Jeremiah 26–29

Jeremiah’s Speech in the Temple

26At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim ^fson of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all Judah’s cities that are coming to worship there. Do not hold back a word. ^g3Perhaps they will listen and return—each from his evil way of life—so that I might relent ^hconcerning the disaster that I plan to do to them because of the evil of their deeds. ⁴You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to Me by living according to My instruction that I set before you ⁱ⁵and by listening to the words of My servants the prophets ^jI have been sending you time and time again, ^kthough you did not listen, ^l6I will make this temple like Shiloh. ^mI will make this city an object of cursing for all the nations of the earth.”

Jeremiah Seized

⁷The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the temple of the Lord. ⁸He finished the address the Lord had commanded him to deliver to all the people. Then the priests, the prophets, and all the people took hold of him, yelling, “You must surely die! ⁹How dare you prophesy in the name of Yahweh, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin’!” Then all the people assembled against Jeremiah at the Lord’s temple.

¹⁰When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went from the king’s palace to the Lord’s temple and sat at the entrance of the New Gate. ^no11Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man deserves the death sentence because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” ^p

Jeremiah’s Defense

¹²Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and the people, “The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this temple and city. ¹³So now, correct your ways and deeds ^qand obey the voice of the Lord your God so that He might relent concerning the disaster that He warned about. ¹⁴As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood ^ron yourselves, on this city, and on its residents, for it is certain the Lord has sent me to speak all these things directly to you.”

Jeremiah Released

¹⁶Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, “This man doesn’t deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God!”

¹⁷Some of the elders of the land stood up ^sand said to all the assembled people, ¹⁸“Micah the Moreshite ^tprophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah ^uand said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become ruins,

and the temple mount a forested hill.’ ^v

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all the people of Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and plead for the Lord’s favor, ^wxand did not the Lord relent concerning the disaster He had pronounced against them? ^yWe are about to bring great harm on ourselves!”

The Prophet Uriah

²⁰Another man was also prophesying in the name of Yahweh—Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. ^zHe prophesied against this city and against this land in words like all those of Jeremiah. ²¹King Jehoiakim, all his warriors, and all the officials heard his words, and the king tried to put him to death. When Uriah heard, he fled in fear and went to Egypt. ²²But King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor ^aand certain other men with him went to Egypt. ²³They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who executed him with the sword and threw his corpse into the burial place of the common people. ^b

²⁴But Ahikam ^cson of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

The Yoke of Babylon

27At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah ^dson of Josiah, king of Judah, ^ethis word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ^f2“This is what the Lord said to me: Make chains and yoke bars ^gfor yourself and put them on your neck. ^h3Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon ⁱthrough messengers who are coming to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. ⁴Command them to go to their masters, saying: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: This is what you must say to your masters: ⁵By My great strength and outstretched arm, ^jI made the earth, ^kand the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please. ^lm6So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant ⁿNebuchadnezzar, ^oking of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him. ^p

⁸“As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“until through him I have destroyed it. ⁹But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, ^qdreamers, fortune-tellers, ^ror sorcerers ^swho say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ ¹⁰for they prophesy a lie ^tto you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. ¹¹But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate ^uit and reside in it.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

Warning to Zedekiah

¹²I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah ^vin the same way: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and live! ¹³Why should you and your people die ^wby the sword, famine, or plague as the Lord has threatened against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a lie to you. ^x15‘I have not sent them’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘and they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore, I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.’ ”

¹⁶Then I spoke to the priests and all these people, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They are prophesying to you, claiming, “Look, very soon now the articles of the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon.” ^yThey are prophesying a lie to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin? ^z18If they are indeed prophets and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them intercede with the Lord of Hosts not to let the articles that remain in the Lord’s temple, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem go to Babylon.’ ¹⁹For this is what the Lord of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the water carts, ^aand the rest of the articles that still remain in this city, ²⁰those Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he deported Jeconiah ^bson of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon along with all the nobles of Judah ^cand Jerusalem. ²¹Yes, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about the articles that remain in the temple of the Lord, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ²²‘They will be brought to Babylon and will remain there until I attend to them again.’ ^dThis is the Lord’s declaration. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ” ^e

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, ^fin the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon ^gsaid to me in the temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, ²“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ^h3Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord’s temple ⁱthat King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. ⁴And I will restore to this place Jeconiah ^json of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah ^kwho went to Babylon’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Response to Hananiah

⁵The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord. ⁶The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! ^lMay the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may He restore the articles of the Lord’s temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! ⁷Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, ^mand plague against many lands and great kingdoms. ⁹As for the prophet who prophesies peace—only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the Lord has truly sent.” ⁿ

Hananiah Breaks Jeremiah’s Yoke

¹⁰The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ^o11In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’ ” Jeremiah the prophet then went on his way.

The Lord’s Word against Hananiah

¹²The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet: ¹³“Go say to Hananiah: This is what the Lord says, ‘You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you…