Jeremiah 23-29

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Coming Messiah: the Righteous Branch

23 “^(A)Woe to the shepherds who are ^(B)destroying and scattering the ^(C)sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are ^[a]tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to ^(D)attend to you for the ^(E)evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. ³ “Then I Myself will ^(F)gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. ⁴ I will also raise up ^(G)shepherds over them and they will ^[b]tend them; and they will ^(H)not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, ^(I)nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

⁷ “^(Q)Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ^8 (R)but, ‘As the Lord lives, who ^(S)brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”

False Prophets Denounced

¹⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,

²⁵ “I have ^(BD)heard what the prophets have said who ^(BE)prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a ^(BF)dream, I had a dream!’ ²⁶ How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the ^(BG)deception of their own heart, ²⁷ who intend to ^(BH)make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers ^(BI)forgot My name because of Baal? ²⁸ The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has ^(BJ)My word speak My word in truth. ^(BK)What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹ “Is not My word like ^(BL)fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a ^(BM)hammer which shatters a rock? ³⁰ Therefore behold, ^(BN)I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. ³¹ Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ ³² Behold, I am against those who have prophesied ^(BO)false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and ^(BP)reckless boasting; yet ^(BQ)I did not send them or command them, nor do they ^(BR)furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.

³³ “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, ‘What is the ^[g](BS)oracle of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What ^[h]oracle?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will ^(BT)abandon you.’ ³⁴ Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The ^(BU)oracle of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. ³⁵ Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘^(BV)What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁶ For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord, because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have ^(BW)perverted the words of the ^(BX)living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. ³⁷ Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ ³⁸ For if you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’”’ ³⁹ Therefore behold, ^(BY)I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. ⁴⁰ I will put an everlasting ^(BZ)reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

24 After ^(CA)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two ^(CB)baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord! ² One basket had very good figs, like ^(CC)first-ripe figs, and the other basket had ^(CD)very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. ³ Then the Lord said to me, “^(CE)What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard ^(CF)as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ^(CG)bring them again to this land; and I will ^(CH)build them up and not overthrow them, and I will ^(CI)plant them and not pluck them up. ⁷ I will give them a ^(CJ)heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be ^(CK)My people, and I will be their God, for they will ^(CL)return to Me with their whole heart.

⁸ ‘But like the ^(CM)bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says the Lord—so I will ^[i]abandon ^(CN)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ^(CO)remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of ^(CP)Egypt. ⁹ I will ^(CQ)make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^(CR)reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a ^(CS)curse in all places where I will scatter them. ¹⁰ I will send the ^(CT)sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

Prophecy of the Captivity

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the ^(CU)fourth year of ^(CV)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^(CW)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ² which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^(CX)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ³ “From the ^(CY)thirteenth year of ^(CZ)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ^[j]these ^(DA)twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you ^[k](DB)again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ And the Lord has sent to you all His ^(DC)servants the prophets ^[l]again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, ⁵ saying, ‘^(DD)Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers ^(DE)forever and ever; ⁶ and ^(DF)do not go after other gods to ^[m]serve them and to ^[n]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order that you might ^(DG)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

⁸ “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹ behold, I will ^(DH)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(DI)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will ^[o]utterly destroy them and ^(DJ)make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. ¹⁰ Moreover, I will ^[p](DK)take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the ^(DL)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ^11 (DM)This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon ^(DN)seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

¹² ‘Then it will be ^(DO)when seventy years are completed I will ^(DP)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and ^(DQ)I will make it an everlasting desolation. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in ^(DR)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^(DS)all the nations. ¹⁴ (^[q]For ^(DT)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^(DU)recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

¹⁵ For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this ^(DV)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. ¹⁶ They will ^(DW)drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷ Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and ^(DX)made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: ^18 (DY)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a ruin, a horror, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day; ^19 (DZ)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and all his people; ²⁰ and all the ^[r](EA)foreign people, all the kings of the ^(EB)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(EC)Philistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the remnant of ^(ED)Ashdod); ^21 (EE)Edom, ^(EF)Moab and the sons of ^(EG)Ammon; ²² and all the kings of ^(EH)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon and the kings of ^(EI)the coastlands which are beyond the sea; ²³ and ^(EJ)Dedan, Tema, ^(EK)Buz and all who ^(EL)cut the corners of their hair; ²⁴ and all the kings of ^(EM)Arabia and all the kings of the ^[s](EN)foreign people who dwell in the desert; ²⁵ and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(EO)Elam and all the kings of ^(EP)Media; ²⁶ and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^(EQ)all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of ^[t](ER)Sheshach shall drink after them.

²⁷ “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “^(ES)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall and rise no more because of the ^(ET)sword which I will send among you.”’ ²⁸ And it will be, if they ^(EU)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “^(EV)You shall surely drink! ²⁹ For behold, I am ^(EW)beginning to work calamity in this city which is ^(EX)called by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment; for ^(EY)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of hosts.’

³⁰ “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

³³ “Those ^(FF)slain by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the ^[v]other. They will ^(FG)not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like ^(FH)dung on the face of the ground.

