Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 Now in the same year, ^(A)in the beginning of the reign of ^(B)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(C)Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from ^(D)Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “^(E)This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I am going to bring back to this place ^(F)all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. ⁴ I am ^(G)also going to bring back to this place ^(H)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(I)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the ^(J)yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the ^(K)house of the Lord, ⁶ and Jeremiah the prophet said, “^(L)Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Yet ^(M)hear now this word which I am going to speak ^[a]so that you and all the people can hear it! ⁸ The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also ^(N)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(O)when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(P)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “^(Q)This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹² Then the ^(R)word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ¹³ “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made ^(S)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a ^(T)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall ^(U)serve him. And ^(V)I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and ^(W)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^(X)Behold, I am going to ^[b]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(Y)die, because you ^(Z)spoke falsely against the Lord.’”

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

Children and Parents

6 ^(A)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ^2 (B)Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), ³ so that it may turn out well for you, and that you may live long on the earth.

^4 (C)Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but ^(D)bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

^5 (E)Slaves, be obedient to those who are your ^[a]masters according to the flesh, with ^(F)fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, ^(G)as to Christ; ^6 (H)not ^[b]by way of ^[c]eye-service, as ^(I)people-pleasers, but as ^(J)slaves of Christ, ^(K)doing the will of God from the ^[d]heart. ⁷ With goodwill ^[e]render service, ^(L)as to the Lord, and not to people, ^8 (M)knowing that ^(N)whatever good thing each one does, he will receive this back from the Lord, ^(O)whether slave or free.

⁹ And masters, do the same things to them, and ^(P)give up threatening, knowing that ^(Q)both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is ^(R)no partiality with Him.

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the ^(A)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King ^(B)Jeconiah and the ^(C)queen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(D)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ⁴ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have ^(E)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ ‘^(F)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[a]produce. ⁶ Take ^(G)wives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. ^7 (H)Seek the ^[b]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(I)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for ^[c]in its ^[d]prosperity will be your ^[e]prosperity.’ ⁸ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your ^(J)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners ^(K)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of ^(L)your dreams which you dream. ⁹ For they ^(M)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(N)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When ^(O)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(P)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the ^(Q)plans that I ^[f]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^[g](R)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a ^(S)hope. ¹² Then you will ^(T)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(U)listen to you. ¹³ And you will ^(V)seek Me and find Me when you ^(W)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will let Myself be ^(X)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(Y)restore your fortunes and ^(Z)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(AA)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up ^(AB)prophets for us in Babylon’— ¹⁶ for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did ^(AC)not go with you into exile— ¹⁷ this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(AD)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like ^(AE)rotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will ^(AF)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(AG)curse and an object of horror and ^[h](AH)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they have ^(AI)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by ^(AJ)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. ²⁰ ‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have ^(AK)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “^(A)If you continue in My word, then you are truly My ^(B)disciples; ³² and ^(C)you will know the truth, and ^(D)the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered Him, “^(E)We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, ^(F)everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now ^(G)the slave does not remain in the house forever; ^(H)the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son ^(I)sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know that you are ^(J)Abraham’s descendants; yet ^(K)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word ^[a]has no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of the things which I have seen ^[b]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from ^(L)your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is ^(M)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “^(N)If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But as it is, ^(O)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has ^(P)told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. ⁴¹ You are doing the deeds of ^(Q)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; ^(R)we have one Father: God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, ^(S)you would love Me, ^(T)for I came forth from God and am here; for I have ^(U)not even come ^[c]on My own, but ^[d](V)He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand ^[e](W)what I am saying? It is because you cannot ^(X)listen to My word. ^44 (Y)You are of ^(Z)your father the devil, and ^(AA)you want to do the desires of your father. ^(AB)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because ^(AC)there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells ^[f]a lie, he ^(AD)speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of ^[g]lies. ⁴⁵ But because ^(AE)I say the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If ^(AF)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? ^47 (AG)The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

^48 (AH)The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a ^(AI)Samaritan, and You ^(AJ)have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not ^(AK)have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ But ^(AL)I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. ⁵¹ Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone ^(AM)follows My word, he will never ^(AN)see death.” ^52 (AO)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You ^(AP)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone ^(AQ)follows My word, he will never ^(AR)taste of death.’ ⁵³ You ^(AS)are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “^(AT)If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; ^(AU)it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; ⁵⁵ and ^(AV)you have not come to know Him, ^(AW)but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be ^(AX)a liar like you; ^(AY)but I do know Him, and I ^(AZ)follow His word. ^56 (BA)Your father Abraham was ^(BB)overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” ^57 (BC)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham ^[h]was born, ^[i](BD)I am.” ⁵⁹ Therefore they ^(BE)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus ^(BF)hid Himself and left the temple grounds.