The Righteous Branch
231Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the Lord.
2Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd my people.
You have scattered my flock.
You have driven them away.
You have not taken care of them,
but I will certainly take care of you,
because of the evil things you have done,
declares the Lord.
3I will gather what is left of my flock
out of all the countries where I have driven them,
and I will bring them back to their pastures.
They will be fruitful and multiply.
4I will raise up shepherds over them
who will shepherd them.
They will no longer be afraid or terrified,
nor will any be missing, declares the Lord.
5Listen, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
who will reign wisely as king
and establish justice and righteousness on earth.
6In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is his name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.
7So, mark my words, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no longer be said, “As surely as the Lord lives who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,” 8but, “as surely as the Lord lives who brought up the descendants of the house of Israel and led them out of a land in the north and from all the countries where I had driven them.” Then they will dwell in their own land.
Against False Prophets who Mislead the People
9Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken inside me.
All my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord,
and because of his holy words.
10Look, the land is full of adulterers.
Because of the curse, the land mourns.
The pastures in the wilderness are dried up.
Their way of life is evil,
and their use of power is unjust.
11Both prophet and priest are godless.
I have found their wickedness even in my House,
declares the Lord.
12Therefore they will discover that their path
is like slippery places in the darkness.
They will be driven away,
and they will fall there,
because I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment, declares the Lord.
13Among the prophets of Samaria[] I saw something offensive.
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14Now among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrifying.
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns away from his wickedness.
They have all become like Sodom to me.
The people who live there are like Gomorrah.
15So this is what the Lord of Armies says concerning the prophets.
Watch, I will feed them wormwood
and give them bitter water to drink,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has gone out into all the land.
16This is what the Lord of Armies says.
Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
They are giving you false hope.
They proclaim visions that come from their own hearts
and not from the mouth of the Lord.
17They keep saying to those who despise me,
“The Lord has said that you will have peace.”
And to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart,
they say, “No harm will come to you.”
18But have any of them stood in the council of the Lord,
to see and hear his word?
Who has listened to his word and heard it?
19Look, a storm from the Lord!
His wrath has gone out,
like a whirlwind twisting down,
whirling over the heads of the wicked.
20The Lord's anger will not turn back until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart. In later days you will understand it fully.
