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Jeremiah 28-29
New American Standard Bible

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.

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the (AA)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 (AB)Jeconiah and the (AC)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 (AD)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 (AE)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ‘(AF)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their [c]produce. 6 Take (AG)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 (AH)Seek the [d]prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and (AI)pray to the Lord in its behalf; for [e]in its [f]prosperity will be your [g]prosperity.’ 8 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your (AJ)prophets who are in your midst or your diviners (AK)deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of (AL)your dreams which you dream. 9 For they (AM)prophesy falsely to you in My name; (AN)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

10 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When (AO)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My (AP)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the (AQ)plans that I [h]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for [i](AR)prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a (AS)hope. 12 Then you will (AT)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will (AU)listen to you. 13 And you will (AV)seek Me and find Me when you (AW)search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will let Myself be (AX)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will (AY)restore your fortunes and (AZ)gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will (BA)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up (BB)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 (BC)not go with you into exile— 17 this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the (BD)sword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like (BE)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 (BF)make them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a (BG)curse and an object of horror and [j](BH)hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have (BI)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by (BJ)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 (BK)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are (BL)prophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes. 22 Because of them a (BM)curse will be [k]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon (BN)roasted in the fire,’ 23 because they (BO)acted [l]foolishly in Israel, and (BP)committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely (BQ)spoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who (BR)knows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

24 Now you shall speak to (BS)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent (BT)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to (BU)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the [m](BV)overseer of the house of the Lord for every (BW)insane person who (BX)prophesies, to (BY)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar. 27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of (BZ)Anathoth who prophesies to you, 28 seeing that he has (CA)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘[n]The exile will be (CB)long; (CC)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their [o]produce’?”’”

29 Now (CD)Zephaniah the priest read this letter [p]to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 31 “Send word to (CE)all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning (CF)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has (CG)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has (CH)made you trust in a lie,” 32 therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to (CI)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his [q]descendants; he will (CJ)not have anyone living among this people, (CK)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has (CL)spoken falsely against the Lord.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 28:7 Lit in your ears and the ears of...people
  2. Jeremiah 28:16 Lit send
  3. Jeremiah 29:5 Lit fruit
  4. Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
  5. Jeremiah 29:7 Or your prosperity will depend on its
  6. Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
  7. Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
  8. Jeremiah 29:11 Lit am planning
  9. Jeremiah 29:11 Or salvation
  10. Jeremiah 29:18 Or whistling
  11. Jeremiah 29:22 Lit taken
  12. Jeremiah 29:23 Or sacrilegiously
  13. Jeremiah 29:26 Lit overseers
  14. Jeremiah 29:28 Lit It
  15. Jeremiah 29:28 Lit fruit
  16. Jeremiah 29:29 Lit in the ears of
  17. Jeremiah 29:32 Lit seed
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Jeremiah 28-29
New Living Translation

Jeremiah Condemns Hananiah

28 One day in late summer[a] of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said, 2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3 Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back Jehoiachin[b] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

5 Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. 6 He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives. 7 But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. 8 The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease. 9 So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”

10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. 11 And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.

12 Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron. 14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.’”

15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”

17 Two months later[c] the prophet Hananiah died.

A Letter to the Exiles

29 Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. 2 This was after King Jehoiachin,[d] the queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah, and all the craftsmen and artisans had been deported from Jerusalem. 3 He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jeremiah’s letter said:

4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

15 You claim that the Lord has raised up prophets for you in Babylon. 16 But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all those still living here in Jerusalem—your relatives who were not exiled to Babylon. 17 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will send war, famine, and disease upon them and make them like bad figs, too rotten to eat. 18 Yes, I will pursue them with war, famine, and disease, and I will scatter them around the world. In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery. 19 For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through the prophets I sent. And you who are in exile have not listened either,” says the Lord.

20 Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, all you captives there in Babylon. 21 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about your prophets—Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah—who are telling you lies in my name: “I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar[e] for execution before your eyes. 22 Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that the Judean exiles will curse someone by saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!’ 23 For these men have done terrible things among my people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have lied in my name, saying things I did not command. I am a witness to this. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

A Message for Shemaiah

24 The Lord sent this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Babylon: 25 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You wrote to Zephaniah,

26 “The Lord has appointed you to replace Jehoiada as the priest in charge of the house of the Lord. You are responsible to put into stocks and neck irons any crazy man who claims to be a prophet. 27 So why have you done nothing to stop Jeremiah from Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you? 28 Jeremiah sent a letter here to Babylon, predicting that our captivity will be a long one. He said, ‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.’”

29 But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him. 30 Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 31 “Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies, 32 I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has incited you to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

Footnotes

  1. 28:1 Hebrew In the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. The fifth month in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign occurred within the months of August and September 593 B.c. Also see note on 1:3.
  2. 28:4 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin.
  3. 28:17 Hebrew In the seventh month of that same year. See 28:1 and the note there.
  4. 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin.
  5. 29:21 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.
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