Jeremiah 26–29

Jeremiah’s Enemies Try to Have Him Killed

26A message came to me from the Lord. It was shortly after Jehoiakim became king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. ²The Lord said, “Stand in the courtyard of my house. Speak to the people of the towns in Judah. Speak to all those who come to worship in my house. Tell them everything I command you. Do not leave out a single word. ³Perhaps they will listen. Maybe they will turn from their evil ways. Then I will not do what I said I would. I will not bring trouble on them. I had planned to punish them because of the evil things they had done.

⁴“Tell them, ‘The Lord says, “Listen to me. Obey my law that I gave you. ⁵And listen to the words my servants the prophets are speaking. I have sent them to you again and again. But you have not listened to them. ⁶So I will make this house like Shiloh. All of the nations on earth will call down curses on this city.” ’ ”

⁷I spoke those words in the Lord’s house. The priests, the prophets and all of the people heard me. ⁸I finished telling all of the people everything the Lord had commanded me to say.

But as soon as I did, the priests, the prophets and all of the people grabbed hold of me. They said, “You must die! ⁹Why do you prophesy those things in the Lord’s name? Why do you say that this house will become like Shiloh? Why do you say that this city will be empty and deserted?” And all of the people crowded around me in the Lord’s house.

¹⁰The officials of Judah heard what had happened. So they went up from the royal palace to the Lord’s house. There they took their places at the entrance of the New Gate. ¹¹Then the priests and prophets spoke to the officials and all of the people. They said, “This man should be sentenced to death. He has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!”

¹²Then I spoke to all of the officials and people. I said, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city. He told me to say everything you have heard. ¹³So change the way you live and act. Obey the Lord your God. Then he won’t do what he said he would. He won’t bring on you the trouble he said he would bring.

¹⁴“As for me, I’m in your hands. Do to me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵But you can be sure of one thing. If you put me to death, you will be held accountable for spilling my blood. And I haven’t even done anything wrong. You will bring guilt on yourselves and this city and those who live in it. The Lord has sent me to you. He wanted me to say all of those things so you could hear them. And that’s the truth.”

¹⁶Then the officials and all of the people spoke to the priests and prophets. They said, “This man shouldn’t be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

¹⁷Some of the elders of the land stepped forward. They spoke to the whole community that was gathered there. They said, ¹⁸“Micah from Moresheth prophesied. It was during the time Hezekiah was king over Judah. Micah spoke to all of the people of Judah. He told them, ‘The Lord who rules over all says,

“ ‘ “Zion will be plowed up like a field.

Jerusalem will be turned into a pile of trash.

The temple hill will be covered with bushes and weeds.” ’

¹⁹“Did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah put Micah to death? Hezekiah had respect for the Lord. He asked the Lord to show him his favor. And the Lord didn’t judge Jerusalem as he said he would. He didn’t bring on it the trouble he said he would bring. But we are about to bring horrible trouble on ourselves!”

²⁰Uriah was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord. He was from Kiriath Jearim. He was the son of Shemaiah. Uriah prophesied against this city and this land. He said the same things I did.

²¹King Jehoiakim and all of his officers and officials heard Uriah’s words. So the king tried to have him put to death.

But Uriah heard about it. He was afraid. And he ran away to Egypt.

²²So King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan to Egypt. He also sent some other men along with him. Elnathan was the son of Acbor. ²³Those men brought Uriah out of Egypt. They took him to King Jehoiakim. Then the king had Uriah struck down with a sword. He had Uriah’s body thrown into one of the graves of the ordinary people.

²⁴In spite of that, Ahikam stood up for me. He was the son of Shaphan. Because of Ahikam, I wasn’t handed over to the people to be put to death.

Judah Will Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27A message came to me from the Lord. It was shortly after Zedekiah became king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. ²The Lord said, “Make a yoke out of ropes and wooden boards. Put it on your neck.

