Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 Early in the reign of Zedekiaha g son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yokeh out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3 Then sendi word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,j Tyre and Sidonk through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arml I madem the earth and its people and the animalsn that are on it, and I giveo it to anyone I please. 6 Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servantp Nebuchadnezzarq king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.r 7 All nations will serves him and his son and his grandson until the timet for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugateu him.

8 “ ‘ “If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punishv that nation with the sword,w faminex and plague,y declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets,z your diviners,a your interpreters of dreams,b your mediumsc or your sorcerersd who tell you, ‘You will not servee the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy liesf to you that will only serve to removeg you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yokeh of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to livei there, declares the Lord.” ’ ”

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yokej of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.k 13 Why will you and your people diel by the sword, famine and plaguem with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listenn to the words of the prophetso who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying liesp to you. 15 ‘I have not sentq them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name.r Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,s both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’ ”

16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articlest from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listenu to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.v Why should this city become a ruin? 18 If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them pleadw with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19 For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,x the movable stands and the other articlesy that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carriedz Jehoiachinb a son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—21 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 ‘They will be takenb to Babylon and there they will remain until the dayc I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bringd them back and restore them to this place.’ ”

The False Prophet Hananiah

28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiahe king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon,f said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yokeg of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articlesh of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachina i son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”j

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.k 7 Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plaguel against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.m”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoken off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he saido before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’ ” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

12 After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yokep on the necks of all these nations to make them serveq Nebuchadnezzarr king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.s’ ”

15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sentt you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.u 16 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth.v This very year you are going to die,w because you have preached rebellionx against the Lord.’ ”

17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.y

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letterz that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.a 2 (This was after King Jehoiachina b and the queen mother,c the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3 He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carriedd into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Builde houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.f 7 Also, seekg the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Prayh to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophetsi and diviners among you deceivej you. Do not listen to the dreamsk you encourage them to have.l 9 They are prophesying liesm to you in my name. I have not sentn them,” declares the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy yearso are completed for Babylon, I will come to youp and fulfill my good promiseq to bring you backr to this place. 11 For I know the planss I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prospert you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.u 12 Then you will callv on me and come and prayw to me, and I will listenx to you. 13 You will seeky me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.z 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you backa from captivity.b I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”b

15 You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile—17 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plaguec against them and I will make them like figsd that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrente to all the kingdoms of the earth, a cursec f and an object of horror,g of scornh and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19 For they have not listened to my words,”i declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and againj by my servants the prophets.k And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

20 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sentl away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying liesm to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burnedn in the fire.’ 23 For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they