Jeremiah 23 (New American Standard)

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

1 "¹Woe to the shepherds who are ²destroying and scattering the ³sheep of My pasture !" declares the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are ^atending My people : "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to ⁴attend to you for the ⁵evil of your deeds," declares the LORD. 3 "Then I Myself will ⁶gather 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 ⁷shepherds over them and they will ^btend them; and they will ⁸not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, ⁹nor will any be missing," declares the LORD. 5 "Behold, the ¹⁰days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous ^c11Branch ; And He will ¹²reign as king and ^dact wisely And ¹³do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 "In His days Judah will be saved, And ¹⁴Israel will dwell securely ; And this is His ¹⁵name by which He will be called, 'The ¹⁶LORD our righteousness.' 7 "¹⁷Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when they will no longer say, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,' 8 ¹⁸but, 'As the LORD lives, who ¹⁹brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel 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 ²⁰heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble ; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of the LORD And because of His holy words. 10 For the land is full of ²¹adulterers ; For the land ²²mourns because of the curse. The ²³pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil And their might is not right. 11 "For ²⁴both prophet and priest are polluted ; Even in My house I have found their wickedness," declares the LORD. 12 "Therefore their way will be like ²⁵slippery paths to them, They will be driven away into the ²⁶gloom and fall down in it; For I will bring ²⁷calamity upon them, The year of their punishment," declares the LORD. 13 "Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an ²⁸offensive thing : They ²⁹prophesied by Baal and ³⁰led My people Israel astray. 14 "Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a ³¹horrible thing : The committing of ³²adultery and walking in falsehood ; And they strengthen the hands of ³³evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like ³⁴Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 "Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, 'Behold, I am going to ³⁵feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.' " 16 Thus says the LORD of hosts, "³⁶Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are ³⁷leading you into futility ; They speak a ³⁸vision of their own ^eimagination, Not ³⁹from the mouth of the LORD. 17 "They keep saying to those who ⁴⁰despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "⁴¹You will have peace "'; And as for everyone who walks in the ⁴²stubbornness of his own heart, They say, '⁴³Calamity will not come upon you.' 18 "But ⁴⁴who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word ? Who has given ⁴⁵heed to ^fHis word and listened ? 19 "Behold, the ⁴⁶storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest ; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. 20 "The ⁴⁷anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has ⁴⁸performed and carried out the purposes of His heart ; ⁴⁹In the last days you will clearly understand it. 21 "⁵⁰I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. 22 "But if they had ⁵¹stood in My council, Then they would have ⁵²announced 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 ⁵³near," declares the LORD, "And not a God far off ? 24 "Can a man ⁵⁴hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "⁵⁵Do I not fill the heavens and the earth ?" declares the LORD. 25 "I have ⁵⁶heard what the prophets have said who ⁵⁷prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a ⁵⁸dream, I had a dream !' 26 "How long ? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the ⁵⁹deception of their own heart, 27 who intend to ⁶⁰make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers ⁶¹forgot My name because of Baal ? 28 "The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has ⁶²My word speak My word in truth. ⁶³What does straw have in common with grain ?" declares the LORD. 29 "Is not My word like ⁶⁴fire ?" declares the LORD, "and like a ⁶⁵hammer which shatters a rock ? 30 "Therefore behold, ⁶⁶I 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 use their tongues and declare, 'The Lord declares.' 32 "Behold, I am against those who have prophesied ⁶⁷false dreams," declares the LORD, "and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and ⁶⁸reckless boasting ; yet ⁶⁹I did not send them or command them, nor do they ⁷⁰furnish 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 ^g71oracle of the LORD ?' then you shall say to them, 'What ^horacle ?' The LORD declares, 'I will ⁷²abandon you.' 34 "Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, 'The ⁷³oracle of the LORD,' I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. 35 "Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, '⁷⁴What has the LORD answered ?' or, 'What has the LORD spoken ?' 36 "For you will no longer remember the oracle of the LORD, because every man's own word will become the oracle, and you have ⁷⁵perverted the words of the ⁷⁶living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 "Thus you will say to that prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken ?' 38 "For if you say, 'The oracle of the LORD !' surely thus says the LORD, 'Because you said this word, "The oracle of the LORD !" I have also sent to you, saying, "You shall not say, 'The oracle of the LORD !' "' 39 "Therefore behold, ⁷⁷I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. 40 "I will put an everlasting ⁷⁸reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten."