Jeremiah 23:14-16, 21-32

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.

I did not send those prophets, but they ran to tell their message. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied anyway. But if they had stood in the meeting of angels, they would have told my message to my people. They would have turned the people from their evil ways and from doing evil. “I am a God who is near,” says the LORD. “I am also a God who is far away.” “No one can hide where I cannot see him,” says the LORD. “I fill all of heaven and earth,” says the LORD. “I have heard the prophets who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the minds of these lying prophets? They prophesy from their own wishful thinking. They are trying to make the people of Judah forget me by telling each other these dreams. In the same way, their ancestors forgot me and worshiped Baal. Is straw the same thing as 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! Isn’t my message like a fire?” says the LORD. “Isn’t it like a hammer that smashes a rock? “So I am against the false prophets,” says the LORD. “They keep stealing words from each other and say they are from me. I am against the false prophets,” says the LORD. “They use their own words and pretend it is a message from me. I am against the prophets who prophesy false dreams,” says the LORD. “They mislead my people with their lies and false teachings! 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.