הוֹי רֹעִים מְאַבְּדִים וּמְפִצִים אֶת־צֹאן מַרְעִיתִי נְאֻם־ה'

The prophet further reproves the leaders of Israel: Woe! The shepherds fail to perform their proper function, and instead destroy and scatter the flock of My shepherding – the utterance of the Lord.

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל־הָרֹעִים הָרֹעִים אֶת־עַמִּי אַתֶּם הֲפִצֹתֶם אֶת־צֹאנִי וַתַּדִּחוּם וְלֹא פְקַדְתֶּם אֹתָם הִנְנִי פֹקֵד עֲלֵיכֶם אֶת־רֹעַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶם נְאֻם־ה'

Therefore, so said the Lord, God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd My people: You scattered My flock and banished them, you distanced them from Me, and you did not attend to them, look after them or criticize them. Therefore, behold, I will reckon with you for the evil of your actions – the utterance of the Lord.

וַאֲנִי אֲקַבֵּץ אֶת־שְׁאֵרִית צֹאנִי מִכֹּל הָאֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר־הִדַּחְתִּי אֹתָם שָׁם וַהֲשִׁבֹתִי אֶתְהֶן עַל־נְוֵהֶן וּפָרוּ וְרָבוּ

And I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I banished them. The prophet uses the past tense because the exile began years earlier. And I will restore them to the place of their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply.

וַהֲקִמֹתִי עֲלֵיהֶם רֹעִים וְרָעוּם וְלֹא־יִירְאוּ עוֹד וְלֹא־יֵחַתּוּ וְלֹא יִפָּקֵדוּ נְאֻם־ה'

I will establish faithful shepherds over them, and they will shepherd them, and they will fear no more, and they will not be dismayed, nor will they be diminished – the utterance of the Lord.

הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־ה' וַהֲקִמֹתִי לְדָוִד צֶמַח צַדִּיק וּמָלַךְ מֶלֶךְ וְהִשְׂכִּיל וְעָשָׂה מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ

Behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord – and I will establish for David a righteous son, a budding offshoot, and he will reign as king and succeed, and he will perform justice and righteousness in the land.

בְּיָמָיו תִּוָּשַׁע יְהוּדָה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל יִשְׁכֹּן לָבֶטַח וְזֶה־שְּׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרְאוֹ ה' צִדְקֵנוּ

In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in security; and this is his name that they will call him: The Lord is our righteousness, the source of our salvation.

לָכֵן הִנֵּה־יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־ה' וְלֹא־יֹאמְרוּ עוֹד חַי־ה' אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָה אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

Therefore, behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord – and they, people will no longer say: As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel up from the land of Egypt. There will come a time when the exodus from Egypt will not be considered the greatest miracle.

כִּי אִם חַי־ה' אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָה וַאֲשֶׁר הֵבִיא אֶת־זֶרַע בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ צָפוֹנָה וּמִכֹּל הָאֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר הִדַּחְתִּים שָׁם וְיָשְׁבוּ עַל־אַדְמָתָם

Rather, they will say: As the Lord lives, who took up and who brought the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands to which I banished them, and they will ultimately dwell on their land. The future redemption will be greater than the exodus from Egypt.

לַנְּבִאִים נִשְׁבַּר לִבִּי בְקִרְבִּי רָחֲפוּ כָּל־עַצְמֹתַי הָיִיתִי כְּאִישׁ שִׁכּוֹר וּכְגֶבֶר עֲבָרוֹ יָיִן מִפְּנֵי ה' וּמִפְּנֵי דִּבְרֵי קָדְשׁוֹ

Concerning the prophets: My heart was painfully broken within me, as all my bones shuddered; I was like a drunken man, and like a man overcome with wine, due to the Lord, and due to the words of His sanctity. The reason the prophet describes his feelings when he receives his prophecy is because he wants to clarify the fundamental difference between his prophecies and the statements of others who publicize their predictions orally or in writing.

כִּי מְנָאֲפִים מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ כִּי־מִפְּנֵי אָלָה אָבְלָה הָאָרֶץ יָבְשׁוּ נְאוֹת מִדְבָּר וַתְּהִי מְרוּצָתָם רָעָה וּגְבוּרָתָם לֹא־כֵן

The prophet reproves the moral state of the people and their spiritual leaders: For the land is full of adulterers, as due to a false oath or a curse the land mourns, is darkened, destroyed. The adultery and the curses that fill the land have led to various calamities, including the fact that the oases of the wilderness have dried up; and their course, the course of the inhabitants of the land, is evil, and their valor is employed in an improper manner.

כִּי־גַם־נָבִיא גַם־כֹּהֵן חָנֵפוּ גַּם־בְּבֵיתִי מָצָאתִי רָעָתָם נְאֻם־ה'

For both prophet and priest are corrupt and have sinned; in My house too, the Temple, where the priests, and sometimes the prophets as well, regularly function I have found their evildoing – the utterance of the Lord.

