Jeremiah 23:21–32

²¹I did not send these prophets,

yet they have run with their message;

I did not speak to them,

yet they have prophesied.

²²But if they had stood in My council,

they would have proclaimed My words to My people

and turned them back

from their evil ways and deeds.”

²³“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”

²⁴“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD.

“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

²⁵“I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ ²⁶How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds? ²⁷They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal.

²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD. ²⁹“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”

³⁰“Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.”

³¹“Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’”

³²“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.