Jeremiah 27:12–28:17

¹²I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke^j of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.^{k 13}Why will you and your people die^l by the sword, famine and plague^m with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴Do not listenⁿ to the words of the prophets^o who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies^p to you. ¹⁵‘I have not sent^q 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.’ ”

¹⁶Then 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 articles^t from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. ¹⁷Do not listen^u to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.^v Why should this city become a ruin? ¹⁸If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead^w 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. ¹⁹For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,^x the movable stands and the other articles^y that are left in this city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried^z Jehoiachin^ba son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—²¹yes, 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 taken^b to Babylon and there they will remain until the day^c I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring^d them back and restore them to this place.’ ”

The False Prophet Hananiah

28In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah^e 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 yoke^g of the king of Babylon. ³Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles^h of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. ⁴I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin^ai 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

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. ⁶He 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: ⁸From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague^l against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.^m”

¹⁰Then the prophet Hananiah took the yokeⁿ off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, ¹¹and he said^o 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.

¹²After 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. ¹⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke^p on the necks of all these nations to make them serve^q Nebuchadnezzar^r king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.^s’ ”

¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent^t 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 rebellion^x against the Lord.’ ”

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