V. Controversies with the False Prophets^[a]

Chapter 27

Serve Babylon or Perish. ¹ In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah,^[b] son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² The Lord said to me: Make for yourself thongs and yoke bars and put them on your shoulders. ³ Send them to the kings of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, Tyre, and Sidon, through the ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah,^{[c] 4} and command them to tell their lords: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall you say to your lords: ⁵ It was I who made the earth, human being and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power, with my outstretched arm; and I can give them to whomever I think fit.^{(A) 6} Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant; even the wild animals I have given him to serve him.^{(B) 7} All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time comes for him and his land; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.^{(C) 8} Meanwhile, the nation or the kingdom that will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, or bend its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with sword, famine, and pestilence—oracle of the Lord—until I finish them by his hand.^(D)

⁹ You, however, must not listen to your prophets,^[d] to your diviners and dreamers, to your soothsayers and sorcerers, who say to you, “Do not serve the king of Babylon.”^{(E) 10} For they prophesy lies to you, so as to drive you far from your land, making me banish you so that you perish.^{(F) 11} The people that bends the neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon to serve him, I will leave in peace on its own land—oracle of the Lord—to cultivate it and dwell on it.^(G)

¹² To Zedekiah, king of Judah, I spoke the same words: Bend your necks to the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, so that you may live.^{(H) 13} Why should you and your people die by sword, famine, and pestilence, in accordance with the word the Lord has spoken to the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?^{(I) 14} Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, “Do not serve the king of Babylon.” They prophesy lies to you!^{(J) 15} I did not send them—oracle of the Lord—but they prophesy falsely in my name. As a result I must banish you, and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.^(K)

^16 (L)To the priests and to all the people I said: Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you: “The vessels of the house of the Lord will soon be brought back from Babylon,” for they prophesy lies to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon that you may live. Why should this city become rubble? ¹⁸ If they were prophets, if the word of the Lord were with them, then they would intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels remaining in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem should not also go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels remaining in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take when he exiled Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels remaining in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:^{(M) 22} To Babylon they shall go, and there they shall remain, until the day I look for them—oracle of the Lord; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.

Chapter 28

The Two Yokes. ¹ That same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the prophet, son of Azzur, from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people: 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 restore to this place all the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took from this place and carried away to Babylon. ⁴ And Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon, I will bring back to this place—oracle of the Lord—for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

⁵ Jeremiah the prophet answered the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and all the people standing in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and said: Amen! thus may the Lord do! May the Lord fulfill your words that you have prophesied, by bringing back the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! ⁷ But now, listen to the word I am about to speak in your hearing and the hearing of all the people. ⁸ In the past, the prophets who came before you and me prophesied war, disaster, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms. ⁹ But the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as the prophet whom the Lord has truly sent only when his word comes to pass.^(N)

¹⁰ Thereupon Hananiah the prophet took the yoke bar from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ He said in the sight of all the people: “Thus says the Lord: Like this, within two years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the neck of all the nations.” At that, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

¹² After Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ Go tell Hananiah this: Thus says the Lord: By breaking a wooden yoke bar, you make an iron yoke! ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: A yoke of iron I have placed on the necks of all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and they shall serve him; even the wild animals I have given him.^{(O) 15} And Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet: Listen to this, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, and you have led this people to rely on deception. ¹⁶ For this, says the Lord, I am sending you from the face of the earth; this very year you shall die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.^{(P) 17} Hananiah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month.

Chapter 29

Letter to the Exiles in Babylon. ¹ These are the words of the scroll which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans and smiths had left Jerusalem.^{(Q) 3} Delivered in Babylon by Elasah,^[e] son of Shaphan, and by Gemariah, son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Babylon, the letter read:

⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruits. ⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters. Increase there; do not decrease. ⁷ Seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you; pray for it to the Lord, for upon its welfare your own depends.^{(R) 8} For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners who are among you; do not listen to those among you who dream dreams,^{(S) 9} for they prophesy lies to you in my name; I did not send them—oracle of the Lord.^(T)

¹⁰ For thus says the Lord: Only after seventy years have elapsed for Babylon will I deal with you and fulfill for you my promise to bring you back to this place.^{(U) 11} For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the Lord—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. ¹² When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.^{(V) 13} When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴ I will let you find me—oracle of the Lord—and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you—oracle of the Lord—and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.^{(W) 15} As for your saying, “The Lord has raised up for us prophets here in Babylon”—

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord concerning the king sitting on David’s throne and all the people living in this city, your kinsmen who did not go with you into exile; ¹⁷ thus says the Lord of hosts: I am sending against them sword, famine, and pestilence. I will make them like rotten figs, so spoiled that they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, a desolation, a hissing, and a reproach to all the nations among which I have banished them,^{(X) 19} because they did not listen to my words—oracle of the Lord—even though I kept sending them my servants the prophets, but they would not listen to them—oracle of the Lord.^(Y)

²⁰ As for you, listen to the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹ This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab, son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: I am handing them over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who will kill them before your eyes.^{(Z) 22} And because of them this curse will be used by all the exiles of Judah in Babylon: “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in fire,” ²³ because they have committed an outrage in Israel, committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and alleging in my name things I did not command. I know, I am witness—oracle of the Lord.^(AA)

The False Prophet Shemaiah. ²⁴ To Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, say: ²⁵ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you sent documents in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah, the priest, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests saying: ^26 [f]“It is the Lord who has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada, to provide officers for the house of the Lord, that you may confine in stocks or pillory any madman who poses as a prophet. ²⁷ Why, then, have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸ For he sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time; build houses to live in; plant gardens and eat their fruit. . . .”

²⁹ When the priest Zephaniah read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet, ³⁰ the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ Send to all the exiles: Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah, the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesies to you, although I did not send him, and has led you to rely on a lie, ³² therefore thus says the Lord, I will punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, and his descendants. None of them shall dwell among this people to see the good I will do for this people—oracle of the Lord—because he preached rebellion against the Lord.

Divine Wisdom Seen in Creation^[a]

²⁵ Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.^{(A) 26} For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.^{(B) 27} And he gave him power to exercise judgment, because he is the Son of Man.^{(C) 28 [a]}Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice^{(D) 29} and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.^(E)

³⁰ “I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.^(F)

Witnesses to Jesus. ^31 (G)“If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony cannot be verified. ³² But there is another^[b] who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. ³³ You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.^{(H) 34} I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved.^{(I) 35} He was a burning and shining lamp,^[c] and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.^{(J) 36} But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.^{(K) 37} Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,^{(L) 38} and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.^{(M) 39} You search^[d] the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf.^{(N) 40} But you do not want to come to me to have life.

Unbelief of Jesus’ Hearers. ⁴¹ “I do not accept human praise;^{[e] 42} moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.^{(O) 43} I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him.^{(P) 44} How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?^{(Q) 45} Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.^{(R) 46} For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me.^{(S) 47} But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”