לָכֵן יִהְיֶה דַרְכָּם לָהֶם כַּחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת בָּאֲפֵלָה יִדַּחוּ וְנָפְלוּ בָהּ כִּי־אָבִיא עֲלֵיהֶם רָעָה שְׁנַת פְּקֻדָּתָם נְאֻם־ה'

Therefore, their sinful way will be for them like slippery places in the blackness; they will be jostled, until they stumble and fall on it, for I will bring evil upon them, in the year of their reckoning, when they receive their just deserts for their deeds; this is the utterance of the Lord.

וּבִנְבִיאֵי שֹׁמְרוֹן רָאִיתִי תִפְלָה הִנַּבְּאוּ בבַּעַל וַיַּתְעוּ אֶת־עַמִּי אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל

Among the prophets of Samaria, I have long since seen impropriety; they prophesied by the name of the Baal and misled My people Israel.

וּבִנְבִאֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם רָאִיתִי שַׁעֲרוּרָה נָאוֹף וְהָלֹךְ בַּשֶּׁקֶר וְחִזְּקוּ יְדֵי מְרֵעִים לְבִלְתִּי־שָׁבוּ אִישׁ מֵרָעָתוֹ הָיוּ־לִי כֻלָּם כִּסְדֹם וְיֹשְׁבֶיהָ כַּעֲמֹרָה

And among the prophets of Jerusalem, who are ostensibly prophets of God, in them too I have seen scandal: They commit adultery, and proceed along their way in falsehood, and also encourage evildoers, so that no man repents his evil, and therefore, all of them were to Me like Sodom, and its inhabitants, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, were like Gomorrah.

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת עַל־הַנְּבִאִים הִנְנִי מַאֲכִיל אוֹתָם לַעֲנָה וְהִשְׁקִתִים מֵי־רֹאשׁ כִּי מֵאֵת נְבִיאֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם יָצְאָה חֲנֻפָּה לְכָל־הָאָרֶץ

Therefore, so said the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them wormwood, a bitter plant, and will give them gall water, a liquid extracted from a poisonous plant (see commentary on 9:14), to drink, as from the prophets of Jerusalem, duplicity, hypocrisy and impurity, has spread to all the land.

כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת אַל־תִּשְׁמְעוּ עַל דִּבְרֵי הַנְּבִאִים הַנִּבְּאִים לָכֶם מַהְבִּלִים הֵמָּה אֶתְכֶם חֲזוֹן לִבָּם יְדַבֵּרוּ לֹא מִפִּי ה'

So said the Lord of hosts: Do not heed the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, as they mislead you, rendering you foolish; they speak a vision of their heart, which was not communicated from the mouth of the Lord.

אֹמְרִים אָמוֹר לִמְנַאֲצַי דִּבֶּר ה' שָׁלוֹם יִהְיֶה לָכֶם וכֹל הֹלֵךְ בִּשְׁרִרוּת לִבּוֹ אָמְרוּ לֹא־תָבוֹא עֲלֵיכֶם רָעָה

They continuously say clearly and decisively to those who execrate Me: The Lord has spoken to us saying: There will be peace for you; and to everyone who walks in the desire of his heart they, these prophets, say: Evil will not come upon you.

כִּי מִי עָמַד בְּסוֹד ה' וְיֵרֶא וְיִשְׁמַע אֶת־דְּבָרוֹ! מִי־הִקְשִׁיב דְּבָרוֹ וַיִּשְׁמָע!

For who of all those supposed prophets stood in the company of the Lord, or in His secret discussions, that he could see and hear His word? Who listened to His word and heard it?

הִנֵּה סַעֲרַת ה' חֵמָה יָצְאָה וְסַעַר מִתְחוֹלֵל עַל רֹאשׁ רְשָׁעִים יָחוּל

Behold the storm of the Lord, in anger has gone forth, and a storm is whirling, on the head of the wicked it will whirl.

לֹא יָשׁוּב אַף ה'עַד־עֲשֹׂתוֹ וְעַד־הֲקִימוֹ מְזִמּוֹת לִבּוֹ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים תִּתְבּוֹנְנוּ בָהּ בִּינָה

The wrath of the Lord will not be suppressed until He accomplishes and until He fulfills the plans of His heart; only at the end of days, after much time has passed, you will acquire an understanding of it, My statements.

לֹא־שָׁלַחְתִּי אֶת־הַנְּבִאִים וְהֵם רָצוּ לֹא־דִבַּרְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶם וְהֵם נִבָּאוּ

I did not send the false prophets, but they ran to prophesy of their own accord; I did not speak to them, but they prophesied.

