Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies

28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,^{(A) 2} “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.^{(B) 3} Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.^{(C) 4} I will also bring back to this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”^(D)

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles.^{(E) 7} But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.^{(F) 8} The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.^{(G) 9} As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”^(H)

¹⁰ Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.^{(I) 11} And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: This is how I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went his way.^(J)

¹² Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:^{(K) 13} Go, tell Hananiah, Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars only to forge iron bars in place of them!^{(L) 14} For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations so that they may serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they shall indeed serve him; I have even given him the wild animals.^{(M) 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.^{(N) 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.”^(O)

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

Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,^[a] for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise^(A)— ³ “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

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

Slaves and Masters

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect^[b] and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ,^{(C) 6} not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul. ⁷ Render service with enthusiasm, as for the Lord and not for humans, ⁸ knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are enslaved or free.

⁹ And, masters,^[c] do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Lord^[d] in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.^(D)

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles in Babylon

29 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.^{(A) 3} The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar 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:^{(B) 5} Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they 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.^{(C) 7} But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.^{(D) 8} For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams that you dream,^{(E) 9} for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.^(F)

¹⁰ For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.^{(G) 11} For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.^{(H) 12} Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.^{(I) 13} When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,^{(J) 14} I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.^(K)

¹⁵ Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” ¹⁶ thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who live in this city, your kinsfolk who did not go out with you into exile:^{(L) 17} Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to let loose on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.^{(M) 18} I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of cursing and horror and hissing and a derision among all the nations where I have driven them,^{(N) 19} because they did not heed my words, says the Lord, when I persistently sent to them my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, says the Lord.^{(O) 20} But now, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word of the Lord:^(P)

True Disciples

³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”^{(A) 33} They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”^(B)

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.^{(C) 35} The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.^{(D) 36} So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are descendants of Abraham, yet you look for an opportunity to kill me because there is no place in you for my word. ³⁸ I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.”^[a](E)

Jesus and Abraham

³⁹ They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would do^[b] what Abraham did,^{(F) 40} but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, God himself.”^{(G) 42} Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God, and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.^{(H) 43} Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. ⁴⁴ You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.^{(I) 45} But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.^{[c] 46} Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”^(J)

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”^{(K) 49} Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.^{(L) 51} Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”^{(M) 52} The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’^{(N) 53} Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?”^{(O) 54} Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’^{(P) 55} though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word.^{(Q) 56} Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.”^{(R) 57} Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”^{[d] 58} Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”^{(S) 59} So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.^(T)