The good shepherd
1 ① “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the sheep of my pasture!”
2This is the message of Yahweh, God of Israel, to the shepherds in charge of my people, “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away instead of caring for them. Now I will deal with you because of your evil deeds.
3I will gather the remnant of my sheep from every land to which I have driven them and I will bring them back to the grasslands. They will be fruitful and increase in number. 4I will appoint shepherds who will take care of them. No longer will they fear or be terrified. No one will be lost.”
5Yahweh further says, “The day is coming when I will raise up a king who is David’s righteous successor. He will rule wisely and govern with justice and righteousness. 6That will be a grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in safety. He will be called Yahweh-our-justice!”
7“The days are coming,” says Yahweh, “when people shall no longer swear by Yahweh as the living God who freed the people of Israel from the land of Egypt. 8Rather, they will swear by Yahweh as the living God who restored the descendants of Israel from the northern empire and from all the lands where he had driven them, to live again in their own land!”
Lying prophets
9About the prophets:
My heart breaks within me,
and all my bones tremble,
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine
because of Yahweh and his holy words.
10The land is full of adulterers. Because of this I put a curse on the country; it is in mourning and the desert grasslands have withered. They follow an evil path and readily act unjustly. 11Even the prophet and the priest are corrupt; I have found out about their wickedness in my House – word of Yahweh.
12That is why their path will become slippery in the dark, making them stumble and fall when I bring evil upon them in the year of their punishment.
13I well know how stupid the prophets of Samaria were; they prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people Israel as tray.
14But among the prophets of Jerusalem I have likewise seen horrors: for they are adulterers and liars!
They encourage the evildoers so that none of them turns away from wickedness. For me all of them are like Sodom; and the common people like Gomorrah.
15That is why Yahweh the God of hosts speaks against the prophets: I will give them bitter food to eat and poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem evil has spread all over the land.
16Thus Yahweh warns, “Do not listen to what the prophets say. They give you false hope and tell you their own illusions, and not what comes from the mouth of Yahweh. 17They dare say to those who despise me: ‘Yahweh has spoken, be at peace’; and to those who follow their own stubborn hearts they say: ‘No misfortune will come upon you!’
18Who then has been present in the council of Yahweh? Who has heard and understood his word? Who has paid attention to his word and is able to pass it on?
19The storm of Yahweh’s wrath breaks forth and a whirling hurricane bursts upon the head of the wicked! 20Yahweh’s wraths will not relent before the full accomplishment of his plans. The time will come when you will understand what it is.
21I did not send these prophets, yet they went running. I did not speak, yet they prophesied! 22Were they present in my council? Then let them proclaim my word to my people and have them turn away from their evil ways and their wicked deeds.
23Am I a God only when I am near – it is Yahweh who speaks – and not when I am far off? 24If someone hides in secret places do I not see him? – Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?
25I have listened and heard the lies that the prophets have proclaimed in my name. All said: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26How long will there be prophets of lies who proclaim their own illusions? 27They would like to make the people forget my Name by the dreams they relate to one another, just as their ancestors forgot my Name when they followed Baal. 28The prophet who has a dream prophesies a dream, whereas the one who receives my word proclaims the word of truth.
What have straw and wheat in common? 29Isn’t my word like fire, like the hammer that shatters a rock?
30That is why I oppose the prophets who steal from one another words that are supposedly mine. 31I am against the prophets who have only to move their tongues to utter oracles. 32I am against those whose prophecies are based on lying dreams, who lead my people astray with their trickery and pretensions. I did not commission or charge them to transmit my orders, so they are of no benefit to my people – word of Yahweh.
33And when these people, or a prophet or a priest jestingly asks you: What is the ‘Burden’ of Yahweh? you will answer: ‘You are the burden – and I am going to get rid of you.’ This is Yahweh’s word. 34And the prophets, priests or common people who say: ‘Burden’ of Yahweh, will be punished, and their household as well.
35This is what you should say, to one another, among yourselves, “What is Yahweh’s answer?” or “What has Yahweh said?” 36But there must be no mention of “Burden” of Yahweh for it shall be burdensome for the one who says it. 37And if you want to know, 38this is what Yahweh says:
39Since you use this expression in spite of my prohibition, I will cast you off and thrust you out of my sight, – you and the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40I will bring upon you everlasting shame and dishonor that will be yours forever.
- Jer 23,1 Woe to the shepherds who lose and scatter! This new attack against evil leaders is the prelude to words of hope. I will gather the remnant of my sheep (v. 3). The destruction of the physical Israel prepares for the coming of the spiritual Israel. People were used to seeing their leaders abuse power, and their rulers become richer. But God is preparing for his people a shepherd who will look after the sheep. They will call him Yahweh-is-our-justice: this is a way of contrasting him with the king of the time, Zedekiah, which means Yahweh-is-my-justice. I will appoint shepherds over them who will care for them (v. 4). As well as the just king, Jeremiah sees other shepherds: besides the only Shepherd, Christ, there is room for others determined to be responsible for their brothers and sisters. No longer will they fear. God promises lasting peace. The new people of God will be more than a mere continuation of the old kingdom of Israel, and the new king will be more than the earthly kings (see how Jesus develops this point in John 10). Humankind hopes for unity in peace, and the Church now must offer the witness of different peoples gathered in Christ. The reality, however, will be achieved only in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:22). Jeremiah expresses the same hope elsewhere, especially in 33:15-18. In Ezekiel 34 we find the same image of the Good Shepherd preparing for what Jesus will say in John 10, Luke 15:4 and Matthew 9:36. Jer 23,9 See also Deuteronomy 13:6 and 18:22 and Jeremiah 28 on the subject of false prophets. Those who are not well-versed in their faith marvel at visions and dreams, forgetting that dreams can be particularly deceptive.
