23:1 “·How terrible it will be for [Woe to] ·those [L the shepherds; C the leaders of Judah] who are scattering and destroying ·my people [L the sheep of my pasture],” says the Lord.
23:2 They are ·responsible for the people [L the shepherds who shepherd my people; Num. 27:7; Ps. 78:70–72; Ezek. 34], so the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have scattered my ·people [flock] and forced them away and not taken care of them. So I will ·punish [take care of] you for the evil things you have done,” says the Lord.
23:3 “But I will gather ·those who are left alive [L the remnant of my flock] from all the lands where I have driven them and bring them back to their own ·country [flock]. Then they will ·have many children and grow in number [be fruitful and multiply].
23:4 I will ·place [raise up] ·new leaders over my people, who will take care of them [L shepherds who will shepherd them]. And my people will not be afraid or terrified again, and none of them will be lost,” says the Lord.
23:5 “The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a ·good [righteous] branch ·in David’s family [L for David; Is. 4:2; Zech. 3:8; 6:12]. He will be a king who will rule in a wise way; he will do ·what is fair and right [justice and righteousness] in the land.
23:6 In his time Judah will be ·saved [rescued], and Israel will live ·in safety [with confidence]. This will be his name: The Lord ·Does What Is Right [L Our Righteousness].
23:7 “So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not say again: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel out of Egypt….’
23:8 But people will say something new: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the ·descendants of Israel [L seed of the house of Israel] from the land of the north [C Babylon] and from all the countries where he had ·sent [driven] them away….’ Then the people of Israel will live in their own land [16:14–15].”
23:9 A message to the prophets: My heart is ·broken [L shattered within me]. All my bones shake. I’m like someone who is drunk, like someone who has been ·overcome [inebriated] with wine. This is because of the Lord and his holy words.
23:10 The land [C of Judah] is full of people who are guilty of adultery. Because of the curse the land ·is sad [mourns], and the pastures of the ·desert [wilderness] have dried up. The people [Their lives/L courses] are evil and ·they use their power in the wrong way [L their power is not right].
23:11 “Both the prophets and the priests are ungodly. I have found even in my own ·Temple [L house],” says the Lord.
23:12 “So their ·lives [L ways; paths] will be slippery and dark [C they will be in danger]. They will ·be defeated [L fall]. I will bring ·disaster [evil; trouble] on them in the year I punish them,” says the Lord.
23:13 “I saw the prophets of Samaria [C capital of the northern kingdom destroyed in 722 bc] do something ·wrong [disgusting]. Those prophets prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel away [Deut. 13:1–5].
23:14 And I have seen the prophets of Jerusalem do ·terrible [shocking] things. They are guilty of adultery and ·live [walk] by lies. They ·encourage [strengthen] ·evil people to keep on doing evil [L the hands of evildoers], so the people don’t ·stop sinning [L turn back from their evil]. All of those people are like the city of Sodom. The people of Jerusalem are like the city of Gomorrah to me [C sinful and soon to be punished; Gen. 18–19]!”
23:15 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says about the prophets: “I will make those prophets eat ·bitter food [L wormwood; C the bitter tasting leaves of a shrub; 9:15] and drink poisoned water, because the prophets of Jerusalem spread ·wickedness [godlessness] through the whole country.”
23:16 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “Don’t ·pay attention [listen] to what those prophets are ·saying [prophesying] to you. They are trying to ·fool [delude] you. They talk about visions their own ·minds [L hearts] made up, not ·about visions from me [L from the mouth of the Lord].
23:17 They say to those who ·hate [despise] me: ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ They say to all those who ·are stubborn and do as they please [L walk in the stubbornness of their heart]: ‘Nothing ·bad [evil; disastrous] will happen to you.’
23:18 ·But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels [L Who has stood in the assembly/council of the Lord…?; 1 Kin. 22:19–23; Job 1—2; 15:8; Ps. 82; Is. 6:1–3] to see or hear the message of the Lord. ·None of them [L Who…?] has paid close attention to his message.
23:19 Look, the ·storm [whirlwind] of the Lord! His anger will pour forth like a ·hurricane [storm; whirlwind]. It will come swirling down on the heads of those wicked people [30:23].
23:20 The Lord’s anger will not ·stop [turn back] until he finishes what he plans to do. When that day is over, you will understand this clearly [30:24].
23:21 I did not send those prophets, but they ran [C to tell their message]. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied anyway.
23:22 But if they had stood in ·the meeting of angels [L my assembly/council], they would have told my message to my people. They would have turned the people from their evil ways and from doing evil.
23:23 “·I am [L Am I only…?] a God who is near,” says the Lord. “·I am [L And not…?] also a God who is far away.
23:24 ·No one [L Who…?] can hide where I cannot see him,” says the Lord. “·I [L Do I not…?] fill all of heaven and earth,” says the Lord.
23:25 “I have heard the prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’
23:26 How long will this continue in the ·minds [L hearts] of these lying prophets? They prophesy from their own ·wishful thinking [L deceitful hearts].
23:27 They are trying to make the people of Judah forget ·me [L my name] by telling each other these dreams. In the same way, their ·ancestors [fathers] forgot ·me [L my name] ·and worshiped [L for] Baal.
23:28 ·Is straw the same thing as [L What has straw in common with] wheat?” says the Lord. “If a prophet wants to tell about his dreams, let him! But let the person who hears my message speak it truthfully!
23:29 Isn’t my message like a fire?” says the Lord. “Isn’t it like a hammer that smashes a rock?
23:30 “So I am against the prophets [C false prophets],” says the Lord. “They keep stealing words from each other [C and say they are from God].
23:31 I am against the prophets [C false prophets],” says the Lord. “They use their own ·words [L tongues] and ·pretend it is a message from me [L say, ‘Says the Lord’].
23:32 I am against the prophets who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord. “They mislead my people with their lies and ·false teachings [recklessness]! I did not send them or command them to do anything for me. They can’t help the people of Judah at all,” says the Lord.
23:33 “Suppose this people [C of Judah], a prophet, or a priest asks you [C Jeremiah]: ‘What is the ·message [oracle; burden] from the Lord?’ You will answer them and say, ‘You are a heavy ·load [burden] to the Lord, and I will throw you down, says the Lord.’
23:34 A prophet or a priest or one of the people might say, ‘This is a ·message [oracle; burden] from the Lord.’ I will punish him [C for lying that he has a message from God] and his whole family.
23:35 This is what you will say to each other: ‘What did the Lord answer?’ or ‘What did the Lord say?’
23:36 But you will never again ·say [mention; remember], ‘The ·message [oracle; burden] of the Lord,’ because the only ·message [oracle; burden] you speak is your own words. You have ·changed [overturned; perverted] the words of our God, the living God, the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
23:37 This is how you should speak to the prophets: ‘What answer did the Lord give you?’ or ‘What did the Lord say?’
23:38 But don’t say, ‘The ·message [oracle; burden] from the Lord.’ If you use these words, this is what the Lord says: Because you called it a ‘·message [oracle; burden] from the Lord,’ though I told you not to use those words,
23:39 I will pick you up and ·throw [cast] you away from me, along with the city [C Jerusalem], which I gave to your ·ancestors [fathers] and to you.
23:40 And I will ·make a disgrace of [give shame to] you forever; your shame will never be forgotten.”
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