The Sign of the Yoke

27 In the beginning of the reign of Zedeki′ah^[a] the son of Josi′ah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ² Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself thongs and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. ³ Send word^[b] to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedeki′ah king of Judah. ⁴ Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵ “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. ⁶ Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnez′zar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. ⁷ All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

⁸ “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. ⁹ So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers,^[c] your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ¹¹ But any nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to till it and dwell there, says the Lord.”’”

¹² To Zedeki′ah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. ¹³ Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you. ¹⁵ I have not sent them, says the Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? ¹⁸ If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels which are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconi′ah the son of Jehoi′akim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ²² They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I give attention to them, says the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”

Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies

28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedeki′ah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hanani′ah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gib′eon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ I will also bring back to this place Jeconi′ah the son of Jehoi′akim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hanani′ah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words which you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. ⁷ Yet hear now this word which I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

¹⁰ Then the prophet Hanani′ah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, and broke them. ¹¹ And Hanani′ah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹² Sometime after the prophet Hanani′ah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “Go, tell Hanani′ah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but I^[d] will make in their place bars of iron. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke of servitude to Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” ¹⁵ And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hanani′ah, “Listen, Hanani′ah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

¹⁷ In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hanani′ah died.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles in Babylon

29 These are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the elders^[e] of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnez′zar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after King Jeconi′ah, and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Ela′sah the son of Shaphan and Gemari′ah the son of Hilki′ah, whom Zedeki′ah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon. It said: ⁴ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷ But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream,^{[f] 9} for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’— ¹⁶ Thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: ¹⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they did not heed my words, says the Lord, which I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, says the Lord.’— ²⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ²¹ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolai′ah and Zedeki′ah the son of Ma-asei′ah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrez′zar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. ²² Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedeki′ah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³ because they have committed folly in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words which I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, says the Lord.’”

The Letter of Shemaiah

²⁴ To Shemai′ah of Nehel′am you shall say: ²⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephani′ah the son of Ma-asei′ah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoi′ada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and collar. ²⁷ Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of An′athoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

²⁹ Zephani′ah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemai′ah of Nehel′am: Because Shemai′ah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³² therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemai′ah of Nehel′am and his descendants; he shall not have any one living among this people to see^[g] the good that I will do to my people, says the Lord, for he has talked rebellion against the Lord.’”

God’s Wisdom Seen in Creation

²⁵ “Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, ²⁷ and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

³⁰ “I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³¹ If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true; ³² there is another who bears witness to me, and I know that the testimony which he bears to me is true. ³³ You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. ³⁴ Not that the testimony which I receive is from man; but I say this that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. ³⁶ But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has granted me to accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear me witness that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen; ³⁸ and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he has sent. ³⁹ You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ⁴¹ I do not receive glory from men. ⁴² But I know that you have not the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; it is Moses who accuses you, on whom you set your hope. ⁴⁶ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”