Jeremiah Saved from Death
26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of
Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the
Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of
Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command
you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word. 3 Perhaps everyone will listen
and turn from his evil way, that I may relent concerning the calamity which I
purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ 4 And you shall
say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My
law which I have set before you, 5 to heed the words of My servants the
prophets whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you
have not heeded), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this
city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard
Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 Now it happened, when
Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to
speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people
seized him, saying, “You will surely die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name
of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be
desolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against
Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came
up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of
the New Gate of the Lord’s house. 11 And the priests and the prophets spoke to
the princes and all the people, saying, “This man deserves to die! For he has
prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the
people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against
this city with all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore, amend your
ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord
will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. 14 As for
me, here I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and proper to you. 15 But
know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent
blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord
has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”
16 So the princes and all the people said to the priests and
the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the
name of the Lord our God.”
17 Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke
to all the assembly of the people, saying: 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in
the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah,
saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the temple[a]
Like the bare hills of the forest.”’[b]
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to
death? Did he not fear the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord
relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. But we are
doing great evil against ourselves.”
20 Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of
the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against
this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. 21 And
when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his
words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was
afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. 22 Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to
Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. 23
And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who
killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common
people.
24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was
with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to
put him to death.
Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes
27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim[c] the son of
Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,[d] 2
“Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them
on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king
of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the
messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them
to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus
you shall say to your masters: 5 ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast
that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have
given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 And now I have given all these lands
into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts
of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 So all nations shall serve
him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then
many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 8 And it shall be, that
the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,
and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that
nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the
pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen
to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your
sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.”
10 For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will
drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But the nations that bring their necks
under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in
their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’”’”
12 I also spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all
these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon,
and serve him and his people, and live! 13 Why will you die, you and your
people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has
spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore
do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall
not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have
not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may
drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to
you.”
16 Also 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 back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do
not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city
be laid waste? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with
them, let them now make intercession to 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
at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’
19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars,
concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the
vessels that remain in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did
not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of
Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21
yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels
that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and
of Jerusalem: 22 ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be
until the day that I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them up and
restore them to this place.’”
Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom
28 And it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year and in the fifth month,
that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in
the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people,
saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have
broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years I will bring
back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 And I will
bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all
the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break
the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in
the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in
the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! The Lord do so;
the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the
vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon
to this place. 7 Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing
and in the hearing of all the people: 8 The prophets who have been before me
and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of
war and disaster and pestilence. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when
the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom
the Lord has truly sent.”
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off the prophet
Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the
people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of
two full years.’” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12 Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah
the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
13 “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the
yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” 14 For thus
says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “I have put a yoke of iron on the
neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon;
and they shall serve him. I have given him the beasts of the field also.”’”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet,
“Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but you make this people trust
in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the
face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion
against the Lord.’”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh
month.
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives
29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the
prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away
captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar
had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This happened after
Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and
Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) 3 The
letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son
of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon, saying,
4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who
were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem
to Babylon:
5 Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat
their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your
sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and
daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the
peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray
to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. 8 For thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners
who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to
be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent
them, says the Lord.
10 For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed
at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you
to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a
hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to
you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your
captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where
I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which
I cause you to be carried away captive.
15 Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets
for us in Babylon”— 16 therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king who
sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city,
and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity— 17
thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine,
and the pestilence, and will make them like rotten figs that cannot be eaten,
they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and
with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of
the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all
the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have not heeded My words,
says the Lord, which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up
early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord. 20 Therefore
hear the word of the Lord, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem
to Babylon.
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who
prophesy a lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. 22 And
because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are
in Babylon, saying, “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of
Babylon roasted in the fire”; 23 because they have done disgraceful things in
Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken
lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I know, and am
a witness, says the Lord.
24 You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,
25 Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent
letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the
son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “The Lord has
made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be
officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is demented and considers
himself a prophet, that you should put him in prison and in the stocks. 27 Now
therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a
prophet to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is
long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’”
29 Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing
of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:
31 Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning
Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I have not
sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie— 32 therefore thus says the
Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family: he shall
not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I
will do for My people, says the Lord, because he has taught rebellion against
the Lord.
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