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Jeremiah 23

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

1

aWoe to the shepherds who are  bdestroying and scattering the  csheep of My pasture!" declares the LORD.

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Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are  1tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to  aattend to you for the  bevil of your deeds," declares the LORD.

3

"Then I Myself will  agather 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.

4

"I will also raise up  ashepherds over them and they will  1tend them; and they will  bnot be afraid any longer, nor be terrified,  cnor will any be missing," declares the LORD.

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"Behold, the  adays are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous  1 bBranch; And He will  creign as king and  2act wisely And  ddo justice and righteousness in the land.

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"In His days Judah will be saved, And  aIsrael will dwell securely; And this is His  bname by which He will be called, `The  cLORD our righteousness.'

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

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

False Prophets Denounced

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

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For the land is full of  aadulterers; For the land  bmourns because of the curse. The  cpastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil And their might is not right.

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

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

13

"Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an  aoffensive thing: They  bprophesied by Baal and  cled My people Israel astray.

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

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"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, `Behold, I am going to  afeed them wormwood And make them drink poisonous water, For from the prophets of Jerusalem Pollution has gone forth into all the land.' "

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Thus says the LORD of hosts, " aDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are  bleading you into futility; They speak a  cvision of their own  1imagination, Not  dfrom the mouth of the LORD.

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"They keep saying to those who  adespise Me, `The LORD has said, " bYou will have peace"'; And as for everyone who walks in the  cstubbornness of his own heart, They say, ` dCalamity will not come upon you.'

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"But  awho has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given  bheed to  1His word and listened?

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

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

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

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

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

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"Can a man  ahide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. " bDo I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.

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"I have  aheard what the prophets have said who  bprophesy falsely in My name, saying, `I had a  cdream, I had a dream!'

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

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who intend to  amake My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers  bforgot My name because of Baal?

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

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

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

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

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"Behold, I am against those who have prophesied  afalse dreams," declares the LORD, "and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and  breckless boasting; yet  cI did not send them or command them, nor do they  dfurnish this people the slightest benefit," declares the LORD.

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"Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, `What is the  1 aoracle of the LORD?' then you shall say to them, `What  1oracle?' The LORD declares, `I will  babandon you.'

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

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"Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ` aWhat has the LORD answered?' or, `What has the LORD spoken?'

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"For you will no longer remember the oracle of the LORD, because every man's own word will become the oracle, and you have  aperverted the words of the  bliving God, the LORD of hosts, our God.

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"Thus you will say to that prophet, `What has the LORD answered you?' and, `What has the LORD spoken?'

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"For if you say, `The oracle of the LORD!' surely thus says the LORD, `Because you said this word, "The oracle of the LORD!" I have also sent to you, saying, "You shall not say, `The oracle of the LORD!' "'

39

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

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



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by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved.
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(Produced: Sat Dec 22 11:23:46 2007)

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