Jeremiah 23:9–29

Lying Prophets

9 Concerning the prophets:

My heartn is broken within me;

all my bones tremble.o

I am like a drunken man,

like a strong man overcome by wine,

because of the Lord

and his holy words.p

10 The land is full of adulterers;q

because of the curseb r the land lies parched

and the pasturess in the wilderness are withered.t

The prophets follow an evil course

and use their power unjustly.

11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;u

even in my templev I find their wickedness,”

declares the Lord.

12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;w

they will be banished to darkness

and there they will fall.

I will bring disaster on them

in the year they are punished,x”

declares the Lord.

13 “Among the prophets of Samaria

I saw this repulsive thing:

They prophesied by Baaly

and led my people Israel astray.z

14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem

I have seen something horrible:a

They commit adultery and live a lie.b

They strengthen the hands of evildoers,c

so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.d

They are all like Sodome to me;

the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”f

15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food

and drink poisoned water,g

because from the prophets of Jerusalem

ungodlinessh has spread throughout the land.”

16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listeni to what the prophets are prophesying to you;

they fill you with false hopes.

They speak visionsj from their own minds,

not from the mouthk of the Lord.

17 They keep sayingl to those who despise me,

‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’m

And to all who follow the stubbornnessn of their hearts

they say, ‘No harmo will come to you.’

18 But which of them has stood in the councilp of the Lord

to see or to hear his word?

Who has listened and heard his word?

19 See, the stormq of the Lord

will burst out in wrath,

a whirlwindr swirling down

on the heads of the wicked.

20 The angers of the Lord will not turn backt

until he fully accomplishes

the purposes of his heart.

In days to come

you will understand it clearly.

21 I did not sendu 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,v

they would have proclaimedw my words to my people

and would have turnedx them from their evil ways

and from their evil deeds.y

23 “Am I only a God nearby,z”

declares the Lord,

“and not a God far away?

24 Who can hidea in secret places

so that I cannot see them?”

declares the Lord.

“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”b

declares the Lord.

25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy liesc in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!d I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusionse of their own minds?f 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forgetg my name, just as their ancestors forgoth my name through Baal worship.i 28 Let the prophet who has a dreamj recount the dream, but let the one who has my wordk speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”l declares the Lord, “and like a hammerm that breaks a rock in pieces?