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          DASV: Jeremiah 23    

1 "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of
my pasture!" says the LORD.
2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says
against the shepherds that rule my people: "You have scattered
my flock, and driven them away, and have not taken care of
them. So I will take care of you for your evil actions,"
says the LORD.
3 "I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the
countries where I have driven them, and will bring them
back again to their folds. There they will be fruitful
and multiply.
4 I will set up shepherds over them, who will take care
of them; they will not be afraid anymore or terrified.
None of them will be missing," says the LORD.
5 "The days are coming," says the LORD,
     "that I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
           and he will reign as king
     and will act with wisdom,
           justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved,
           and Israel will dwell in safety;
      and this is his name by which he will be called:
           'The LORD is our righteousness.'"

7 "So, look, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that
they will no more say, 'As the LORD lives, who brought
up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.'
8 But instead, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up and who
led the descendants of the house of Israel out of the
land of the north, and from all the countries where he
had exiled them. Then they will live in their own land.'"

9 "Concerning the prophets:
     My heart is broken within me,
           all my bones shake;
     I am like a drunken person,
           and like a person overcome with wine,
     because of the LORD,
           and because of his holy words.
10 For the land is full of adulterers;
     for because of the curse the land mourns;
     the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
      For the course on which they run is evil,
          and they use their power abusively;
11 for both prophet and priest are ungodly;
     even in my house I have found their wickedness,"
          v says the LORD.
12 "Therefore their paths will be like slippery places
           in the darkness.
     They will be chased and fall there.
           For I will bring disaster on them,
     even in the year of their punishment," says the LORD.
13 "I have seen something disgusting among the prophets of Samaria:
     They prophesied by Baal,
           and led my people Israel astray.
14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen something horrible:
     They commit adultery and walk in lies;
     they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
           so that no one turns from his wickedness.
      They have all become like Sodom to me,
          and its inhabitants like Gomorrah."

15 Therefore this is what the LORD of hosts says concerning
the prophets:
     "I will feed them with bitterness,
           and make them drink poison.
     For it is from the prophets of Jerusalem that ungodliness
           has spread through the entire land."

16 This is what the LORD of hosts says,
     "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
     They fill you with empty delusions.
     They speak visions from their own heart,
           and not from the mouth of the LORD.
17 They say continually to those who despise me,
     'The LORD has said, You will have peace.'
      To everyone who follows their own stubborn heart, they say,
          'No harm will happen to you.'
18 For who has stood in the council of the LORD
          that he should perceive and hear his word?
      Who has paid attention to my word and listened to it?
19 Look, the LORD's wrath will sweep in like a storm.
     Like a raging tempest it will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back
     until he has executed
           and performed the purposes of his heart.
      In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send these prophets,
          yet they ran around claiming to have a message.
      I did not speak to them,
           yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
     then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
     and they would have turned them from their evil way
           and from their evil actions."

23 "Am I only a God nearby," says the LORD,
     "and not also a God afar away?"
24 "Can anyone hide in secret places
     so that I will not see him?" says the LORD.
      "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the LORD.

25 "I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy
lies in my name, claiming, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed.'
26 How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who
prophesy lies, who prophesy the fantasies of their own minds?
27 They intend to make my people forget my name by their
dreams which they tell each other, just as when their
forefathers forgot my name because of Baal.
28 The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream. Let
the one who has my word, speak my word faithfully. What
does straw have in common with wheat?" says the LORD.
29 "Is not my word like fire?" says the LORD, "and like a
hammer that smashes a rock in pieces?"
30 "Therefore, I am against the prophets," says the LORD,
"who steal my words from each other."
31 "I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who use
their tongues, and claim, 'The LORD says.'
32 I am against those who prophesy lying dreams," says the
LORD, "and report them, and lead my people to astray by
their lies and recklessness. Yet I did not send them,
or commission them, so they are of no benefit to this
people at all," says the LORD.

33 When this people, prophet, or priest, asks you, "What
is the burden message of the LORD?" Then tell them, "You
are the burden and I will cast you off, says the LORD."
34 As for the prophet, priest, or people, who says, "The
burden message of the LORD," I will punish that person
and their family.
35 This is what each of you shall ask their neighbor and
relative, "What did the LORD answer?" and, "What did the
LORD say?"
36 Stop mentioning "the burden message of the LORD," for
every one's own word is what he is claiming is his burden.
This is how you have perverted the words of the living God,
of the LORD of hosts, our God.
37 This is what you will say to the prophet, "What did the
LORD answer you?" and, "What did the LORD say?"
38 But if you claim, "The burden message of the LORD." This
is what the LORD actually says: "You say this phrase, 'The
burden message of the LORD,' even though I told you, "You
should not say, 'The burden of the LORD.'
39 Therefore, I will absolutely forget you and I will cast
you from my presence, including the city that I gave to
you and your forefathers.
40 I will bring everlasting disgrace on you and perpetual
shame, which will never be forgotten."

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