Jeremiah 14:13-22

New International Version

¹³But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets^(A) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.^(B) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace^(C) in this place.’”

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies^(D) in my name. I have not sent^(E) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,^(F) divinations,^(G) idolatries^[a] and the delusions of their own minds. ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish^(H) by sword and famine.^(I) ¹⁶And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury^(J) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.^(K) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.^(L)

¹⁷“Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears^(M)
    night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin^(N) Daughter, my people,
    has suffered a grievous wound,
    a crushing blow.^(O)
¹⁸If I go into the country,
    I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
    I see the ravages of famine.^(P)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.^(Q)’”

¹⁹Have you rejected Judah completely?^(R)
    Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
    so that we cannot be healed?^(S)
We hoped for peace
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.^(T)
²⁰We acknowledge^(U) our wickedness, Lord,
    and the guilt of our ancestors;^(V)
    we have indeed sinned^(W) against you.
²¹For the sake of your name^(X) do not despise us;
    do not dishonor your glorious throne.^(Y)
Remember your covenant^(Z) with us
    and do not break it.
²²Do any of the worthless idols^(AA) of the nations bring rain?^(AB)
    Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
    Therefore our hope is in you,
    for you are the one who does all this.^(AC)

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations

Jeremiah 23:9-40

New International Version

Lying Prophets

⁹Concerning the prophets:

My heart^(A) is broken within me;
    all my bones tremble.^(B)
I am like a drunken man,
    like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
    and his holy words.^(C)
¹⁰The land is full of adulterers;^(D)
    because of the curse^[a]^(E) the land lies parched
    and the pastures^(F) in the wilderness are withered.^(G)
The prophets follow an evil course
    and use their power unjustly.

¹¹“Both prophet and priest are godless;^(H)
    even in my temple^(I) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
¹²“Therefore their path will become slippery;^(J)
    they will be banished to darkness
    and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
    in the year they are punished,^(K)”
declares the Lord.

¹³“Among the prophets of Samaria
    I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal^(L)
    and led my people Israel astray.^(M)
¹⁴And among the prophets of Jerusalem
    I have seen something horrible:^(N)
    They commit adultery and live a lie.^(O)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,^(P)
    so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.^(Q)
They are all like Sodom^(R) to me;
    the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”^(S)

¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:

“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,^(T)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness^(U) has spread throughout the land.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Do not listen^(V) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
    they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions^(W) from their own minds,
    not from the mouth^(X) of the Lord.
¹⁷They keep saying^(Y) to those who despise me,
    ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’^(Z)
And to all who follow the stubbornness^(AA) of their hearts
    they say, ‘No harm^(AB) will come to you.’
¹⁸But which of them has stood in the council^(AC) of the Lord
    to see or to hear his word?
    Who has listened and heard his word?
¹⁹See, the storm^(AD) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind^(AE) swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁰The anger^(AF) of the Lord will not turn back^(AG)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand it clearly.
²¹I did not send^(AH) these prophets,
    yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
    yet they have prophesied.
²²But if they had stood in my council,^(AI)
    they would have proclaimed^(AJ) my words to my people
and would have turned^(AK) them from their evil ways
    and from their evil deeds.^(AL)

²³“Am I only a God nearby,^(AM)”
declares the Lord,
    “and not a God far away?
²⁴Who can hide^(AN) in secret places
    so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
    “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”^(AO)
declares the Lord.

²⁵“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies^(AP) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!^(AQ) I had a dream!’ ²⁶How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions^(AR) of their own minds?^(AS) ²⁷They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget^(AT) my name, just as their ancestors forgot^(AU) my name through Baal worship.^(AV) ²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream^(AW) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word^(AX) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹“Is not my word like fire,”^(AY) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer^(AZ) that breaks a rock in pieces?

³⁰“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against^(BA) the prophets^(BB) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. ³¹Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’^(BC) ³²Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,^(BD)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray^(BE) with their reckless lies,^(BF) yet I did not send^(BG) or appoint them. They do not benefit^(BH) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

False Prophecy

³³“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message^(BI) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake^(BJ) you, declares the Lord.’ ³⁴If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message^(BK) from the Lord,’ I will punish^(BL) them and their household. ³⁵This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’^(BM) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort^(BN) the words of the living God,^(BO) the Lord Almighty, our God. ³⁷This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ ³⁹Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast^(BP) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. ⁴⁰I will bring on you everlasting disgrace^(BQ)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things

Jeremiah 28-29

New International Version

The False Prophet Hananiah

28 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah^(A) king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon,^(B) 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^(C) of the king of Babylon. ³Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles^(D) 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^[a]^(E) 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.’”^(F)

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.^(G) ⁷Nevertheless, 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^(H) 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.^(I)”

¹⁰Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke^(J) off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, ¹¹and he said^(K) 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^(L) on the necks of all these nations to make them serve^(M) Nebuchadnezzar^(N) king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.^(O)’”

¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent^(P) you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.^(Q) ¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth.^(R) This very year you are going to die,^(S) because you have preached rebellion^(T) against the Lord.’”

¹⁷In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.^(U)

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter^(V) 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.^(W) ²(This was after King Jehoiachin^[b]^(X) and the queen mother,^(Y) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) ³He 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:

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried^(Z) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵“Build^(AA) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Marry 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.^(AB) ⁷Also, seek^(AC) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray^(AD) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets^(AE) and diviners among you deceive^(AF) you. Do not listen to the dreams^(AG) you encourage them to have.^(AH) ⁹They are prophesying lies^(AI) to you in my name. I have not sent^(AJ) them,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years^(AK) are completed for Babylon, I will come to you^(AL) and fulfill my good promise^(AM) to bring you back^(AN) to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans^(AO) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper^(AP) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.^(AQ) ¹²Then you will call^(AR) on me and come and pray^(AS) to me, and I will listen^(AT) to you. ¹³You will seek^(AU) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.^(AV) ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back^(AW) from captivity.^[c] 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.”^(AX)

¹⁵You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” ¹⁶but 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— ¹⁷yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague^(AY) against them and I will make them like figs^(AZ) that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent^(BA) to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse^[d]^(BB) and an object of horror,^(BC) of scorn^(BD) and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. ¹⁹For they have not listened to my words,”^(BE) declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again^(BF) by my servants the prophets.^(BG) And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

²⁰Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent^(BH) away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies^(BI) 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. ²²Because 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 burned^(BJ) in the fire.’ ²³For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery^(BK) with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know^(BL) it and am a witness^(BM) to it,” declares the Lord.

Message to Shemaiah

²⁴Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ²⁵“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(BN) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac^(BO) who acts like a prophet into the stocks^(BP) and neck-irons. ²⁷So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸He has sent this message^(BQ) to us in Babylon: It will be a long time.^(BR) Therefore build^(BS) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

²⁹Zephaniah^(BT) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah^(BU) the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send^(BV) him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, ³²this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants.^(BW) He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good^(BX) things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion^(BY) against me.’”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 28:4 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes
Jeremiah 29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed.