Font Size
Jeremiah 23
Jubilee Bible 2000
Jeremiah 23
Jubilee Bible 2000
23 ¶ Woe be unto the pastors that waste and scatter the sheep of my pasture! said the LORD.
2 Therefore thus hath the LORD God of Israel said unto the pastors that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not visited them; behold, I visit upon you the evil of your doings, said the LORD.
3 And I will gather the remnant of my sheep out of all the lands where I have driven them and will cause them to return to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed neither shall they be lacking, said the LORD.
5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this shall be his name by which they shall call him, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 Therefore, behold, the days come, said the LORD, and they shall no longer say, The LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
8 but, The LORD lives, who caused the seed of the house of Israel to come up and out of the land of the north wind, and from all the lands where I had driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land.
9 ¶ My heart is broken within me because of the prophets, all my bones shake; I was like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, before the LORD, and before the words of his holiness.
10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of the oath the land is deserted; the booths of the wilderness are dried up, and their course was evil, and their force was not right.
11 For both prophet and priest are feigned; even in my house I have found their wickedness, said the LORD.
12 Therefore 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 also seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they committed adultery and walked by lies; they strengthened also the hands of evildoers, that no one is converted from his malice; they are all of them unto me as Sodom and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, thus hath the LORD of the hosts said against those prophets: Behold, I will cause them to eat wormwood and make them drink the waters of gall, for from the prophets of Jerusalem is hypocrisy gone forth upon all the land.
16 Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, 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 boldly unto those that stir me to anger, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto anyone that walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18 For who has stood in the secret of the LORD and has seen and heard his word? Who has paid attention to his word and heard it?
19 Behold, that the whirlwind of the LORD shall go forth with fury, and the whirlwind which is ready shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD shall not return until he has executed and until he has performed the thoughts of his heart: in the last of the days ye shall understand it with understanding.
21 I did not send those prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my secret, they would also have caused my people to hear my words, and they would have caused them to return from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.
23 Am I a God of the near only, said the LORD, and not a God of the far?
24 Can any hide himself in hiding places that I shall not see him? said the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? said the LORD.
25 I have heard what those prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies and that prophesy the deceit of their own heart?
27 Do they not think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which each one tells his neighbour, so much that their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal?
28 The prophet with whom the dream came, let him tell the dream; and he with whom my word came, let him speak my true word. What is the chaff to the wheat? said the LORD.
29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words each one from his neighbour.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that sweeten their tongues and say, He said.
32 Behold, I am against those that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and did tell them, and caused my people to err by their lies, and by their flattery; yet I did not send them, nor command them; and they did not profit this people at all, said the LORD.
33 ¶ And when this people or the prophet or the priest shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will forsake you, said the LORD.
34 And as for the prophet and the priest and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will visit upon that man and upon his house.
35 Thus shall ye say each one to his neighbour and each one to his brother, What has the LORD answered? and, What has the LORD spoken?
36 And never again shall it come to your memory to say, The burden of the LORD; for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of the hosts, our God.
37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What has the LORD answered thee? and, What has the LORD spoken?
38 But if ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus hath the LORD said: Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
39 therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will uproot you from my presence and the city that I gave you and your fathers:
40 and I will place an everlasting reproach upon you, and eternal shame, which shall never be forgotten.
Jeremiah 23
New International Version
Jeremiah 23
New International Version
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds(A) who are destroying and scattering(B) the sheep of my pasture!”(C) declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds(D) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock(E) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil(F) you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant(G) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,(H) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds(I) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid(J) or terrified, nor will any be missing,(K)” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch,(L)
a King(M) who will reign(N) wisely
and do what is just and right(O) in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.(P)
This is the name(Q) by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.(R)
7 “So then, the days are coming,”(S) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(T) 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”(U)
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart(V) is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.(W)
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and his holy words.(X)
10 The land is full of adulterers;(Y)
because of the curse[b](Z) the land lies parched
and the pastures(AA) in the wilderness are withered.(AB)
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;(AC)
even in my temple(AD) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;(AE)
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,(AF)”
declares the Lord.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal(AG)
and led my people Israel astray.(AH)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:(AI)
They commit adultery and live a lie.(AJ)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(AK)
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(AL)
They are all like Sodom(AM) to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(AN)
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,(AO)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness(AP) has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen(AQ) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(AR) from their own minds,
not from the mouth(AS) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(AT) to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(AU)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(AV) of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm(AW) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(AX) of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(AY) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(AZ) swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(BA) of the Lord will not turn back(BB)
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(BC) 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,(BD)
they would have proclaimed(BE) my words to my people
and would have turned(BF) them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.(BG)
23 “Am I only a God nearby,(BH)”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(BI) in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(BJ)
declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(BK) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(BL) I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions(BM) of their own minds?(BN) 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget(BO) my name, just as their ancestors forgot(BP) my name through Baal worship.(BQ) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream(BR) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word(BS) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”(BT) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer(BU) that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against(BV) the prophets(BW) 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.’(BX) 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(BY)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(BZ) with their reckless lies,(CA) yet I did not send(CB) or appoint them. They do not benefit(CC) 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(CD) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake(CE) you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message(CF) from the Lord,’ I will punish(CG) 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?’(CH) 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(CI) the words of the living God,(CJ) 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(CK) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace(CL)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or up from David’s line
- Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things
Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.