1Yahweh declares, “Terrible things will happen to the leaders [MET] of my people—those who are like shepherds of the people who are like my sheep—because they have scattered my people and sent them away, and have not taken care of them.
2So, this is what I, Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli people worship, say to those leaders: ‘Instead of taking care of my people and leading them to places where they are safe, like a shepherd does for his sheep, you have scattered them. So I will punish you for the evil things that you have done.
3But later I will gather those who are still alive, from the countries where I have forced them to go. I will bring them back to their own country, where they will have many children, and their number/population will increase.
4Then I will appoint other leaders for my people, leaders who will take care of them. And my people will never be afraid [DOU] of anything again, and none of them will be like a lost sheep.’ ”
5Yahweh also says,
6At that time, all the Israeli people [DOU] will be saved from their enemies,
7Yahweh also says that at that time, people who are solemnly promising to do something will no longer say, “I will do it as surely as Yahweh lives, who rescued the Israeli people from Egypt.”
8Instead, they will say, “I will do it as surely as Yahweh lives, who brought us Israeli people back to our own land, from the land to the northeast and from all the other countries to which he had exiled us.” And they will live in their own land again.
9I am very shocked because of the sacred message that Yahweh has spoken about what will happen to the false prophets;
10The land is full of people who commit adultery;
11Yahweh says, “Yes, even the priests and the prophets are ungodly;
12Therefore, it will be as though the paths that they walk on are slippery.
13Previously I saw that the prophets in Samaria were doing something that was wrong;
14And now I have seen the prophets in Jerusalem doing terrible things.
15So, this is what the Commander of the armies of angels says about those false prophets:
16This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says:
17They habitually say to those who hate me,
18But none of them has ever been in a council meeting in heaven
19So, listen to this: I will punish them; it will be like a great storm;
20I will not stop being angry
21Yahweh also says, “I have not appointed those prophets,
22If they had been in my council meetings,
23Yahweh also says, “Am I a God who is only nearby?
24So, no one can hide in some secret place
25I have heard those prophets prophesy lies, saying that they are telling people messages from me. They say, ‘Listen to me tell you the dream that God gave me last night! I really had this dream!’
26How long will they continue to do this? How long will those lying prophets continue to prophesy things that come only from their own minds?
27They think that because of the dreams that they tell to each other, people will forget me, like their ancestors forgot about me when they started to worship Baal.
28Allow those false prophets to tell people their dreams, but those who have messages that really come from me should proclaim those messages faithfully. I, Yahweh, say that like straw and grain are certainly very different, my messages and the messages from those false prophets are certainly very different.
29It is as though my messages burn like a fire; they strike people’s inner beings like someone strikes a rock with a hammer and smashes it into pieces.
30Therefore, I, Yahweh say, 'I oppose all those prophets who steal messages from each other and claim that those messages came from me.
31I oppose those prophets who speak their own messages but claim that those messages came from me.
32I oppose those prophets who falsely say that I told them something in a vision, but they are only telling lies that cause my people to sin. I did not send those prophets. I did not even appoint them to be prophets. And they have no messages that will benefit my people at all.' That is what I, Yahweh, declare.”
33Yahweh said to me, “If one of those prophets or priests or one of the other people asks you, ‘What problem has Yahweh told you about now?’, you must reply, ‘You are the problem! And Yahweh says that he will abandon you!’
34And if any prophet or priest or anyone else falsely says, ‘I have a prophecy from Yahweh,’ I will punish that person and his family.
35What you should continually ask each other is, ‘When you spoke to Yahweh, what did he reply? What is he saying to us?’
36But stop saying ‘I have a prophecy/message from Yahweh,’ because those who say that are doing it only because they want people to accept their ideas, and by doing that they distort/change the messages that are from our God, the Commander of the armies of angels.
37This is what you should ask each prophet: ‘What did Yahweh reply when you talked to him? What is he saying to us?’
38If he replies, ‘What I told you is a prophecy/message from Yahweh,’ you should say to him, ‘You have continued to say, “I received a prophecy/message from Yahweh” even though I told you to not claim that you have received prophecies/messages from Yahweh.’
39So I , Yahweh, will get rid of you false prophets. I will expel you from my presence. And I will get rid of this city that I gave to you and to your ancestors.
40I will cause people to make fun of you forever. People will never forget that you were disgraced.”