He saidto him, "I alsoam a prophetlikeyou, and an angelspoketo me by the wordof the LORD,saying,'Bringhim backwith you to your house,that he may eatbreadand drinkwater.'"[But] he liedto him.
And he said,"Are you reallymy sonEsau?"And he said,"I am."
Then the LORDGodsaidto the woman,"Whatis thisyou have done?"And the womansaid,"The serpentdeceivedme, and I ate."
So he wentbackwith him, and atebreadin his houseand drankwater.
Now a certainmanof the sonsof the prophetssaidto anotherby the wordof the LORD,"Pleasestrikeme." But the manrefusedto strikehim.
"The LORDsaidto him, 'How?'And he said,'I will goout and be a deceivingspiritin the mouthof allhis prophets.'Then He said,'You are to entice[him] and alsoprevail.Goand doso.'
Truthfullipswill be establishedforever,But a lyingtongueis onlyfor a moment.
Lyinglipsare an abominationto the LORD,But those who dealfaithfullyare His delight.
A false witnesswill not gounpunished,And he who tellslieswill not escape.
"Have I nowcomeup withoutthe LORD'Sapproval againstthislandto destroyit? The LORDsaidto me, 'Goup againstthislandand destroyit.'"'"
The headis the elderand honorableman, And the prophetwho teachesfalsehoodis the tail.
"Also among the prophetsof JerusalemI have seena horriblething:The committingof adulteryand walkingin falsehood;And they strengthenthe handsof evildoers,So that noonehas turnedbackfrom his wickedness.Allof them have becometo Me like Sodom,And her inhabitantslike Gomorrah.
"They keep sayingto those who despiseMe, 'The LORDhas said,"You will havepeace"'; And as for everyonewho walksin the stubbornnessof his own heart,They say,Calamitywill not comeupon you.'
"Behold,I am againstthose who have prophesiedfalse~dreams,"declaresthe LORD,"and relatedthem and ledMy peopleastrayby their falsehoodsand recklessboasting;yet I did not sendthem or commandthem, nordo they furnishthispeoplethe slightestbenefit,"declaresthe LORD.
"Sendto allthe exiles,saying,'Thussaysthe LORDconcerningShemaiahthe Nehelamite,"BecauseShemaiahhas prophesiedto you, although I did not sendhim, and he has made you trustin a lie,"
thereforethussaysthe LORD,"Behold,I am about to punishShemaiahthe Nehelamiteand his descendants;he will not haveanyonelivingamongthispeople,and he will not seethe goodthat I am about to doto My people,"declaresthe LORD,"becausehe has preachedrebellionagainstthe LORD."'"
They have liedabout the LORDAnd said,"Not He; Misfortunewill not comeon us, And we will not seeswordor famine.
The prophetsprophesyfalsely,And the priestsruleon their [own] authority;And My peopleloveit so!But whatwill you doat the endof it?
"Becauseyou disheartenedthe righteouswith falsehoodwhen I did not causehim grief,but have encouragedthe wickednot to turnfrom his wickedway[and] preservehis life,
Therefore,thussaysthe LordGOD,"Becauseyou have spokenfalsehoodand seena lie,thereforebehold,I am againstyou," declaresthe LordGOD.
But the angelof the LORDsaidto Balaam,"Gowith the men,but you shall speakonlythe wordwhichI tellyou." So Balaamwentalong with the leadersof Balak.
"For false Christsand false prophetswill ariseand will showgreatsignsand wonders,soas to mislead,ifpossible,eventhe elect.
"Bewareof the false prophets,whocometo you in sheep'sclothing,but inwardlyare ravenouswolves.
For such menare slaves,not of our LordChristbut of their ownappetites;and by their smoothand flattering speechthey deceivethe heartsof the unsuspecting.
But I am afraidthat, as the serpentdeceivedEveby his craftiness,your mindswill be led astrayfrom the simplicityand purity[of devotion] to Christ.
But evenifwe, oran angelfrom heaven,should preachto you a gospelcontraryto whatwe have preachedto you, he is to be accursed!
But the Spiritexplicitlysaysthat in latertimessomewill fall awayfrom the faith,paying attentionto deceitfulspiritsand doctrinesof demons,
by meansof the hypocrisyof liarssearedin their ownconscienceas with a branding iron,
But false prophetsalsoaroseamongthe people,justas there will alsobe false teachersamongyou, whowill secretly introducedestructiveheresies,evendenyingthe Masterwho boughtthem, bringingswiftdestructionupon themselves.
Beloved,do not believeeveryspirit,but testthe spiritsto see whetherthey are from God,becausemanyfalse prophetshave goneout into the world.
And the beastwas seized,and with him the false prophetwho performedthe signsin his presence,by whichhe deceivedthosewho had receivedthe markof the beastand thosewho worshipedhis image;thesetwowere thrownaliveinto the lakeof firewhich burnswith brimstone.
Then the angelof the LORDappearedto the womanand saidto her, "Beholdnow,you are barrenand have borneno[children], but you shall conceiveand givebirthto a son.
