Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith {it}; albeit I have not spoken?

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it {is} the king's chapel, and it {is} the king's court. {chapel: or, sanctuary} {king's court: Heb. house of the kingdom}

Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:

But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. {imagination: or, stubbornness}

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

How long shall {this} be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, {they are} prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found {thee}: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: {persecuted us: or, chased us out}

Prophesy ye not, {say they to them that} prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, {that} they shall not take shame. {Prophesy ye...: or, Prophesy not as they prophesy: Heb. Drop, etc}

And say, Thus saith the king, Put this {fellow} in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?

If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, {saying}, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. {walking...: or, walk with the wind, and lie falsely}

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same {is} Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

And because I tell {you} the truth, ye believe me not.

And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that {the king} said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. {determined: Heb. counselled}

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. {welfare: Heb. peace}

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love {to have it} so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? {bear...: or, take into their hands}

Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man {is} worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. {This man...: Heb. The judgment of death is for this man}

Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for {he was} in a rage with him because of this {thing}. And Asa oppressed {some} of the people the same time. {oppressed: Heb. crushed}

Therefore will I give their wives unto others, {and} their fields to them that shall inherit {them}: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the {women} that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive {that come} unto you? {armholes: or, elbows}

But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one {is} given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for {he that is} now {called} a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Prophesy ye not, {say they to them that} prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, {that} they shall not take shame. {Prophesy ye...: or, Prophesy not as they prophesy: Heb. Drop, etc}

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, {saying}, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. {walking...: or, walk with the wind, and lie falsely}

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. {rulers: Heb. heads}

But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? {them that are} weaned from the milk, {and} drawn from the breasts. {doctrine: Heb. the hearing?}

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; {and} a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same {is} Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they {are written} in the book of the kings of Israel.

Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Why {then} is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, {There is} yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Behold, I {am} against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. {that...: or, that smooth their tongues}

And her prophets have daubed them with untempered {morter}, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and {there was} no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered {morter}: {a wall: or, a slight wall}

And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets {declare} good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak {that which is} good.

Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. {Is it} not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love {to have it} so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? {bear...: or, take into their hands}

Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not {thy word} against the house of Isaac.

Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft {words} unto thee?

Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves {of} gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten {them}, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that {the king} said unto him, Art thou made of the king's counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. {determined: Heb. counselled}

For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God {is} witness:

How long shall {this} be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, {they are} prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets {declare} good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. {with...: Heb. with one mouth}