Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom

28 And ^(A)it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the ^(B)fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of ^(C)Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, ² “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken ^(D)the yoke of the king of Babylon. ^3 (E)Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(F)took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ And I will bring back to this place ^[a]Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^(G)“Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸ The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. ⁹ As for ^(H)the prophet who prophesies of ^(I)peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(J)yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. ¹¹ And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(K)from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹² Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(L)“I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. ^(M)I have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ”

¹⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but ^(N)you make this people trust in a ^(O)lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall ^(P)die, because you have taught ^(Q)rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

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

Children and Parents^(A)

6 Children, ^(B)obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ^2 (C)“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: ³ “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

⁴ And ^(D)you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but ^(E)bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

^5 (F)Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, ^(G)with fear and trembling, ^(H)in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; ^6 (I)not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, ^8 (J)knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

⁹ And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that ^[a]your own ^(K)Master also is in heaven, and ^(L)there is no partiality with Him.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives

29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were ^(A)carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This happened after ^(B)Jeconiah^[a] the king, the ^(C)queen mother, the ^[b]eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^(D)Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

The Truth Shall Make You Free

³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you ^(A)abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the ^(B)truth, and ^(C)the truth shall make you free.”

³³ They answered Him, ^(D)“We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(E)whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And ^(F)a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ^36 (G)Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

³⁷ “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but ^(H)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ^38 (I)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have ^[a]seen with your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, ^(J)“Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, ^(K)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ^40 (L)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth ^(M)which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹ You do the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; ^(N)we have one Father—God.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, ^(O)“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for ^(P)I proceeded forth and came from God; ^(Q)nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. ^43 (R)Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. ^44 (S)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(T)desires of your father you want to ^(U)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(V)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? ^47 (W)He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I AM

⁴⁸ Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and ^(X)have a demon?”

⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and ^(Y)you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ And ^(Z)I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. ⁵¹ Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AA)if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

⁵² Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You ^(AB)have a demon! ^(AC)Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. ^(AD)Who do You make Yourself out to be?”

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, ^(AE)“If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. ^(AF)It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is ^[b]your God. ⁵⁵ Yet ^(AG)you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and ^(AH)keep His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham ^(AI)rejoiced to see My day, ^(AJ)and he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AK)before Abraham was, ^(AL)I AM.”

⁵⁹ Then ^(AM)they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, ^(AN)going^[c] through the midst of them, and so passed by.