12. “Therefore, the paths they takewill become slippery.They will be chased through the dark,and there they will fall.For I will bring disaster upon themat the time fixed for their punishment.I, the lord, have spoken!
13. “I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil,for they prophesied in the name of Baaland led my people of Israel into sin.
14. But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse!They commit adultery and love dishonesty.They encourage those who are doing evilso that no one turns away from their sins.These prophets are as wickedas the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.”
15. Therefore, this is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies says concerning the prophets:“I will feed them with bitternessand give them poison to drink.For it is because of Jerusalem’s prophetsthat wickedness has filled this land.”
16. This is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies says to his people:“Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you,filling you with futile hopes.They are making up everything they say.They do not speak for the lord!
17. They keep saying to those who despise my word,‘Don’t worry! The lord says you will have peace!’And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires,they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’
18. “Have any of these prophets been in the lord’s presenceto hear what he is really saying?Has even one of them cared enough to listen?
19. Look! The lord’s anger bursts out like a storm,a whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.
20. The anger of the lord will not diminishuntil it has finished all he has planned.In the days to comeyou will understand all this very clearly.
21. “I have not sent these prophets,yet they run around claiming to speak for me.I have given them no message,yet they go on prophesying.
22. If they had stood before me and listened to me,they would have spoken my words,and they would have turned my peoplefrom their evil ways and deeds.
23. Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the lord.“No, I am far away at the same time.
24. Can anyone hide from me in a secret place?Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”says the lord.
25. “I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name.