Jeremiah 28:1–30:24
28 And ait happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the bfourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of cAzur 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 dthe yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 eWithin two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ftook away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back to this place 1Jeconiah 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, g“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 hthe prophet who prophesies of ipeace, 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 jyoke 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 kfrom 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: l“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. mI 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 nyou make this people trust in a olie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall pdie, because you have taught qrebellion 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 acarried 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 bJeconiah 1the king, the cqueen mother, the 2eunuchs, 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 dShaphan, 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, eand 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 fdeceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy gfalsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.
10 For thus says the Lord: After hseventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to ireturn 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 jcall upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will klisten to you. 13 And lyou will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me mwith all your heart. 14 nI will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; oI 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 ptherefore 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 qrotten 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 rwill deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be sa 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 tI 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 ulie 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 vAnd 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, wwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; 23 because xthey 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 yknow, 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, zto 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 aofficers in the house of the Lord over every man who is bdemented and considers himself a prophet, that you should cput 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, dand I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a elie—32 therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his 3family: 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, fbecause he has taught rebellion against the Lord.
Restoration of Israel and Judah
30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that aI will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. b‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”
4 Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of 1fear, and not of peace.
Whether a 2man is ever in 3labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
cLike a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 dAlas! For that day is great,
eSo that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And fDavid their king,
Whom I will graise up for them.
10 ‘Therefore hdo not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed ifrom the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with jyou,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
kThough I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
lYet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you min justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’
n‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.