The Righteous Branch
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1"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.
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Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning 2the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. 3Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD.
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4Then I will gather the remnant of my flock 5out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, 6and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
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7I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD
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8"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous 9Branch, and 10he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
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In his days Judah will be saved, and 11Israel will 12dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 13'The LORD is our righteousness.'
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14"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'
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but 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where hea had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land."
Lying Prophets
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Concerning the prophets: 15My heart is broken within me; 16all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD and because of his holy words.
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17For the land is full of adulterers; 18because of the curse 19the land mourns, and 20the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. 21Their course is evil, and their might is not right.
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22"Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even 23in my house I have found their evil, declares the LORD.
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24Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths 25in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them 26in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD.
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In the prophets of 27Samaria 28I saw an unsavory thing: 29they prophesied by Baal 30and led my people Israel astray.
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But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: 31they commit adultery and walk in lies; 32they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; 33all of them have become like Sodom to me, 34and its inhabitants like Gomorrah."
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Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: 35"Behold, I will feed them with bitter food 36and give them 37poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land."
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Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, 38filling you with vain hopes. 39They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
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They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, 40'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who 41stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 42'No disaster shall come upon you.'"
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For 43who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
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44Behold, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, 45a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
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46The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed and 47accomplished the intents of his heart. 48In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
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49"I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
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50But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, 51and they would have turned them from their evil way, and 52from the evil of their deeds.
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53"Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away?
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54Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. 55Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.
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I have heard what the prophets have said 56who prophesy lies in my name, saying, 57'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!'
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How long shall there be lies in the heart of 58the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart,
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who think to make my people forget my name 59by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their 60fathers forgot my name for Baal?
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61Let the prophet who has a dream 62tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. 63What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD.
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64Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and 65like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
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66Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another.
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Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, 'declares the LORD.'
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Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and 67lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when 68I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.
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69"When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, 'What is the burden of the LORD?' you shall say to them, 'You are the burden,b and 70I will cast you off, declares the LORD.'
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And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, 'The burden of the LORD,'71I will punish that man and his household.
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Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, 'What has the LORD answered?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?'
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But 'the burden of the LORD' you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and 72you pervert the words of 73the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God
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Thus you shall say to the prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' or 'What has the LORD spoken?'
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But if you say, 'The burden of the LORD,' thus says the LORD, 'Because you have said these words, "The burden of the LORD," when I sent to you, saying, "You shall not say, 'The burden of the LORD,'
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therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up and 74cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)