Jeremiah 23:9-22

9“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets: I am deeply disturbed. All my bones tremble. I am like a drunk, like a person who has had too much wine, because of the Lord and his holy words.

10The land is filled with adulterers. The land mourns because of the curse. Pastures in the wilderness have dried up. The people are evil, and they use their strength to do the wrong things.

11The prophets and priests are godless. Even in my temple I’ve found them doing evil,” declares the Lord.

12“That is why their own way will become like slippery paths in the dark. They will be chased away, and they will fall down in the dark. I will bring disaster on them. It is time for them to be punished,” declares the Lord.

13“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets of Samaria: I saw something disgusting. The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.

14“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets of Jerusalem: I see something horrible. The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie. They support those who do evil so that no one turns back from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me, and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”

15This is what the Lord of Armies says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness throughout the land.

16This is what the Lord of Armies says: Don’t listen to what the prophets are saying to you. They fill you with false hope. They speak about visions that they dreamed up. These visions are not from the Lord.

17They keep saying to those who despise me, “The Lord says, ‘Everything will go well for you.’ ” They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways, “Nothing bad will happen to you.”

18Who is in the Lord’s inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word?

19The storm of the Lord will come with his anger. Like a windstorm, it will swirl down on the heads of the wicked.

20The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has done everything he intends to do. In the last days you will understand this clearly.

21I didn’t send these prophets, yet they ran ⌞with their message⌟. I didn’t speak to them, yet they prophesied.

22If they had been in my inner circle, they would have announced my words to my people. They would have turned back from their evil ways and the evil they have done.