וְאִם עָמְדוּ בְּסוֹדִי וְיַשְׁמִעוּ דְבָרַי אֶת־עַמִּי – וִישִׁבוּם מִדַּרְכָּם הָרָע וּמֵרֹעַ מַעַלְלֵיהֶם

If they, these prophets, indeed stood in My company, let them communicate My true words to My people, and then they will cause them to repent their evil way and the evil of their actions. However, now, they do not call for the people to remedy their behavior at all, but rather they seek to perpetuate the status quo.

הַאֱלֹהֵי מִקָּרֹב אָנִי נְאֻם־ה' וְלֹא אֱלֹהֵי מֵרָחֹק!

The prophet continues to castigate the false prophets in a different style and from a broader perspective: Am I God from near – the utterance of the Lord – but not God from afar? Do you imagine that My presence and providence is limited, and that I cannot see distant events? Alternatively, “from afar” means that God existed before anything was created. Accordingly, the question in the verse is: Am I God who came into being recently and not God who predates Creation?

אִם־יִסָּתֵר אִישׁ בַּמִּסְתָּרִים וַאֲנִי לֹא־אֶרְאֶנּוּ נְאֻם־ה'! הֲלוֹא אֶת־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲנִי מָלֵא נְאֻם־ה'

Can a man hide in concealed places and I will not see him – the utterance of the Lord? Is anything concealed from Me? Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? – the utterance of the Lord. Everything is revealed to Me and the concepts of proximity and distance are not relevant in My regard.

שָׁמַעְתִּי אֵת אֲשֶׁר־אָמְרוּ הַנְּבִאִים הַנִּבְּאִים בִּשְׁמִי שֶׁקֶר לֵאמֹר חָלַמְתִּי חָלָמְתִּי

Furthermore, as My presence is all-encompassing, I have heard that which the prophets, who prophesy falsehood in My name, said, saying: I have dreamed; I have dreamed. Not all the false prophets claimed to have experienced full-fledged prophecy. They knew that a true prophecy is experienced amidst tremendous upheaval and is a very intense experience. They were wary of claiming to have undergone an experience of that sort, and it is possible that they were hesitant to prepare themselves for it. Consequently, they merely claimed that they had a prophetic dream.

עַד־מָתַי הֲיֵשׁ בְּלֵב הַנְּבִאִים נִבְּאֵי הַשָּׁקֶר וּנְבִיאֵי תַּרְמִת לִבָּם!

Until when will they continue to speak in this manner? Is there anything, any truth in the heart of the prophets who speak like that, when all they do is prophesy falsehood, and they are the prophets of the deceit of their heart,

הַחֹשְׁבִים לְהַשְׁכִּיחַ אֶת־עַמִּי שְׁמִי בַּחֲלוֹמֹתָם אֲשֶׁר יְסַפְּרוּ אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁכְחוּ אֲבוֹתָם אֶת־שְׁמִי בַּבָּעַל

who think to cause My people to forget My name, with their dreams that each man tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name with their prophecies in the name of the Baal? Although some idolatry was still practiced in Israel at the time, the ritual of the Baal, in all its vulgarity, had gone underground. Openly, all that remained were superstitions and folk customs. The prophets of Jerusalem in that period did not prophesy in the name of the Baal but their dreams and statements nevertheless turned the people away from the upright path.

הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ חֲלוֹם יְסַפֵּר חֲלוֹם אֲשֶׁר דְּבָרִי אִתּוֹ יְדַבֵּר דְּבָרִי אֱמֶת מַה־לַּתֶּבֶן אֶת הַבָּר נְאֻם־ה'!

You must make an essential distinction: The prophet who has an interesting dream will relate it, but let him admit that it is nothing but a dream; and conversely, he who has My word, who has received a true prophecy, will speak My word of truth. What is the chaff to the grain? – the utterance of the Lord. It is possible that their descriptions will sound identical, especially when the dream is related in a grand style, and yet the relationship between a dream and a prophecy is like that of chaff and grain. Admittedly, a dream can also occasionally contain the echo of a true prophecy, but even so, its value is not like that of an actual prophecy. One saying of the Sages is that a dream is one-sixtieth of prophecy.

הֲלוֹא כֹה דְבָרִי – כָּאֵשׁ נְאֻם־ה' וּכְפַטִּישׁ יְפֹצֵץ סָלַע

Truly, so is My word, like fire – the utterance of the Lord – which gives no rest to the one who receives the prophecy, and like a hammer that shatters the rock. Just as such a rock cannot return to its former state, so too, the prophetic word deeply agitates the soul of the prophet. By contrast, these false prophets experience no such upheavals, nor do their listeners. They are comfortable individuals living their lives in tranquility.

