23. 1
"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. 2
Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds£º
"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. 3 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. 4 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! 5
"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. 6 And
this will be his name£º 'The Lord Is Our Righteousness.' In that day Judah will
be saved, and Israel will live in safety. 7
"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.' 8
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." 9 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. 10 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. 11
"Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their
despicable acts right here in my own Temple," says the Lord. 12
"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! 13
"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. 14 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." 15
Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says concerning the
prophets£º "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." 16 This
is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says to his people£º "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! 17 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!' 18
"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? 19 Look!
The Lord's anger bursts out like a storm, a whirlwind that swirls down on the
heads of the wicked. 20 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. 21
"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. 22 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. 23 Am I a
God who is only close at hand?" says the Lord. "No, I am far away at
the same time. 24 Can
anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens
and earth?" says the Lord. 25
"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. 26 How
long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit,
inventing everything they say. 27 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. 28
"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! 29 Does
not my word burn like fire?" says the Lord. "Is it not like a mighty
hammer that smashes a rock to pieces? 30
"Therefore," says the Lord, "I am against these prophets who
steal messages from each other and claim they are from me. 31 I am
against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, 'This prophecy is from the
Lord!' 32 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! 33
"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!' 34
"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. 35 You
should keep asking each other, 'What is the Lord's answer?' or 'What is the
Lord saying?' 36 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. 37
"This is what you should say to the prophets£º 'What is the Lord's
answer?' or 'What is the Lord saying?' 38 But
suppose they respond, 'This is a prophecy from the Lord!' Then you should say,
'This is what the Lord says£º Because you have used this phrase, "prophecy
from the Lord," even though I warned you not to use it, 39 I will
forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city
that I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 And I
will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout
the ages.'" 24. 1 After
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of
Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and
artisans, the Lord gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in
front of the Lord's Temple in Jerusalem. 2 One
basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad
figs that were too rotten to eat. 3 Then the
Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied, "Figs,
some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat." 4 Then
the Lord gave me this message£º 5
"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says£º The good figs represent the
exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians. 6 I will
watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will
build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will
give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I
will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. 8
"But the bad figs," the Lord said, "represent King Zedekiah of
Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in
Egypt. I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat. 9 I will
make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on earth.
They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed, wherever I scatter them.
10 And I
will send war, famine, and disease until they have vanished from the land of
Israel, which I gave to them and their ancestors." 25. 1 This
message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the
fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign over Judah. This was the year when King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began his reign. 2
Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people in Judah and Jerusalem, 3
"For the past twenty-three years - from the thirteenth year of the reign
of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until now - the Lord has been giving me
his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not
listened. 4
"Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you
have not listened or even paid attention. 5 Each
time the message was this£º 'Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from
the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that
the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. 6 Do not
provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will
not harm you.' 7
"But you would not listen to me," says the Lord. "You made me
furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on
yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. 8 And now
the Lord of Heaven's Armies says£º Because you have not listened to me, 9 I will
gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this
land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely
destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. 10 I will
take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and
brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the
lights in your homes will go out. 11 This
entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands
will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. 12
"Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king
of Babylon and his people for their sins," says the Lord. "I will
make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever. 13 I will
bring upon them all the terrors I have promised in this book - all the
penalties announced by Jeremiah against the nations. 14 Many
nations and great kings will enslave the Babylonians, just as they enslaved my
people. I will punish them in proportion to the suffering they cause my
people." 15 This
is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me£º "Take from my hand this cup
filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you
drink from it. 16 When
they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send
against them." 17 So I
took the cup of anger from the Lord and made all the nations drink from it -
every nation to which the Lord sent me. 18 I went
to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank
from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an
object of horror, contempt, and cursing. 19 I gave
the cup to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials, and all his
people, 20 along
with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of
the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron,
and what remains of Ashdod. 21 Then I
gave the cup to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, 22 and
the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea. 23 I gave
it to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places. 24 I gave
it to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert, 25 and to
the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media. 26 And I
gave it to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the
other - all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon himself
drank from the cup of the Lord's anger. 27 Then
the Lord said to me, "Now tell them, 'This is what the Lord of Heaven's
Armies, the God of Israel, says£º Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk
and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.' 28 And if
they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, 'The Lord of Heaven's Armies says£º
You have no choice but to drink from it. 29 I have
begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go
unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all
the nations of the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!' 30
"Now prophesy all these things, and say to them, "'The Lord will roar
against his own land from his holy dwelling in heaven. He will shout like those
who tread grapes; he will shout against everyone on earth. 31 His
cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth, for the Lord will bring his
case against all the nations. He will judge all the people of the earth,
slaughtering the wicked with the sword. I, the Lord, have spoken!'" 32 This
is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says£º "Look! Disaster will fall upon
nation after nation! A great whirlwind of fury is rising from the most distant
corners of the earth!" 33 In
that day those the Lord has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the
other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They
will be scattered on the ground like manure. 34 Weep
and moan, you evil shepherds! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock! The
time of your slaughter has arrived; you will fall and shatter like a fragile
vase. 35 You
will find no place to hide; there will be no way to escape. 36 Listen
to the frantic cries of the shepherds. The leaders of the flock are wailing in
despair, for the Lord is ruining their pastures. 37
Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland by the Lord's fierce anger.
38 He has
left his den like a strong lion seeking its prey, and their land will be made
desolate by the sword of the enemy and the Lord's fierce anger.