Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes

27 In^[a] the beginning of the reign of ^[b]Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, ^(A)king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, ^(B)and put them on your neck, ³ and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: ^5 (C)‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and ^(D)have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. ^6 (E)And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(F)My servant; and ^(G)the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. ^7 (H)So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, ^(I)until the time of his land comes; ^(J)and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. ⁸ And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. ⁹ Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[c]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” ¹⁰ For they prophesy a ^(K)lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”

¹² I also spoke to ^(L)Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! ^13 (M)Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Therefore ^(N)do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy ^(O)a lie to you; ¹⁵ for I have ^(P)not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶ Also 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 prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, ^(Q)the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? ¹⁸ But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to 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 at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

¹⁹ “For thus says the Lord of hosts ^(R)concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away ^(S)captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the ^(T)vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: ²² ‘They shall be ^(U)carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I ^(V)visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then ^(W)I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom

28 And ^(X)it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the ^(Y)fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of ^(Z)Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, ² “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken ^(AA)the yoke of the king of Babylon. ^3 (AB)Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(AC)took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ And I will bring back to this place ^[d]Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of 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 the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^(AD)“Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸ The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. ⁹ As for ^(AE)the prophet who prophesies of ^(AF)peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(AG)yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. ¹¹ And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(AH)from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹² Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AI)“I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. ^(AJ)I have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ”

¹⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but ^(AK)you make this people trust in a ^(AL)lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall ^(AM)die, because you have taught ^(AN)rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

ה HE

Pray for Us

3 Finally, brethren, ^(A)pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, ² and ^(B)that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; ^(C)for not all have faith.

³ But ^(D)the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and ^(E)guard you from the evil one. ⁴ And ^(F)we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.

⁵ Now may ^(G)the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

⁶ But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(H)that you withdraw ^(I)from every brother who walks ^(J)disorderly and not according to the tradition which ^[a]he received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s bread ^[b]free of charge, but worked with ^(K)labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, ⁹ not because we do not have ^(L)authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. ¹¹ For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are ^(M)busybodies. ¹² Now those who are such we command and ^[c]exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ ^(N)that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

¹³ But as for you, brethren, ^(O)do not grow weary in doing good. ¹⁴ And if anyone does not obey our word in this ^[d]epistle, note that person and ^(P)do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. ^15 (Q)Yet do not count him as an enemy, ^(R)but ^[e]admonish him as a brother.

Benediction

¹⁶ Now may ^(S)the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.

^17 (T)The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every ^[f]epistle; so I write.

^18 (U)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.