²⁴ Also give a message to Shemaiah from the Nehelamite family. ²⁵ The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “Shemaiah, you sent letters in your name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. ²⁶ You said to Zephaniah, ‘The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. You are to be in charge of the Temple of the Lord. You should arrest any madman who acts like a prophet. Lock his hands and feet between wooden blocks, and put iron rings around his neck. ²⁷ Now Jeremiah from Anathoth is acting like a prophet. So why haven’t you arrested him? ²⁸ Jeremiah has sent this message to us in Babylon: You will be there for a long time, so build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they grow.’”

²⁹ Zephaniah the priest read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send this message to all the captives in Babylon: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah has prophesied to you, but I did not send him. He has made you believe a lie. ³² So the Lord says, I will soon punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family. He will not see the good things I will do for my people, says the Lord. None of his family will be left alive among the people, because he has taught the people to turn against me.’”