Jeremiah 23:1-20.
Jeremiah 23.1-20
A Message of Hope
"The Lord said:
You leaders of my people are like shepherds that kill and scatter the
sheep. You were supposed to take care of my people, but instead you
chased them away. So now I'll really take care of you, and believe me,
you will pay for your crimes!
I will bring the rest of my people home from the lands where I have
scattered them, and they will grow into a mighty nation. I promise to
choose leaders who will care for them like real shepherds. All of my
people will be there, and they will never again be frightened. Someday
I will appoint an honest king from the family of David, a king who
will be wise and rule with justice. As long as he is king, Israel will
have peace, and Judah will be safe. The name of this king will be "The
Lord Gives Justice."
A time will come when you will again worship me. But you will no
longer call me the Living God who rescued Israel from Egypt. Instead,
you will call me the Living God who rescued you from the land in the
north and from all the other countries where I had forced you to go.
And you will once again live in your own land.
Jeremiah Thinks about Unfaithful Prophets
When I think of the prophets, I am shocked, and I tremble like someone
drunk, because of the Lord and his sacred words. Those unfaithful
prophets misuse their power all over the country. So God turned the
pasturelands into scorching deserts. The Lord Will Punish Unfaithful
Prophets
The Lord told me to say:
You prophets and priests think so little of me, the Lord, that you
even sin in my own temple! Now I will punish you with disaster, and
you will slip and fall in the darkness. I, the Lord, have spoken. The
prophets in Samaria were disgusting to me, because they preached in
the name of Baal and led my people astray. And you prophets in
Jerusalem are even worse. You're unfaithful in marriage and never tell
the truth. You even lead others to sin instead of helping them turn
back to me. You and the people of Jerusalem are evil like Sodom and
Gomorrah. You prophets in Jerusalem have spread evil everywhere.
That's why I, the Lord, promise to give you bitter poison to eat and
drink.
The Lord Gives a Warning
The Lord said:
Don't listen to the lies of these false prophets, you people of Judah!
The message they preach is something they imagined; it did not come
from me, the Lord All-Powerful. These prophets go to people who refuse
to respect me and who are stubborn and do whatever they want. The
prophets tell them, "The Lord has promised everything will be fine."
But I, the Lord, tell you that these prophets have never attended a
meeting of my council in heaven or heard me speak. They are evil! So
in my anger I will strike them like a violent storm. I won't calm
down, until I have finished what I have decided to do. Someday you
will understand exactly what I mean."
God bless you.
A Message of Hope
"The Lord said:
You leaders of my people are like shepherds that kill and scatter the
sheep. You were supposed to take care of my people, but instead you
chased them away. So now I'll really take care of you, and believe me,
you will pay for your crimes!
I will bring the rest of my people home from the lands where I have
scattered them, and they will grow into a mighty nation. I promise to
choose leaders who will care for them like real shepherds. All of my
people will be there, and they will never again be frightened. Someday
I will appoint an honest king from the family of David, a king who
will be wise and rule with justice. As long as he is king, Israel will
have peace, and Judah will be safe. The name of this king will be "The
Lord Gives Justice."
A time will come when you will again worship me. But you will no
longer call me the Living God who rescued Israel from Egypt. Instead,
you will call me the Living God who rescued you from the land in the
north and from all the other countries where I had forced you to go.
And you will once again live in your own land.
Jeremiah Thinks about Unfaithful Prophets
When I think of the prophets, I am shocked, and I tremble like someone
drunk, because of the Lord and his sacred words. Those unfaithful
prophets misuse their power all over the country. So God turned the
pasturelands into scorching deserts. The Lord Will Punish Unfaithful
Prophets
The Lord told me to say:
You prophets and priests think so little of me, the Lord, that you
even sin in my own temple! Now I will punish you with disaster, and
you will slip and fall in the darkness. I, the Lord, have spoken. The
prophets in Samaria were disgusting to me, because they preached in
the name of Baal and led my people astray. And you prophets in
Jerusalem are even worse. You're unfaithful in marriage and never tell
the truth. You even lead others to sin instead of helping them turn
back to me. You and the people of Jerusalem are evil like Sodom and
Gomorrah. You prophets in Jerusalem have spread evil everywhere.
That's why I, the Lord, promise to give you bitter poison to eat and
drink.
The Lord Gives a Warning
The Lord said:
Don't listen to the lies of these false prophets, you people of Judah!
The message they preach is something they imagined; it did not come
from me, the Lord All-Powerful. These prophets go to people who refuse
to respect me and who are stubborn and do whatever they want. The
prophets tell them, "The Lord has promised everything will be fine."
But I, the Lord, tell you that these prophets have never attended a
meeting of my council in heaven or heard me speak. They are evil! So
in my anger I will strike them like a violent storm. I won't calm
down, until I have finished what I have decided to do. Someday you
will understand exactly what I mean."
God bless you.
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