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Jeremiah 23

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1“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.

2Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.

3“I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.

4I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

5“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

6In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

7“So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’

8but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

9Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and his holy words.

10The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the desert are withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly.

11“Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,” declares the Lord.

12“Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,” declares the Lord.

13“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.

14And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

15Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”

16This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.

17They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’

18But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word?

19See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.

20The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly.

21I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.

22But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.

23“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away?

24Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.

25“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’

26How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?

27They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship.

28Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord.

29“Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

30“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me.

31Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’

32Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

33“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What oracle? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’

34If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is the oracle of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household.

35This is what each of you keeps on saying to his friend or relative: ‘What is the Lord's answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’

36But you must not mention ‘the oracle of the Lord’ again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God.

37This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord's answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’

38Although you claim, ‘This is the oracle of the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is the oracle of the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is the oracle of the Lord.’

39Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers.

40I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace–everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

Commentary

23:1-8 Woe be to those who are set to feed God's people, but take no concern to do them good! Here is a word of comfort to the neglected sheep. Though only a remnant of God's flock is left, he will find them out, and they shall be brought to their former habitations. Christ is spoken of as a branch from David's family. He is righteous himself, and through him all his people are made righteous. Christ shall break the usurped power of Satan. All the spiritual seed of believing Abraham and praying Jacob shall be protected, and shall be saved from the guilt and dominion of sin. In the days of Christ's government in the soul, the soul dwells at ease. He is here spoken of as the Lord our Righteousness. He is so our Righteousness as no creature could be. His obedience unto death is the justifying righteousness of believers, and their title to heavenly happiness. And their sanctification, as the source of all their personal obedience is the effect of their union with him, and of the supply of this Spirit. By this name every true believer shall call him, and call upon him. We have nothing to plead but this, Christ has died, yea, rather is risen again; and we have taken him for our Lord. This righteousness which he has wrought out to the satisfaction of law and justice, becomes ours; being a free gift given to us, through the Spirit of God, who puts it upon us, clothes us with it, enables us to lay hold upon it, and claim an interest in it. The Lord our Righteousness is a sweet name to a convinced sinner; to one that has felt the guilt of sin in his conscience; seen his need of that righteousness, and the worth of it. This great salvation is far more glorious than all former deliverances of his church. May our souls be gathered to Him, and be found in him.

"\nWoe be unto the pastors,.... Or, "O ye shepherds" or "governors", as the Targum; the civil rulers and magistrates, kings and princes of the land of Israel; since ecclesiastical rulers, the priests and prophets, are mentioned as distinct from them in Jer 23:9; whose business it was to rule and guide, protect and defend, the people: but, instead of that, they were such\n\nthat destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord God; set them bad examples, led them into idolatry and other sins, which were the cause of their ruin, and of their being carried captive, and scattered in other countries; and their sin was the more aggravated, inasmuch as these people were the Lord's pasture sheep, whom he had an interest in, and a regard unto, and had committed them to the care and charge of these pastors or governors, to be particularly taken care of.\n\n\n "

"\nTherefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... The covenant God of that people, who are Called his sheep, and the sheep of his pasture; having made a covenant with their fathers, and provided a good pasture for them, the land of Israel, where they enjoyed all blessings, civil and religious, and appointed persons over them to feed them; but these did not do their duty, and therefore the Lord was against them, as follows:\n\nagainst the pastors that feed my people; whose office it was to feed, rule, and defend them; and who pretended to do it, but did it not;\n\nye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; they had been the means of their being driven out of their dwellings, and out of their own land, and of their being among the nations of the world, and took no care for the return of them, any more than they concerned themselves for their welfare when over them; or they suffered the enemy, like beasts of prey, to come in among them, which scattered them, and drove them from their pasture, as sheep are by bears, dogs, and wolves; and took no care to preserve them from them, or to gather them together again to their pasture. The people of the Jews, at the time when Christ came, hereafter prophesied of, were scattered as sheep without a shepherd, and are called the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Mt 9:36;\n\nbehold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord; that is, punish them for their iniquities; since they visited not the flock in a way of mercy and kindness, as the duty of their office required, the Lord would visit them in a way of justice, and punish them according to their deserts.\n\n\n "

3, 4. Restoration of Judah from Babylon foretold in language which in its fulness can only apply to the final restoration of both "Judah" and "Israel" (compare Jer 23:6); also "out of all countries," in this verse and Jer 23:8; also, "neither shall they be lacking," that is, none shall be missing or detached from the rest: a prophecy never yet fully accomplished. It holds good also of the spiritual Israel, the elect of both Jews and Gentiles (Mal 3:16, 17; Joh 10:28; 17:12). As to the literal Israel also, see Jer 32:37; Isa 54:13; 60:21; Eze 34:11-16.shepherds … shall feed them—(Jer 3:15; Eze 34:23-31). Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees were but typical of the consummating fulfilment of these prophecies under Messiah.

"\nAnd I will gather the remnant of my flock, out of all countries,....

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG የማሰማርያዬን በጎች ለሚያጠፉና ለሚበትኑ እረኞች ወዮላቸው! ይላል እግዚአብሔር። አማርኛ BCV ነተን መጓሰይ ዝኾና፥ “ኣባጊዕ ንዝብትኑን ንዘጥፍኡን ጓሶት ወይለኦም!” ይብል እግዚኣብሄር። ትግርኛ GAZBIB Waaqayyo,“Tiksoota, hoolonni karra koo keessa jiran akka isaan karaa irraa kaataniif akka isaan tamsa'an godhaniif, way… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ወይ ለክሙ ለኖሎት ቀታልያን እለ ትዘርዉ አባግዐ መርዔትየ፡ ይቤ እግዚአብሔር። giz GAZGAZ Waaqayyo,“Tiksoota, hoolonni karra koo keessa jiran akka isaan karaa irraa kaataniif akka isaan tamsa'an godhaniif, way… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum ነተን መጓሰይ ዝኾና፥ “ኣባጊዕ ንዝብትኑን ንዘጥፍኡን ጓሶት ወይለኦም!” ይብል እግዚኣብሄር። ትግርኛ AMHNIV “በማሰማሪያ ቦታዬ ያሉትን በጎቼን ለሚያጠፉና ለሚበትኑ እረኞች ወዮላቸው!” ይላል እግዚአብሔር። አማርኛ SWAHSUV Ole wao wachungaji, wanaoharibu kondoo za malisho yangu na kuwatawanya! Asema Bwana. Kiswahili