Jeremiah 27–29

27^aIn the beginning of the reign of ^bJehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²Thus ^||saith the Lord to me; ^cMake thee bonds and ^dyokes, and put them upon thy neck, ³And send them to the king of ^eEdom, and to the king of ^eMoab, and to the king of the ^eAmmonites, and to the king of ^eTyrus, and to the king of ^eZidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem ^bunto Zedekiah king of Judah; ⁴And command them ^||to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; ^5fI have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and ^gby my outstretched arm, and ^hhave given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. ⁶And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ⁱmy servant; and ^kthe beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. ^7lAnd all nations shall serve him, and ^mhis son, and ⁿhis son’s son, ^lountil the very time of his land come: and then ^pmany nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him. ⁸And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and ^qthat will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, ^rwith the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. ^9vTherefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to ^syour diviners, nor to your ^†dreamers, nor to your ^tenchanters, nor to your ^usorcerers, ^vwhich speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: ^10vwFor they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. ¹¹But ^qthe nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

¹²I spake also ^*xto Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, ^qBring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^yserve him and his people, and live. ^13zWhy will ye die, thou and thy people, ^raby the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, ^bas the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ^14cTherefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: ^dfor they prophesy a lie unto you. ^15eFor I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy ^†a lie in my name; ^fthat I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. ¹⁶Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; ^vHearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, ^gthe vessels of the Lord’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: ^vfor they prophesy a lie unto you. ¹⁷Hearken not unto them; ^yserve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city ^hbe laid waste? ¹⁸But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now ⁱmake intercession to the Lord of hosts, that ^kthe vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. ¹⁹For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning ^lthe pillars, and concerning ^lthe sea, and concerning ^lthe bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city, ²⁰Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, ^mwhen he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; ²¹Yea, thus saith 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; ²²ⁿThey shall be carried to Babylon, and ^othere shall they be until the day that ^pI visit them, saith the Lord; then ^qwill I bring them up, and ^pqrestore them to this place.

28^*And it came to pass ^athe same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that ^bHananiah the son of ^cAzur the prophet, which was of ^dGibeon, spake unto me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, ²Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken ^othe yoke of the king of Babylon. ^3fWithin ^†two full years will I bring again into this place ^fall the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: ⁴And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the ^†captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the Lord: for ^eI will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. ⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord, ⁶Even the prophet Jeremiah said, ^gAmen: the Lord do so: the Lord perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord’s house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. ⁷Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; ⁸The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. ^9hThe prophet which prophesieth ⁱof peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him. ¹⁰Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^kyoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it. ¹¹And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; ^eEven so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^lfrom the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹²Then the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken ^kthe yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. ¹⁴For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; ^mI have put a yoke of iron ^lupon the neck of all these nations, ⁿthat they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and ^oI have given him the beasts of the field also. ¹⁵Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; ^pThe Lord hath not sent thee; but ^pthou makest this people to trust ^qin a lie. ¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, ^rbecause thou hast taught ^†rebellion against the Lord. ^17*So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

29^*Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of ^athe elders which were carried away captives, and ^bto the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; ²(After that ^cdJeconiah the king, and ^cethe queen, and ^cthe ^||eunuchs, ^dthe princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and ^dthe carpenters, and ^dthe smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) ³By the hand of Elasah the son of ^fShaphan, and Gemariah the son of ^gHilkiah, ^h(whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

⁴Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; ⁵ⁱBuild ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; ⁶Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. ⁷And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and ^kpray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. ⁸For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and ^lyour diviners, that be in the midst of you, ^mdeceive you, neither hearken to ^lyour dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. ^9n*For they prophesy ^†falsely unto you in my name: ⁿI have not sent them, saith the Lord. ¹⁰For thus saith the Lord, That ^oafter seventy years be accomplished at Babylon ^pI will visit you, and ^qperform my good word toward you, ^pqin causing you to return to this place. ¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, ^rto give you an ^†expected end. ¹²Then ^sshall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ¹³And ^stvye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me ^uwith all your heart. ¹⁴And ^vI will be found of you, saith the Lord: and ^wI will turn away your captivity, and ^xI will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places ^ywhither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; ¹⁶Know that thus saith the Lord of the king ^zthat sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; ¹⁷Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, ^aI will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them ^blike vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. ¹⁸And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and ^cwill deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^†to be ^dea curse, and…