Study Desk

"Woe to the shepherds who are causing the sheep of My pasture to perish and are scattering them!" declares the LORD.

Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord .

Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not been concerned about them; behold, I am going to call you to account for the evil of your deeds," declares the LORD.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord .

"Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.

And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

"I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.

And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord .

"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

"In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will live securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD Our Righteousness.'

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness .

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when they will no longer say, 'As the LORD lives, who brought the sons of Israel up from the land of Egypt,'

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up and led the descendants of the household of Israel back from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.' Then they will live on their own soil."

But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, And like a man overcome by wine, Because of the LORD And because of His holy words.

Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord , and because of the words of his holiness.

For the land is full of adulterers; For the land mourns because of the curse. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course is evil And their might is not right.

For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

"For both prophet and priest are defiled; Even in My house I have found their wickedness," declares the LORD.

For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord .

"Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them, They will be driven away into the gloom and fall down in it; For I will bring disaster upon them, The year of their punishment," declares the LORD.

Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord .

"Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.

"Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in deceit; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

"Therefore this is what the LORD of armies says concerning the prophets: 'Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Ungodliness has spread into all the land.'"

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land.

This is what the LORD of armies says: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They tell a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord .

"They keep saying to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You will have peace"'; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, 'Disaster will not come on you.'

They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

"But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has paid attention to His word and listened?

For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord , and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

"Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.

Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

"The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.

The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

"I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied.

I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

"But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds.

But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

"Am I a God who is near," declares the LORD, "And not a God far off?

Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord , and not a God afar off?

"Can a person hide himself in hiding places So that I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord . Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord .

"I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream!'

I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

"How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the deceitfulness of their own heart,

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they report to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal?

Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

"The prophet who has a dream may report his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word truthfully. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the LORD.

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord .

"Is My word not like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?

Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord ; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

"Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," declares the LORD, "who steal My words from each other.

Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord , that steal my words every one from his neighbour.

"Behold, I am against the prophets," declares the LORD, "who use their tongues and declare, 'The Lord declares!'

Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord , that use their tongues, and say, He saith.

"Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams," declares the LORD, "and reported them and led My people astray by their lies and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them nor command them, nor do they provide this people the slightest benefit," declares the LORD.

Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord , and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord .

"Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, 'What is the pronouncement of the LORD?' then you shall say to them, 'What pronouncement?' The LORD declares, 'I will abandon you.'

And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the Lord ? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord .

"Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, 'The pronouncement of the LORD,' I will bring punishment upon that person and his household.

And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord , I will even punish that man and his house.

"This is what each one of you will say to his neighbor and to his brother: 'What has the LORD answered?' or, 'What has the LORD spoken?'

Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

"For you will no longer remember the pronouncement of the LORD, because every person's own word will become the pronouncement, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of armies, our God.

And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.

"This is what you will say to that prophet: 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?'

Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

"And if you say, 'The pronouncement of the LORD!' for that reason the LORD says this: 'Because you said this word, "The pronouncement of the LORD!" I have also sent word to you, saying, "You shall not say, 'The pronouncement of the LORD!'"'

But since ye say, The burden of the Lord ; therefore thus saith the Lord ; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord , and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord ;

"Therefore behold, I will certainly forget you and thrust you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers.

Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence:

"I will put an everlasting disgrace on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten."

And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.