
a dream
retell
it,
but let him who
has
My word
speak
it
truthfully.
For what
is straw
compared to
grain?
declares
the LORD.
“Therefore
behold,”
declares
the LORD,
“I am against
the prophets
who steal
from each
other
words they attribute to Me.”
“Yes,”
declares
the LORD,
“I am against
the prophets
who wag
their own tongues
and proclaim,
‘The Lord declares it.’”
“Indeed,”
declares
the LORD,
“I am against
those who prophesy
FALSE
dreams
they tell
to lead My people
astray
with their reckless
lies.
It was not
I
who sent
or commanded them,
and they are of no
benefit
at all
to these
people,”
declares
the LORD.
“Now when
this
people,
or
a prophet
or
a priest,
asks you,
‘What
is the oracle
of the LORD?’
you are to say
to them:
‘What
oracle?
I will forsake
you,
declares
the LORD.’
As for the prophet
or priest
or anyone
who
claims,
‘This is the oracle
of the LORD,’
I will punish
that
man
and his household.
This is what
each man
is to say
to
his friend
and to
his brother:
‘What
has the LORD
answered?’
or, ‘What
has the LORD
spoken?’
But no
longer
refer to
the oracle
of the LORD,
for
each
man’s word
becomes
the oracle,
so that you pervert
the words
of the living
God,
the LORD
of Hosts,
our God.
Thus
you are to say
to
the prophet:
‘What
has the LORD
answered you?’
and, ‘What
has the LORD
spoken?’
But if
you claim,
‘This is the oracle
of the LORD,’
then
this is what
the LORD
says:
Because
you have said,
‘This is the oracle
of the LORD,’
and I specifically told
you not
to make this claim,
therefore
I will surely
forget
you
and cast you
out of
My presence,
both you and the city
that
I gave
to you
and your fathers.
And I will bring
upon you
everlasting
shame
and perpetual
humiliation
that
will never
be forgotten.”