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Jeremiah 23 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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The Righteous Descendant
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:1 - “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:2 - Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:3 - But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:4 - Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:5 - “For the time is coming,”
says the LORD,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant[fn]
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:6 - And this will be his name:
‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’[fn]
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:7 - “In that day,” says the LORD, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:8 - Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
Judgment on False Prophets
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:9 - My heart is broken because of the false prophets,
and my bones tremble.
I stagger like a drunkard,
like someone overcome by wine,
because of the holy words
the LORD has spoken against them.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:10 - For the land is full of adultery,
and it lies under a curse.
The land itself is in mourning—
its wilderness pastures are dried up.
For they all do evil
and abuse what power they have.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:11 - “Even the priests and prophets
are ungodly, wicked men.
I have seen their despicable acts
right here in my own Temple,”
says the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:12 - “Therefore, the paths they take
will become slippery.
They will be chased through the dark,
and there they will fall.
For I will bring disaster upon them
at the time fixed for their punishment.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:13 - “I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil,
for they prophesied in the name of Baal
and led my people of Israel into sin.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:14 - But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse!
They commit adultery and love dishonesty.
They encourage those who are doing evil
so that no one turns away from their sins.
These prophets are as wicked
as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.”
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:15 - Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says concerning the prophets:
“I will feed them with bitterness
and give them poison to drink.
For it is because of Jerusalem’s prophets
that wickedness has filled this land.”
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:16 - This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says to his people:
“Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you,
filling you with futile hopes.
They are making up everything they say.
They do not speak for the LORD!
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:17 - They keep saying to those who despise my word,
‘Don’t worry! The LORD says you will have peace!’
And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires,
they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:18 - “Have any of these prophets been in the LORD’s presence
to hear what he is really saying?
Has even one of them cared enough to listen?
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:19 - Look! The LORD’s anger bursts out like a storm,
a whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:20 - The anger of the LORD will not diminish
until it has finished all he has planned.
In the days to come
you will understand all this very clearly.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:21 - “I have not sent these prophets,
yet they run around claiming to speak for me.
I have given them no message,
yet they go on prophesying.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:22 - If they had stood before me and listened to me,
they would have spoken my words,
and they would have turned my people
from their evil ways and deeds.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:23 - Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the LORD.
“No, I am far away at the same time.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:24 - Can anyone hide from me in a secret place?
Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”
says the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:25 - “I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:26 - How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:27 - By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:28 - “Let these false prophets tell their dreams,
but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word.
There is a difference between straw and grain!
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:29 - Does not my word burn like fire?”
says the LORD.
“Is it not like a mighty hammer
that smashes a rock to pieces?
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:30 - “Therefore,” says the LORD, “I am against these prophets who steal messages from each other and claim they are from me.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:31 - I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, ‘This prophecy is from the LORD!’
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:32 - I am against these false prophets. Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead my people into sin. I did not send or appoint them, and they have no message at all for my people. I, the LORD, have spoken!
False Prophecies and False Prophets
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:33 - “Suppose one of the people or one of the prophets or priests asks you, ‘What prophecy has the LORD burdened you with now?’ You must reply, ‘You are the burden![fn] The LORD says he will abandon you!’
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:34 - “If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, ‘I have a prophecy from the LORD,’ I will punish that person along with his entire family.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:35 - You should keep asking each other, ‘What is the LORD’s answer?’ or ‘What is the LORD saying?’
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:36 - But stop using this phrase, ‘prophecy from the LORD.’ For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:37 - “This is what you should say to the prophets: ‘What is the LORD’s answer?’ or ‘What is the LORD saying?’
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:38 - But suppose they respond, ‘This is a prophecy from the LORD!’ Then you should say, ‘This is what the LORD says: Because you have used this phrase, “prophecy from the LORD,” even though I warned you not to use it,
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:39 - I will forget you completely.[fn] I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors.
Unchecked Copy BoxJer 23:40 - And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew a righteous branch.
Hebrew Yahweh Tsidqenu.
As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads What burden?
Some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version read I will surely lift you up.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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Jeremiah Chapter 23 — Additional Translations: