“You must not allow any woman to do evil magic. If she does magic, then you must not let her live.
Jeremiah 27:9 - Easy To Read Version So don’t listen to your prophets. Don’t listen to the people that use magic to tell what will happen in the future. Don’t listen to people that say they can interpret dreams. Don’t listen to people that talk to the dead or to people that practice magic. All those people tell you, “You will not be slaves to the king of Babylon.” Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: Amplified Bible - Classic Edition So do not listen to your [false] prophets, your diviners, your dreamers [and your dreams, whether your own or others'], your soothsayers, your sorcerers, who say to you, You shall not serve the king of Babylon. American Standard Version (1901) But as for you, hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: Common English Bible As for you, don’t listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, mediums, or your sorcerers who say to you, “Don’t serve the king of Babylon.” Catholic Public Domain Version Therefore, you should not choose to listen to your own prophets, and diviners, and dreamers, and soothsayers, and sorcerers, who say to you: 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon.' Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version Therefore hearken not to your prophets and diviners and dreamers and soothsayers and sorcerers that say to you: You shall not serve the king Babylon. |
“You must not allow any woman to do evil magic. If she does magic, then you must not let her live.
So the king called for his wise men and magicians. These men used their tricks and they were able to do the same thing as Aaron.
If you stop listening to instructions, then you will keep making stupid mistakes.
Some people say, “Ask the fortune tellers and wizards what to do.” (These fortune tellers and wizards whisper and make sounds like birds \{to make people think that they know secret things\}.) \{But I tell you that\} people should ask their God \{for help\}! Those fortune tellers and wizards ask dead people what to do. Why should living people ask something from the dead?
Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, those prophets are preaching lies in my name. I did not send those prophets. I did not command them or speak to them. Those prophets have been preaching false visions, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking.
The Lord All-Powerful says these things:\par “Don’t pay attention to the things\par that those prophets are saying to you.\par They are trying to fool you.\par Those prophets talk about visions. {\cf2\super [190]} \par But they did not get their visions from me.\par Their visions come from their own minds.\par
“There are prophets that preach lies in my name. They say, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’ I heard them say those things.
I am against the false prophets that preach fake dreams.” This message is from the Lord. “They mislead my people with their lies and false teachings. I did not send those prophets to teach the people. I never commanded them to do anything for me. They can’t help the people of Judah at all.” This message is from the Lord.
The Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets and the people that practice magic fool you. Don’t listen to the dreams they have.
Your visions {\cf2\super [166]} are useless.\par Your magic won’t help you.\par It is only a bunch of lies.\par The sword is now at the throats of evil men.\par They will soon be only dead bodies.\par Their time has come.\par The time has come for their evil to end.\par
When the men of magic, and the Chaldeans {\cf2\super [40]} came, I told them about the dream. But those men could not tell me what it meant.
The seers {\cf2\super [39]} are ashamed.\par The fortune tellers {\cf2\super [40]} are embarrassed.\par They won’t say anything\par because God will not speak to them!\par
People use their little statues and magic to learn the things that will happen in the future—but that is all useless. Those people see visions and tell about their dreams, but it is nothing but worthless lies. So the people are like sheep wandering here and there crying for help—but there is no shepherd to lead them.
Then I will come to you—and I will do the right thing. I will be like a person that is ready to tell the judge about the bad things people did. Some people do evil magic. Some people do the sin of adultery. {\cf2\super [19]} Some people make false promises. Some people cheat their workers—they don’t pay them the money they promised. People don’t help widows and orphans. {\cf2\super [20]} People don’t help strangers. People don’t respect me!” The Lord All-Powerful said these things.
Simon amazed the people with his magic tricks so long that the people became his followers.
Don’t let any person fool you by telling you things that are not true. Those evil things make God angry with the people who don’t obey.
And the sign or miracle he told you about might come true. Then he might ask you to follow other gods (gods you don’t know). He might say to you, ‘Let’s serve those gods!’
“You must force those other nations out of your land. The people of those nations listen to people who use magic and try to tell the future. But the Lord your God will not let you do those things.
The people of Israel defeated Balaam son of Beor. (Balaam tried to use magic to tell the future.) The people of Israel killed many people during the fighting.
The light of a lamp will never\par shine in you again.\par The voices of a bridegroom {\cf2\super [140]} and bride\par will never be heard in you again.\par Your merchants {\cf2\super [141]} were the world’s\par great people.\par All the nations were tricked by your magic.\par
But the people who are cowards, people who refuse to believe, people who do terrible things, people who kill, people who sin sexually, people who do evil magic, people who worship idols, {\cf2\super [159]} and people who tell lies—all those people will have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Outside the city are the dogs (bad people), people who do evil magic, people who sin sexually, people who murder, people who worship idols, {\cf2\super [175]} and people who love lies and tell lies.
These people did not change their hearts and lives and turn away from killing other people. They did not turn away from their evil magic, their sexual sins, and their stealing.