Daniel Taken to Babylon

1 In the third year of ^(A)the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of ^(B)the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to ^(C)the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, ^(D)and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. ³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^(E)his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family^[a] and of ^(F)the nobility, ⁴ youths without ^(G)blemish, of good appearance and ^(H)skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to ^(I)teach them the literature and language of the ^(J)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of ^(K)the food that the king ate, and of ^(L)the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for ^(M)three years, and at the end of that time they were to ^(N)stand before the king. ⁶ Among these were ^(O)Daniel, ^(P)Hananiah, ^(Q)Mishael, and ^(R)Azariah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷ And ^(S)the chief of the eunuchs ^(T)gave them names: ^(U)Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel's Faithfulness

⁸ But Daniel ^(V)resolved that he would not ^(W)defile himself with ^(X)the king's food, or with ^(Y)the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to ^(Z)defile himself. ^9 (AA)And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, ¹⁰ and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” ¹¹ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Test your servants for ^(AB)ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat ^(AC)the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” ¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate ^(AD)the king's food. ^16 (AE)So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them ^(AF)vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four youths, ^(AG)God gave them learning and ^(AH)skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had ^(AI)understanding in all visions and dreams. ¹⁸ At the end of ^(AJ)the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore ^(AK)they stood before the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all ^(AL)the magicians and ^(AM)enchanters that were in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel ^(AN)was there until the first year of ^(AO)King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^(AP)his spirit was troubled, and ^(AQ)his sleep left him. ² Then the king commanded that ^(AR)the magicians, ^(AS)the enchanters, the ^(AT)sorcerers, and ^(AU)the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^(AV)stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^(AW)my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴ Then ^(AX)the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{[b] (AY)}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to ^(AZ)the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ^(BA)torn limb from limb, ^(BB)and your ^(BC)houses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶ But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^(BD)you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^(BE)Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^(BF)gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹ if you do not make the dream known to me, ^(BG)there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^(BH)the times change. ^(BI)Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” ^10 (BJ)The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or ^(BK)Chaldean. ¹¹ The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^(BL)the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² Because of this the king was angry and ^(BM)very furious, and ^(BN)commanded that all ^(BO)the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^(BP)Daniel and his companions, to kill them. ¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^(BQ)Arioch, the ^(BR)captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He declared^[c] to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^(BS)so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶ And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^(BT)Hananiah, ^(BU)Mishael, and ^(BV)Azariah, his companions, ^18 (BW)and told them to seek mercy from the ^(BX)God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^(BY)be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ^(BZ)a vision of the night. Then Daniel ^(CA)blessed the ^(CB)God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to ^(CP)Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then ^(CQ)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ^(CR)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^(CS)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, ^(CT)whose name was Belteshazzar, ^(CU)“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^(CV)enchanters, ^(CW)magicians, or ^(CX)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but ^(CY)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(CZ)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^(DA)the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^(DB)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But ^(DC)as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^(DD)you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

³¹ “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. ^32 (DE)The head of this image was of fine gold, ^(DF)its chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^(DG)thighs of bronze, ^33 (DH)its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ As you looked, a stone was cut out ^(DI)by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^(DJ)broke them in pieces. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ^(DK)like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^(DL)not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^(DM)a great mountain ^(DN)and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷ You, O king, ^(DO)the king of kings, to whom ^(DP)the God of heaven ^(DQ)has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, ³⁸ and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^(DR)the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^(DS)the head of gold. ^39 (DT)Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^(DU)of bronze, ^(DV)which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And ^(DW)there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^(DX)breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^(DY)break and crush all these. ⁴¹ And as you saw ^(DZ)the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^(EA)firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,^[d] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings ^(EB)the God of heaven will set up ^(EC)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^(ED)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^(EE)it shall stand forever, ⁴⁵ just as ^(EF)you saw that ^(EG)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^(EH)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^(EI)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^(EJ)fell upon his face and ^(EK)paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ^(EL)an offering and ^(EM)incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your ^(EN)God is God of gods and ^(EO)Lord of kings, and ^(EP)a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ^(EQ)gifts, and made him ruler over the whole ^(ER)province of Babylon and ^(ES)chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^(ET)appointed ^(EU)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ^(EV)the province of Babylon. But Daniel ^(EW)remained at the king's court.

Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits^[e] and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on ^(EX)the plain of Dura, in ^(EY)the province of Babylon. ² Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather ^(EZ)the satraps, the prefects, and ^(FA)the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³ Then ^(FB)the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ And the herald ^(FC)proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O ^(FD)peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that when you hear the ^(FE)sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you ^(FF)are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately ^(FG)be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” ⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all ^(FH)the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The Fiery Furnace

⁸ Therefore at that time certain ^(FI)Chaldeans ^(FJ)came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. ⁹ They declared^[f] to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, ^(FK)have made a decree, that every man who ^(FL)hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, ^(FM)shall fall down and worship the golden image. ¹¹ And whoever does not fall down and worship ^(FN)shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have ^(FO)appointed over the affairs of ^(FP)the province of Babylon: ^(FQ)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, ^(FR)pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar ^(FS)in furious rage commanded that ^(FT)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready when ^(FU)you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.^[g] But if you do not worship, ^(FV)you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And ^(FW)who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

^16 (FX)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If this be so, ^(FY)our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.^{[h] 18} But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was ^(FZ)filled with fury, and the expression of his face ^(GA)was changed against ^(GB)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army ^(GC)to bind ^(GD)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were ^(GE)bound in their cloaks, their tunics,^[i] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. ²² Because the king's order was ^(GF)urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up ^(GG)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell ^(GH)bound into the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was ^(GI)astonished and rose up ^(GJ)in haste. He declared to his ^(GK)counselors, “Did we not cast three men ^(GL)bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵ He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, ^(GM)walking in the midst of the fire, and they ^(GN)are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like ^(GO)a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, ^(GP)“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the ^(GQ)Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then ^(GR)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷ And the ^(GS)satraps, the prefects, the governors, and ^(GT)the king's counselors gathered together and saw that ^(GU)the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their ^(GV)cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. ²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of ^(GW)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who ^(GX)has sent his angel and ^(GY)delivered his servants, who ^(GZ)trusted in him, and set aside^[j] the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than ^(HA)serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore ^(HB)I make a decree: Any ^(HC)people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of ^(HD)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ^(HE)shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king promoted ^(HF)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in ^(HG)the province of Babylon.

Daniel and the Lions' Den

6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom ^(A)120 ^(B)satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; ² and over them ^(C)three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these ^(D)satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel became ^(E)distinguished above all ^(F)the other high officials and ^(G)satraps, because ^(H)an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned ^(I)to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ Then ^(J)the high officials and ^(K)the satraps ^(L)sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, ^(M)but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, ^(N)and no error or fault was found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

⁶ Then these ^(O)high officials and ^(P)satraps came by agreement^[a] to the king and said to him, “O ^(Q)King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the ^(R)high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the ^(S)counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an ^(T)injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish ^(U)the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to ^(V)the law of ^(W)the Medes and the Persians, ^(X)which cannot be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document and ^(Y)injunction.

¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where ^(Z)he had windows in his upper chamber open ^(AA)toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees ^(AB)three times a day and prayed and ^(AC)gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. ¹¹ Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. ¹² Then they ^(AD)came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign ^(AE)an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of ^(AF)the Medes and Persians, ^(AG)which cannot be revoked.” ¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, ^(AH)“Daniel, who is one ^(AI)of the exiles ^(AJ)from Judah, ^(AK)pays no attention to you, O king, or ^(AL)the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition ^(AM)three times a day.”

