³¹ Send to all the exiles, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and has led you to trust in a lie,^(A)

⁹ for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.^(A)

²² Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not disheartened them, and you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their wicked way and save their lives,^{(A) 23} therefore you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination; I will save my people from your hand. Then you will know that I am the Lord.^(B)

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have uttered falsehood and envisioned lies, I am against you, says the Lord God. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations; they shall not be in the council of my people nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.^{(A) 10} Because, in truth, because they have misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a flimsy wall, these prophets^[a] smear whitewash on it.^{(B) 11} Say to those who smear whitewash on it that it shall fall. There will be a deluge of rain,^[b] great hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind will break out.^{(C) 12} When the wall falls, will it not be said to you, “Where is the whitewash you smeared on it?” ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: In my wrath I will make a stormy wind break out, and in my anger there shall be a deluge of rain and hailstones in wrath to destroy it. ¹⁴ I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash and bring it to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare; when the city falls, you shall perish within it, and you shall know that I am the Lord.^{(D) 15} Thus I will spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, “The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it— ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for it when there was no peace, says the Lord God.”^(E)

²³ because they have perpetrated outrage in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them; I am the one who knows and bears witness, says the Lord.^(A)

The Letter of Shemaiah

²⁴ To Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say:

¹⁴ And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.^{(A) 15} Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.^(B)

False Prophets and Their Punishment

2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.^(A)

¹⁵ And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you made this people trust in a lie.^{(A) 16} Therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to send you off the face of the earth. Within this year you will be dead, for you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.”^(B)

¹⁷ In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.