4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,^(A) and in view of his appearing^(B) and his kingdom, I give you this charge:^{(C) 2} Preach^(D) the word;^(E) be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke^(F) and encourage^(G)—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.^(H) Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.^{(I) 4} They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.^{(J) 5} But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,^(K) do the work of an evangelist,^(L) discharge all the duties of your ministry.

²² “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect^(A) those days will be shortened. ²³ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.^{(B) 24} For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders^(C) to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

True and False Prophets

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets.^(A) They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.^(B)

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. ³ Within 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. ⁴ I 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)

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.^{(G) 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 plague^(H) 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.^(I)”

¹⁰ Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke^(J) off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, ¹¹ and 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.

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 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)’”

¹⁵ Then 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) 16} Therefore 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.’”

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

No Other Gospel

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called^(A) you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel^(B)— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion^(C) and are trying to pervert^(D) the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,^(E) let them be under God’s curse!^{(F) 9} As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted,^(G) let them be under God’s curse!

⁴ For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about^[a] long ago have secretly slipped in among you.^(A) They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.^(B)

¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death^(A) by which Peter would glorify God.^(B) Then he said to him, “Follow me!”^(C)

¹⁷ As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”^[a](A) He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life^(B) to the dead and calls^(C) into being things that were not.^(D)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel,^(A) because it is the power of God^(B) that brings salvation to everyone who believes:^(C) first to the Jew,^(D) then to the Gentile.^(E)