“How terrible it will be for the leaders of Judah, who are scattering and destroying my people,” says the LORD.
They are responsible for the people, so the LORD, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have scattered my people and forced them away and not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” says the LORD. “I sent my people to other countries, but I will gather those who are left alive and bring them back to their own country. Then they will have many children and grow in number. I will place new leaders over my people, who will take care of them. And my people will not be afraid or terrified again, and none of them will be lost,” says the LORD.
“The days are coming,” says the LORD,
“when I will raise up a good branch in David’s family.
He will be a king who will rule in a wise way;
he will do what is fair and right in the land.
In his time Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
This will be his name:
The LORD Does What Is Right.
“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 . . . ’ But people will say something new: ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where he had sent them away . . . ’ Then the people of Israel will live in their own land.”
A message to the prophets:
My heart is broken.
All my bones shake.
I’m like someone who is drunk,
like someone who has been overcome with wine.
This is because of the LORD
and his holy words.
The land of Judah is full of people who are guilty of adultery.
Because of this, the LORD cursed the land.
It has become a very sad place,
and the pastures have dried up.
The people are evil
and use their power in the wrong way.
“Both the prophets and the priests live as if there were no God.
I have found them doing evil things even in my own Temple,” says the LORD.
“So they will be in danger.
They will be forced into darkness
where they will be defeated.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year I punish them,” says the LORD.
“I saw the prophets of Samaria
do something wrong.
Those prophets prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel away.
And I have seen the prophets of Jerusalem
do terrible things.
They are guilty of adultery
and live by lies.
They encourage evil people to keep on doing evil,
so the people don’t stop sinning.
All of those people are like the city of Sodom.
The people of Jerusalem are like the city of Gomorrah to me!”
So this is what the LORD All-Powerful says about the prophets:
“I will make those prophets eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,
because the prophets of Jerusalem spread wickedness
through the whole country.”
This is what the LORD All-Powerful says:
“Don’t pay attention to what those prophets are saying to you.
They are trying to fool you.
They talk about visions their own minds made up,
not about visions from me.
They say to those who hate me:
‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’
They say to all those who are stubborn and do as they please:
‘Nothing bad will happen to you.’
But none of these prophets has stood in the meeting of angels
to see or hear the message of the LORD.
None of them has paid close attention to his message.
Look, the punishment from the LORD
will come like a storm.
His anger will be like a hurricane.
It will come swirling down on the heads of those wicked people.
The LORD’s anger will not stop
until he finishes what he plans to do.
When that day is over,
you will understand this clearly.
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