Jeremiah 23 : 1 (NLT)
"What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people-- the shepherds of my sheep-- for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for," says the LORD.
Jeremiah 23 : 2 (NLT)
Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: "Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.
Jeremiah 23 : 3 (NLT)
But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.
Jeremiah 23 : 4 (NLT)
Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the LORD have spoken!
Jeremiah 23 : 5 (NLT)
"For the time is coming," says the LORD, "when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David's line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
Jeremiah 23 : 6 (NLT)
And this will be his name: 'The LORD Is Our Righteousness.' In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.
Jeremiah 23 : 7 (NLT)
"In that day," says the LORD, "when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.'
Jeremiah 23 : 8 (NLT)
Instead, they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.' Then they will live in their own land."
Jeremiah 23 : 9 (NLT)
My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and my bones tremble. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the LORD has spoken against them.
Jeremiah 23 : 10 (NLT)
For the land is full of adultery, and it lies under a curse. The land itself is in mourning-- its wilderness pastures are dried up. For they all do evil and abuse what power they have.
Jeremiah 23 : 11 (NLT)
"Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple," says the LORD.
Jeremiah 23 : 12 (NLT)
"Therefore, the paths they take will become slippery. They will be chased through the dark, and there they will fall. For I will bring disaster upon them at the time fixed for their punishment. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Jeremiah 23 : 13 (NLT)
"I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil, for they prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people of Israel into sin.
Jeremiah 23 : 14 (NLT)
But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse! They commit adultery and love dishonesty. They encourage those who are doing evil so that no one turns away from their sins. These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were."
Jeremiah 23 : 15 (NLT)
Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says concerning the prophets: "I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. For it is because of Jerusalem's prophets that wickedness has filled this land."
Jeremiah 23 : 16 (NLT)
This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says to his people: "Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the LORD!
Jeremiah 23 : 17 (NLT)
They keep saying to those who despise my word, 'Don't worry! The LORD says you will have peace!' And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, 'No harm will come your way!'
Jeremiah 23 : 18 (NLT)
"Have any of these prophets been in the LORD's presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen?
Jeremiah 23 : 19 (NLT)
Look! The LORD's anger bursts out like a storm, a whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.
Jeremiah 23 : 20 (NLT)
The anger of the LORD will not diminish until it has finished all he has planned. In the days to come you will understand all this very clearly.
Jeremiah 23 : 21 (NLT)
"I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying.
Jeremiah 23 : 22 (NLT)
If they had stood before me and listened to me, they would have spoken my words, and they would have turned my people from their evil ways and deeds.
Jeremiah 23 : 23 (NLT)
Am I a God who is only close at hand?" says the LORD. "No, I am far away at the same time.
Jeremiah 23 : 24 (NLT)
Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" says the LORD.
Jeremiah 23 : 25 (NLT)
"I have heard these prophets say, 'Listen to the dream I had from God last night.' And then they proceed to tell lies in my name.
Jeremiah 23 : 26 (NLT)
How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say.
Jeremiah 23 : 27 (NLT)
By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.
Jeremiah 23 : 28 (NLT)
"Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!
Jeremiah 23 : 29 (NLT)
Does not my word burn like fire?" says the LORD. "Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
Jeremiah 23 : 30 (NLT)
"Therefore," says the LORD, "I am against these prophets who steal messages from each other and claim they are from me.
Jeremiah 23 : 31 (NLT)
I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, 'This prophecy is from the LORD!'
Jeremiah 23 : 32 (NLT)
I am against these false prophets. Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead my people into sin. I did not send or appoint them, and they have no message at all for my people. I, the LORD have spoken!
Jeremiah 23 : 33 (NLT)
"Suppose one of the people or one of the prophets or priests asks you, 'What prophecy has the LORD burdened you with now?' You must reply, 'You are the burden! The LORD says he will abandon you!'
Jeremiah 23 : 34 (NLT)
"If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, 'I have a prophecy from the LORD,' I will punish that person along with his entire family.
Jeremiah 23 : 35 (NLT)
You should keep asking each other, 'What is the LORD's answer?' or 'What is the LORD saying?'
Jeremiah 23 : 36 (NLT)
But stop using this phrase, 'prophecy from the LORD.' For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the LORD of Heaven's Armies.
Jeremiah 23 : 37 (NLT)
"This is what you should say to the prophets: 'What is the LORD's answer?' or 'What is the LORD saying?'
Jeremiah 23 : 38 (NLT)
But suppose they respond, 'This is a prophecy from the LORD!' Then you should say, 'This is what the LORD says: Because you have used this phrase, "prophecy from the LORD," even though I warned you not to use it,
Jeremiah 23 : 39 (NLT)
I will forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors.
Jeremiah 23 : 40 (NLT)
And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.'"
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