¹⁴ Then ^(AN)the king, when he heard these words, ^(AO)was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. ¹⁵ Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no ^(AP)injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

¹⁶ Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared^[b] to Daniel, “May ^(AQ)your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” ^17 (AR)And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, ^(AS)and the king sealed it ^(AT)with his own signet and with the signet of his ^(AU)lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; ^(AV)no diversions were brought to him, and ^(AW)sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of ^(AX)the living God, ^(AY)has your God, whom you serve continually, ^(AZ)been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, ^(BA)“O king, live forever! ²² My God ^(BB)sent his angel ^(BC)and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless ^(BD)before him; ^(BE)and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” ²³ Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and ^(BF)no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. ²⁴ And the king commanded, and ^(BG)those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all ^(BH)the peoples, nations, and languages ^(BI)that dwell in all the earth: ^(BJ)“Peace be multiplied to you. ^26 (BK)I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion ^(BL)people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and ^(BS)the reign of ^(BT)Cyrus the Persian.

Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles

29 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^(A)the surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^(B)the priests, ^(C)the prophets, and ^(D)all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after ^(E)King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^(F)Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(G)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar 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 (H)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 ^(I)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: ^(J)Do not let your prophets and ^(K)your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^{[a] 9} for ^(L)it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^(M)I did not send them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord: ^(N)When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^(O)I will visit you, ^(P)and I will fulfill to you my promise ^(Q)and bring you back to this place. ^11 (R)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[b] and not for evil, ^(S)to give you a future and a hope. ^12 (T)Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^(U)and I will hear you. ^13 (V)You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^(W)with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^(X)and I will restore your fortunes and ^(Y)gather you from all the nations and all the places ^(Z)where I have driven you, declares 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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^(AC)vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with ^(AD)sword, famine, and pestilence, ^(AE)and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^(AF)to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^(AG)where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^(AH)that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ ²⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^(AI)whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ²¹ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^(AJ)who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. ^22 (AK)Because of them ^(AL)this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^(AM)whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³ because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^(AN)they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and ^(AO)they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^(AP)I am the one who knows, ^(AQ)and I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah's False Prophecy

²⁴ To ^(AR)Shemaiah of Nehelam 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 ^(AS)Zephaniah the son of ^(AT)Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^(AU)charge in the house of the Lord ^(AV)over every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^(AW)the stocks and neck irons. ²⁷ Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^(AX)of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^(AY)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

^29 (AZ)Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ^30 (BA)Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^(BB)Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^(BC)Shemaiah had prophesied to you ^(BD)when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³² therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^(BE)Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^(BF)and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^(BG)for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”

Restoration for Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(BH)Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ^3 (BI)For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, ^(BJ)when I will restore ^(BK)the fortunes of my people, ^(BL)Israel and Judah, says the Lord, ^(BM)and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴ These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning ^(BN)Israel and Judah:

⁸ “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will ^(BT)break his ^(BU)yoke from off your neck, and I will ^(BV)burst your bonds, ^(BW)and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.^{[c] 9} But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^(BX)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

31 ^(DO)“At that time, declares the Lord, ^(DP)I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

²³ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, ^(FS)when I restore their fortunes:

^24 (FW)And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and ^(FX)the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. ²⁵ For I will ^(FY)satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

²⁶ At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

^27 (FZ)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^(GA)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with ^(GB)the seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸ And it shall come to pass that ^(GC)as I have watched over them ^(GD)to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, ^(GE)so I will watch over them ^(GF)to build and to plant, declares the Lord. ²⁹ In those days they shall no longer say:

^30 (GH)But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

^31 (GI)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make ^(GJ)a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when ^(GK)I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, ^(GL)though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ^33 (GM)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: ^(GN)I will put my law within them, and I will write it ^(GO)on their hearts. ^(GP)And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ ^(GQ)for they shall all know me, ^(GR)from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For ^(GS)I will forgive their iniquity, and ^(GT)I will remember their sin no more.”

^38 (GZ)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord ^(HA)from the Tower of Hananel to ^(HB)the Corner Gate. ^39 (HC)And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. ^40 (HD)The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the ^(HE)brook Kidron, to the corner of ^(HF)the Horse Gate toward the east, ^(HG)shall be sacred to the Lord. ^(HH)It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”