4. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,’ declares the Lord.
5. ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,a King who will reign wiselyand do what is just and right in the land.
6. In his days Judah will be savedand Israel will live in safety.This is the name by which he will be called:The Lord Our Righteous Saviour.
7. ‘So then, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when people will no longer say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,”
8. but they will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.” Then they will live in their own land.’
9. Concerning the prophets:My heart is broken within me;all my bones tremble.I am like a drunken man,like a strong man overcome by wine,because of the Lordand his holy words.
10. The land is full of adulterers;because of the curse the land lies parchedand the pastures in the wilderness are withered.The prophets follow an evil courseand use their power unjustly.
11. ‘Both prophet and priest are godless;even in my temple I find their wickedness,’declares the Lord.
12. ‘Therefore their path will become slippery;they will be banished to darknessand there they will fall.I will bring disaster on themin the year they are punished,’declares the Lord.
13. ‘Among the prophets of SamariaI saw this repulsive thing:they prophesied by Baaland led my people Israel astray.
14. And among the prophets of JerusalemI have seen something horrible:they commit adultery and live a lie.They strengthen the hands of evildoers,so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.They are all like Sodom to me;the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.’
15. Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:‘I will make them eat bitter foodand drink poisoned water,because from the prophets of Jerusalemungodliness has spread throughout the land.’
16. This is what the Lord Almighty says:‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;they fill you with false hopes.They speak visions from their own minds,not from the mouth of the Lord.
17. They keep saying to those who despise me,“The Lord says: you will have peace.”And to all who follow the stubbornness of their heartsthey say, “No harm will come to you.”
18. But which of them has stood in the council of the Lordto see or to hear his word?Who has listened and heard his word?
19. See, the storm of the Lordwill burst out in wrath,a whirlwind swirling downon the heads of the wicked.
20. The anger of the Lord will not turn backuntil he fully accomplishesthe purposes of his heart.In days to comeyou will understand it clearly.