Jeremiah 29:24–32

Shemaiah’s False Prophecy

²⁴To ^rShemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: ²⁵“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^sZephaniah the son of ^tMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^ucharge in the house of the Lord ^vover every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^wthe stocks and neck irons. ²⁷Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^xof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^ybuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.” ’ ”

^29sZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ^30zThen the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^aShemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^aShemaiah had prophesied to you ^bwhen I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³²therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^aShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^cand he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^dfor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’ ”