New Leaders over a Regathered Remnant
1The
2So the
3Then I myself will regather those of my people who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. They will greatly increase in number.
4I will install rulers over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. I, the
5“I, the
when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David.
He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding
and will do what is just and right in the land.
6Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety
and Israel will live in security.
This is the name he will go by:
‘The
7“So I, the
8But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the
Oracles Against the False Prophets
9Here is what the
My heart and my mind are deeply disturbed.
I tremble all over.
I am like a drunk person,
like a person who has had too much wine,
because of the way the
and his holy word are being mistreated.
10For the land is full of people unfaithful to him.
They live wicked lives and they misuse their power.
So the land is dried up because it is under his curse.
The pastures in the wilderness are withered.
11Moreover, the
“Both the prophets and priests are godless.
I have even found them doing evil in my temple!
12So the paths they follow will be dark and slippery.
They will stumble and fall headlong.
For I will bring disaster on them.
A day of reckoning is coming for them.”
The
13The
doing something that was disgusting.
They prophesied in the name of the god Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14But I see the prophets of Jerusalem
doing something just as shocking.
They are unfaithful to me
and continually prophesy lies.
So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,
with the result that they do not stop their evildoing.
I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,
and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.
15So then I, the
have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem:
‘I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering
and drink the poison water of judgment.
For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason
that ungodliness has spread throughout the land.’”
16The
“Do not listen to what
those prophets are saying to you.
They are filling you with false hopes.
They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,
not something the
17They continually say to those who reject what the
‘Things will go well for you!’
They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts,
‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’
18Yet which of them has ever stood in the
so they could see and hear what he has to say?
Which of them have ever paid attention or listened to what he has said?
19But just watch! The wrath of the
will come like a storm!
Like a raging storm it will rage down
on the heads of those who are wicked.
20The anger of the
until he has fully carried out his intended purposes.
In days to come
you people will come to understand this clearly.
21I did not send those prophets.
Yet they were in a hurry to give their message.
I did not tell them anything.
Yet they prophesied anyway.
22But if they had stood in my inner circle,
they would have proclaimed my message to my people.
They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways
and stop doing the evil things they are doing.
23Do you people think that I am some local deity
and not the transcendent God?” the
24“Do you really think anyone can hide himself
where I cannot see him?” the
“Do you not know that I am everywhere?”
the
25The
26Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds.
27How long will they go on plotting to make my people forget who I am through the dreams they tell one another? That is just as bad as what their ancestors did when they forgot who I am by worshiping the god Baal.
28Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! I, the
29My message is like a fire that purges dross! It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! I, the
30So I, the
31I, the
32I, the
33The
34I will punish any prophet, priest, or other person who says “The
35So I, Jeremiah, tell you, “Each of you people should say to his friend or his relative, ‘How did the
36You must no longer say that the
37Each of you should merely ask the prophet, ‘What answer did the
38But just suppose you continue to say, ‘The message of the
39So I will carry you far off and throw you away. I will send both you and the city I gave to you and to your ancestors out of my sight.
40I will bring on you lasting shame and lasting disgrace which will never be forgotten!’”