Jeremiah 23:1-24

YAHWEH declares, “Doomed are the shepherds who scatter the sheep of my pasture and cause them to be destroyed! Therefore, this is what I, YAHWEH, the God of Israel, say to the shepherds of my people: You have scattered my flock, driven them away, and failed to take care of them. So, I will be sure to take care of you and deal with you for your evil,” YAHWEH declares. “But I will gather the remnant of my flock from all the countries where I have scattered them and will bring them back to their folds where they will thrive and increase in number.” YAHWEH declares, “I will raise up faithful shepherds to shepherd them; ones who will really care for them. There will be no more fear or terror for them anymore, and not one will be missing. “Listen to me! I, the Lord, promise you that a time is coming when I will raise up a righteous Branch, who will sprout from David’s lineage. He will rule as their King, and his reign will prosper with wisdom and understanding. He will succeed in bringing justice and righteousness to all. Under his rule, Judah and Israel will be kept safe and secure. He will be known by this name: YAHWEH, Our Righteousness! “So I, YAHWEH, declare that a day is coming when people will no longer say, ‘As YAHWEH lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt,’ but rather, ‘As surely as YAHWEH lives, who brought the Israelites back from the land of the north and from all the lands to which he had banished them.’ Then they will dwell in their own land.” Concerning the prophets: my heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome with wine. I’m overcome by the wine of YAHWEH, and his holy words spoken to me. The land is full of people unfaithful to him; they lead wicked lives and misuse their power. Because of a curse, the land is in mourning, and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up. YAHWEH declares, “Even the prophets and priests are ungodly! I have seen their wickedness in my own temple. So the paths they take will be dark and slippery. Certainly, they will stumble in the dark and fall headlong.” YAHWEH declares, “I will bring disaster on them when the time for punishment comes. The prophets of Samaria were disgusting to me! They prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people Israel astray. And I have seen the prophets of Jerusalem do horrible acts: adultery, persistent lying, and promoting the cause of the wicked, so that no one renounces his evil ways. To me, they are all depraved like Sodom, and the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah. “I, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, say this about the prophets: The prophets of Jerusalem have spewed their spiritual poison throughout the land. Therefore, I will make them drink poisoned water and feed them bitter food. So I, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, say: Ignore what those prophets prophesy to you; they are deluding you and imagining visions of their own, and not what comes from the mouth of YAHWEH. “They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘YAHWEH has spoken: You will have peace!’ And to those who follow their own stubborn ways, they prophesy, ‘No disaster will touch you.’ “Yet which of these prophets ever stood in YAHWEH’s council to hear and receive his word? Who has truly heard and paid attention to his message? Behold, YAHWEH’s anger is like the fury of a fearsome whirlwind about to hit the wicked head-on with gale-force winds. YAHWEH’s anger will not relent until he has perfectly carried out what he has in mind. In the latter days, you will clearly understand this.” YAHWEH says: “I did not send these so-called prophets, yet they ran eagerly to prophesy their message. I did not speak to them, yet they claimed to prophesy in my name. Had they been present in my divine council and heard my words, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and caused them to turn from their evil ways and their wicked deeds. “Am I just a God nearby,” demands YAHWEH, “and not a God who is both near and far away? Can anyone hide somewhere in secret where I do not see him?” declares YAHWEH. “Is there anywhere in heaven or on earth where I am not present?” declares YAHWEH.

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