לָכֵן הִנְנִי עַל־הַנְּבִאִים נְאֻם־ה' מְגַנְּבֵי דְבָרַי אִישׁ מֵאֵת רֵעֵהוּ

Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets – the utterance of the Lord – who steal My words, each man from his neighbor. They hear a fine idea or an interesting theory from others and proceed to state it in their own name.

הִנְנִי עַל הַנְּבִיאִם נְאֻם־ה' הַלֹּקְחִים לְשׁוֹנָם וַיִּנְאֲמוּ נְאֻם

Behold, I am against the prophets, and I am coming to punish them – the utterance of the Lord – those prophets who take their tongues, like craftsmen picks up their tools, and utter an utterance, deliver a speech, that is not based on truth.

הִנְנִי עַל־נִבְּאֵי חֲלֹמוֹת שֶׁקֶר נְאֻם־ה' וַיְסַפְּרוּם וַיַּתְעוּ אֶת־עַמִּי בְּשִׁקְרֵיהֶם וּבְפַחֲזוּתָם וְאָנֹכִי לֹא־שְׁלַחְתִּים וְלֹא צִוִּיתִים וְהוֹעֵיל לֹא־יוֹעִילוּ לָעָם־הַזֶּה נְאֻם־ה'

Behold, I am against the prophesiers of false dreams – the utterance of the Lord. They told them and they misled My people with their lies and with their foolishness, and I did not send them, nor did I command them, and they will be of no avail to this people – the utterance of the Lord.

וְכִי־יִשְׁאָלְךָ הָעָם הַזֶּה אוֹ־הַנָּבִיא אוֹ־כֹהֵן לֵאמֹר מַה־מַּשָּׂא ה'וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם אֶת מַה־מַּשָּׂא – וְנָטַשְׁתִּי אֶתְכֶם נְאֻם־ה'

If this people or the prophet or a priest will ask you, saying: What is the burden, the prophecy, of the Lord? When they address you in this manner, Jeremiah, expecting to hear a good word or a new, brilliant saying, you shall say to them: You asked: What is the burden? I will abandon you, as one throws off a heavy, irritating burden – the utterance of the Lord.

וְהַנָּבִיא וְהַכֹּהֵן וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר מַשָּׂא ה' – וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל־הָאִישׁ הַהוּא וְעַל־בֵּיתוֹ

And the prophet and the priest and the people who will say and inquire about the burden of the Lord, I will reckon with and bring a burden upon that man and with his household. The term “burden,” which the questioners use to refer to prophecy, will be used in its more familiar meaning of a heavy onus that God will place upon them.

כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ אִישׁ עַל רֵעֵהוּ וְאִישׁ אֶל־אָחִיו מֶה־עָנָה ה' וּמַה־דִּבֶּר ה'

So shall you say, each man to his neighbor and each man to his brother, in a more fitting manner: What did the Lord answer, and: What did the Lord speak?

ומַשָּׂא ה' לֹא תִזְכְּרוּ־עוֹד כִּי הַמַּשָּׂא יִהְיֶה לְאִישׁ דְּבָרוֹ והֲפַכְתֶּם אֶת־דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵינוּ

And the burden of the Lord you shall mention no longer, as the burden will be for the man of His word, the prophet alone. Only for him is prophecy considered a burden, due to the difficulty and the effort it takes to bear the word of God within him. And you pervert the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts, our God. You have used prophecy to convey whatever you want instead of the word of God.

כֹּה תֹאמַר אֶל־הַנָּבִיא מֶה־עָנָךְ ה' וּמַה־דִּבֶּר ה'

Jeremiah reiterates: So shall you say to the prophet: What did the Lord answer you, and: What did the Lord speak? This is the appropriate manner to speak about prophecy, by calling it the word of God, without adding any negative connotations.

וְאִם מַשָּׂא ה' תֹּאמֵרוּ – לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' יַעַן אֲמָרְכֶם אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה – מַשָּׂא ה' וָאֶשְׁלַח אֲלֵיכֶם לֵאמֹר לֹא תֹאמְרוּ מַשָּׂא ה'

But if you will say: The burden of the Lord, despite all these warnings; therefore, so said the Lord: Due to your saying this phrase: The burden of the Lord, an expression of reservation or mockery of the one who bears this burden, and I sent to you, saying: Do not say: The burden of the Lord, and yet you did not listen;

לָכֵן הִנְנִי וְנָשִׁיתִי אֶתְכֶם נָשֹׁא וְנָטַשְׁתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְאֶת־הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָכֶם וְלַאֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעַל פָּנָי

therefore, behold, I will forget you, as the burden [massa] will turn into forgetfulness [neshiya], and I will cast you and the city that I gave to you and to your fathers from My presence.

וְנָתַתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם חֶרְפַּת עוֹלָם וּכְלִמּוּת עוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר לֹא תִשָּׁכֵחַ

I will place upon you eternal disgrace and eternal humiliation that will not be forgotten.