³“Then write down a message for the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Give it to their messengers who have come to Jerusalem. They have come to see Zedekiah, the king of Judah. ⁴Give them a message for the kings who sent them. It should say, ‘The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Here is what I want you to tell your masters. ⁵I reached out my great and powerful arm. I made the earth. I made its people and animals. And I can give the earth to anyone I please.

⁶“ ‘ “Now I will hand all of your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar. He is king of Babylonia. I will put even the wild animals under his control. ⁷All of the nations will serve him and his son and grandson. After that, I will judge his land. Then many nations and great kings will make him serve them.

⁸“ ‘ “But suppose any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. And suppose it refuses to put its neck under his yoke. Then I will punish that nation with war, hunger and plague,” announces the Lord. “I will punish it until his powerful hand destroys it.

⁹“ ‘ “So do not listen to your prophets. Do not listen to those who claim to have secret knowledge. Do not listen to those who try to explain your dreams. Do not listen to those who get messages from people who have died. Do not listen to those who practice evil magic. All of them will tell you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylonia.’

¹⁰“ ‘ “But they prophesy lies to you. If you listen to them, you will be removed far away from your lands. I will drive you away from them. And you will die.

¹¹“ ‘ “But suppose any nation will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylonia. And suppose it serves him. Then I will let that nation remain in its own land. I will let its people plow the land and live there,” ’ ” announces the Lord.

¹²I gave the same message to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. I said, “Put your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylonia. Obey him. Serve his people. Then you will live. ¹³Why should you and your people die? Why should you die of war, hunger and plague? That’s what the Lord said would happen to any nation that won’t serve the king of Babylonia.

¹⁴“Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylonia.’ They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁵‘I have not sent them,’ announces the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. So I will drive you away from your land. And you will die. So will the prophets who prophesy to you.’ ”

¹⁶Then I spoke to the priests and all of those people. I said, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to the prophets who say, “Very soon the articles from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.” They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylonia. Then you will live. Why should this city be destroyed?

¹⁸“ ‘If they are prophets and have received a message from me, let them pray to me. I am the Lord who rules over all. Those prophets should pray that what is still in Jerusalem will remain here. They should pray that the articles in my house and the king’s palace will not be taken to Babylon.

¹⁹“ ‘I am the Lord who rules over all. Do you know what those articles are? They include the two pillars in front of the temple. They include the huge metal bowl. They include the bronze stands that can be moved around. And they include the other articles that are left in this city. ²⁰Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, did not take those things away at first. That was when he took King Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon. He also took all of the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem along with him. Jehoiachin is the son of Jehoiakim.

²¹“ ‘I am the Lord who rules over all. I am the God of Israel. Here is what will happen to the things that are left in my house, the king’s palace and Jerusalem. ²²They will be taken to Babylon. They will remain there until the day I come for them,’ announces the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back. I will return them to this place.’ ”

Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah

28The prophet Hananiah spoke to me in the Lord’s house. It was shortly after Zedekiah became king of Judah. It was in the fifth month of his fourth year. Hananiah was from Gibeon. He was the son of Azzur. In front of the priests and all of the people Hananiah said to me, ²“The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylonia. ³Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, removed all of the articles that belong to my house. He took them to Babylon. Before two years are over, I will bring them back to this place.

⁴“ ‘I will also bring King Jehoiachin back. He is the son of Jehoiakim. And I will bring back all of the others who were taken from Judah to Babylon,’ announces the Lord. ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylonia.’ ”

⁵Then I, the prophet Jeremiah, replied to the prophet Hananiah. I spoke to him in front of the priests and all of the people. They were standing in the Lord’s house. ⁶I said, “Amen, Hananiah! May the Lord do those things! May he make the words you have prophesied come true. May he bring back from Babylon the articles that belong to the Lord’s house. May he bring back to this place all of the people who were taken away.

⁷“But listen to what I have to say. I want you and all of the people to hear it. ⁸There have been prophets long before you and I were ever born. They have…