Jeremiah 23:9-40.
Jeremiah 23:9-40 (Good News Translation)
9My heart is crushed,
and I am trembling.
Because of the LORD,
because of his holy words,
I am like a man who is drunk,
someone who has had too much wine. 10The land is full of people unfaithful
to the LORD;
they live wicked lives and misuse their power.
Because of the LORD's curse the land mourns
and the pastures are dry. 11The LORD says,
The prophets and the priests are godless;
I have caught them doing evil in the Temple itself. 12The paths they
follow will be slippery and dark;
I will make them stumble and fall.
I am going to bring disaster on them;
the time of their punishment is coming.
I, the LORD, have spoken. 13I have seen the sin of Samaria's prophets:
they have spoken in the name of Baal
and have led my people astray. 14But I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem
do even worse:
they commit adultery and tell lies;
they help people to do wrong,
so that no one stops doing what is evil.
To me they are all as bad
as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. 15So then, this is what I, the LORD
Almighty, say about the prophets of Jerusalem:
I will give them bitter plants to eat
and poison to drink,
because they have spread ungodliness throughout the land. 16The LORD
Almighty said to the people of Jerusalem, Do not listen to what the
prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what
they have imagined and not what I have said. 17To the people who refuse to
listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with
them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never
touch them. 18I said, None of these prophets has ever known the LORD's
secret thoughts. None of them has ever heard or understood his message, or
ever listened or paid attention to what he said. 19His anger is a storm, a
furious wind that will rage over the heads of the wicked, 20and it will
not end until he has done everything he intends to do. In days to come his
people will understand this clearly. 21The LORD said, I did not send these
prophets, but even so they went. I did not give them any message, but
still they spoke in my name. 22If they had known my secret thoughts, then
they could have proclaimed my message to my people and could have made
them give up the evil lives they live and the wicked things they do. 23I
am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only. 24No one can hide
where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven
and on earth? 25I know what those prophets have said who speak lies in my
name and claim that I have given them my messages in their dreams. 26How
much longer will those prophets mislead my people with the lies they have
invented? 27They think that the dreams they tell will make my people
forget me, just as their ancestors forgot me and turned to Baal. 28The
prophet who has had a dream should say it is only a dream, but the prophet
who has heard my message should proclaim that message faithfully. What good
is straw compared with wheat? 29My message is like a fire and like a hammer
that breaks rocks in pieces. 30I am against those prophets who take each
other's words and proclaim them as my message. 31I am also against those
prophets who speak their own words and claim they came from me. 32Listen
to what I, the LORD, say! I am against the prophets who tell their dreams
that are full of lies. They tell these dreams and lead my people astray
with their lies and their boasting. I did not send them or order them to
go, and they are of no help at all to the people. I, the LORD, have
spoken. 33The LORD said to me, Jeremiah, when one of my people or a
prophet or a priest asks you, What is the LORD's message? you are to say,
You are a burden to the LORD, and he is going to get rid of you. 34If any
of my people or a prophet or a priest even uses the words the LORD's
burden, I will punish them and their families. 35Instead, each one of them
should ask their friends and their relatives, What answer has the LORD
given? What has the LORD said? 36So they must no longer use the words the
LORD's burden, because if any of them do, I will make my message a real
burden to them. The people have perverted the words of their God, the
living God, the LORD Almighty. 37Jeremiah, ask the prophets, What answer
did the LORD give you? What did the LORD say? 38And if they disobey my
command and use the words the LORD's burden, then tell them that 39I will
certainly pick them up and throw them far away from me, both them and the
city that I gave to them and their ancestors. 40I will bring on them
everlasting shame and disgrace that will never be forgotten.
God bless you.
9My heart is crushed,
and I am trembling.
Because of the LORD,
because of his holy words,
I am like a man who is drunk,
someone who has had too much wine. 10The land is full of people unfaithful
to the LORD;
they live wicked lives and misuse their power.
Because of the LORD's curse the land mourns
and the pastures are dry. 11The LORD says,
The prophets and the priests are godless;
I have caught them doing evil in the Temple itself. 12The paths they
follow will be slippery and dark;
I will make them stumble and fall.
I am going to bring disaster on them;
the time of their punishment is coming.
I, the LORD, have spoken. 13I have seen the sin of Samaria's prophets:
they have spoken in the name of Baal
and have led my people astray. 14But I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem
do even worse:
they commit adultery and tell lies;
they help people to do wrong,
so that no one stops doing what is evil.
To me they are all as bad
as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. 15So then, this is what I, the LORD
Almighty, say about the prophets of Jerusalem:
I will give them bitter plants to eat
and poison to drink,
because they have spread ungodliness throughout the land. 16The LORD
Almighty said to the people of Jerusalem, Do not listen to what the
prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what
they have imagined and not what I have said. 17To the people who refuse to
listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with
them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never
touch them. 18I said, None of these prophets has ever known the LORD's
secret thoughts. None of them has ever heard or understood his message, or
ever listened or paid attention to what he said. 19His anger is a storm, a
furious wind that will rage over the heads of the wicked, 20and it will
not end until he has done everything he intends to do. In days to come his
people will understand this clearly. 21The LORD said, I did not send these
prophets, but even so they went. I did not give them any message, but
still they spoke in my name. 22If they had known my secret thoughts, then
they could have proclaimed my message to my people and could have made
them give up the evil lives they live and the wicked things they do. 23I
am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only. 24No one can hide
where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven
and on earth? 25I know what those prophets have said who speak lies in my
name and claim that I have given them my messages in their dreams. 26How
much longer will those prophets mislead my people with the lies they have
invented? 27They think that the dreams they tell will make my people
forget me, just as their ancestors forgot me and turned to Baal. 28The
prophet who has had a dream should say it is only a dream, but the prophet
who has heard my message should proclaim that message faithfully. What good
is straw compared with wheat? 29My message is like a fire and like a hammer
that breaks rocks in pieces. 30I am against those prophets who take each
other's words and proclaim them as my message. 31I am also against those
prophets who speak their own words and claim they came from me. 32Listen
to what I, the LORD, say! I am against the prophets who tell their dreams
that are full of lies. They tell these dreams and lead my people astray
with their lies and their boasting. I did not send them or order them to
go, and they are of no help at all to the people. I, the LORD, have
spoken. 33The LORD said to me, Jeremiah, when one of my people or a
prophet or a priest asks you, What is the LORD's message? you are to say,
You are a burden to the LORD, and he is going to get rid of you. 34If any
of my people or a prophet or a priest even uses the words the LORD's
burden, I will punish them and their families. 35Instead, each one of them
should ask their friends and their relatives, What answer has the LORD
given? What has the LORD said? 36So they must no longer use the words the
LORD's burden, because if any of them do, I will make my message a real
burden to them. The people have perverted the words of their God, the
living God, the LORD Almighty. 37Jeremiah, ask the prophets, What answer
did the LORD give you? What did the LORD say? 38And if they disobey my
command and use the words the LORD's burden, then tell them that 39I will
certainly pick them up and throw them far away from me, both them and the
city that I gave to them and their ancestors. 40I will bring on them
everlasting shame and disgrace that will never be forgotten.
God bless you.
Comments