'Prophets' in the Bible

“The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’And those who handle the law did not know Me;The rulers also transgressed against Me,And the prophets prophesied by BaalAnd walked after things that did not profit.

“As the thief is shamed when he is discovered,So the house of Israel is shamed;They, their kings, their princesAnd their priests and their prophets,

“In vain I have struck your sons;They accepted no chastening.Your sword has devoured your prophetsLike a destroying lion.

“It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded.”

“The prophets are as wind,And the word is not in them.Thus it will be done to them!”

The prophets prophesy falsely,And the priests rule on their own authority;And My people love it so!But what will you do at the end of it?

Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them.

“At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.

then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness!

But, “Ah, Lord God!” I said, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!

As for the prophets:My heart is broken within me,All my bones tremble;I have become like a drunken man,Even like a man overcome with wine,Because of the LordAnd because of His holy words.

“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing:They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.

“Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing:The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood;And they strengthen the hands of evildoers,So that no one has turned back from his wickedness.All of them have become to Me like Sodom,And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwoodAnd make them drink poisonous water,For from the prophets of JerusalemPollution has gone forth into all the land.’”

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.They are leading you into futility;They speak a vision of their own imagination,Not from the mouth of the Lord.

“I did not send these prophets,But they ran.I did not speak to them,But they prophesied.

“I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’

How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other.

Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’

And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear,

to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened;

The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!

Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing.”

Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, “No death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’

So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you;

for I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now entreat the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.

The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence.

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.

“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’—

because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord.

because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.

Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?

Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets, again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing which I hate.”