The Righteous Branch
1 "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and
scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the
LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people:
"Because you have scattered my flock and driven
them away and have not bestowed care on them, I
will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have
done," declares the LORD. 3 "I myself will gather the
remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I
have driven them and will bring them back to their
pasture. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will
tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or
terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.
5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteous Savior.
7 "So then, the days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when people will no longer say, 'As surely as the
LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of
Egypt,' 8 but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the
land of the north and out of all the countries where
he had banished them.' Then they will live in their
own land."
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the LORD
and his holy words.
10 The land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land lies parched
and the pastures in the wilderness are withered.
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
11 "Both prophet and priest are godless;
even in my temple I find their wickedness,"
declares the LORD.
12 "Therefore their path will become slippery;
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,"
declares the LORD.
13 "Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:
They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strenghten the hands of evildoers,
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."
15 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says
concerning the prophets:
"I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land."
16 This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Do not listen to what the prophets are prohesying
to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD.
17 They keep saying to those who despise me,
'The LORD says: You will have peace.'
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, 'No harm will come to you.'
18 But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm of the LORD
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD will not turn bac
until he fuly accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send 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,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
23 "Am I only a God nearby,"
declares the LORD,
"and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide in cecret places
so that I cannot see them?"
declares the LORD.
"Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
declares the LORD.
25 "I have heard what the prophets say who
prophesy lies in my name. They say, 'I had a dream! I
had a dream!' 26 How long will this continue in the
hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the
delusions of their own minds? 27 They think the
dreams they tell one another will make my people
forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my
name through Baal worship. 28 Let the prophet who
has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who
has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw
to do with grain?" declares the LORD. 29 "Is not my
word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer
that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 "Therefore," declares the LORD, "I am against the
prophets who steal from one another words
supposedly from me. 31 Yes, " declares the LORD, "I
am against the prophets who wag their own tongues
and yet declare, 'The LORD declares.' 32 Indeed, I am
against those who prophesy false dreams," declares
the LORD. "They tell them and lead my people astray
with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint
them. They do not benefit these people in the least,"
declares the LORD.
False Prophecy
33 "When these people, or a prophet or a priest,
ask you, 'What is the message from the LORD?' say to
them, 'What message? I will forsake you, declares
the LORD.' 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else
claims, 'This is a message from the LORD,' I will
punish them and their household. 35 This is what
each of you keeps saying to your friends and other
Israelites: 'What is the LORD's answer?' or 'What has
the LORD spoken?' 36 But you must not mention 'a
message from the LORD' again, because each one's
word becomes their own message. So you distort
the words of the living God, the LORD Almighty, our
God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet:
'What is the LORD's answer to you?' or 'What has the
LORD spoken?' 38 Although you claim, 'This is a
message from the LORD,' this is what the LORD says:
You used the words, 'This is a message from the
LORD,' even though I told you that you must not
claim, 'This is a message from the LORD.'
39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you
out of my presence along with the city I gave to you
and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting
disgrace--everlasting shame that will not be forgotten."