Cities of Judah Warned

26 In the beginning of the reign of ^(FO)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord, ‘^(FP)Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(FQ)come to worship in the Lord’s house ^(FR)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(FS)Do not omit a word! ^3 (FT)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that ^(FU)I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.’ ⁴ And you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “^(FV)If you will not listen to Me, to ^(FW)walk in My law which I have set before you, ⁵ to listen to the words of ^(FX)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you ^[z]again and again, but you have not listened; ⁶ then I will make this house like ^(FY)Shiloh, and this city I will make a ^(FZ)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷ The ^(GA)priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸ When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “^(GB)You must die! ⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be ^(GC)desolate, without inhabitant’?” And ^(GD)all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the ^(GE)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat in the ^(GF)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets ^(GG)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^(GH)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(GI)against this city as you have heard in your hearing.”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “^(GJ)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³ Now therefore ^(GK)amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will ^[aa]change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴ But as for me, behold, ^(GL)I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. ¹⁵ Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^(GM)innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Jeremiah Is Spared

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people ^(GN)said to the priests and to the prophets, “No ^(GO)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷ Then ^(GP)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸ “^[ab](GQ)Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus the Lord of hosts has said,

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not ^(GT)fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and ^(GU)the Lord ^[ad]changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(GV)committing a great evil against ourselves.”

²⁰ Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^(GW)Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words, then the ^(GX)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and ^(GY)fled and went to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(GZ)Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him went into Egypt. ²³ And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^(HA)slew him with a sword and cast his dead body into the ^[ae]burial place of the ^[af]common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(HB)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(HC)not given into the hands of the people to put him to death.

The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of ^[ag](HD)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying— ² thus says the Lord to me—“Make for yourself ^(HE)bonds and ^(HF)yokes and put them on your neck, ³ and send ^[ah]word to the king of ^(HG)Edom, to the king of ^(HH)Moab, to the king of the sons of ^(HI)Ammon, to the king of ^(HJ)Tyre and to the king of ^(HK)Sidon ^[ai]by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, ⁵ “^(HL)I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth ^(HM)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(HN)give it to the one who is ^[aj]pleasing in My sight. ⁶ Now I ^(HO)have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(HP)My servant, and I have given him also the ^(HQ)wild animals of the field to serve him. ^7 (HR)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(HS)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(HT)many nations and great kings will ^[ak]make him their servant.

⁸ “It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which ^(HU)will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the ^(HV)sword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the Lord, “until I have destroyed ^[al]it by his hand. ⁹ But as for you, ^(HW)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[am]dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ For they prophesy a ^(HX)lie to you in order to ^(HY)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nation which will ^(HZ)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(IA)let remain on its land,” declares the Lord, “and they will till it and dwell in it.”’”

¹² I spoke words like all these to ^(IB)Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why will you ^(IC)die, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the Lord has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ So ^(ID)do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a ^(IE)lie to you; ¹⁵ for ^(IF)I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they ^(IG)prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may ^(IH)drive you out and that you may perish, ^(II)you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the ^(IJ)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a ^(IK)lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(IL)become a ruin? ¹⁸ But ^(IM)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now ^(IN)entreat the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. ¹⁹ For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the ^(IO)pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he ^(IP)carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ Yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, ²² ‘They will be ^(IQ)carried to Babylon and they will be there until the ^(IR)day I visit them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will ^(IS)bring them ^[an]back and restore them to this place.’”

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 Now in the same year, ^(IT)in the beginning of the reign of ^(IU)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(IV)Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from ^(IW)Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “^(IX)Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I am going to bring back to this place ^(IY)all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ I am ^(IZ)also going to bring back to this place ^(JA)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(JB)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the ^(JC)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 were standing in the ^(JD)house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “^(JE)Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord ^[ao]confirm 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 ^(JF)hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! ⁸ The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times ^(JG)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. ⁹ The prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(JH)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 ^(JI)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “^(JJ)Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹² The ^(JK)word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made instead of them ^(JL)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a ^(JM)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will ^(JN)serve him. And ^(JO)I have also given him the beasts of the field.”’” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and ^(JP)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘^(JQ)Behold, I am about to ^[ap]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(JR)die, because you have ^[aq](JS)counseled rebellion 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 ^(JT)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 ^(JU)Jeconiah and the ^(JV)queen mother, the court officials, 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 Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of ^(JW)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, ⁴ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have ^(JX)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ⁵ ‘^(JY)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[ar]produce. ⁶ Take ^(JZ)wives and ^[as]become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. ^7 (KA)Seek the ^[at]welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(KB)pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its ^[au]welfare you will have ^[av]welfare.’ ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your ^(KC)prophets who are in your midst and your diviners ^(KD)deceive you, and do not listen to ^[aw](KE)the dreams which ^[ax]they dream. ⁹ For they ^(KF)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(KG)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord, ‘When ^(KH)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(KI)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the ^(KJ)plans that I ^[ay]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^(KK)welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a ^(KL)hope. ¹² Then you will ^(KM)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(KN)listen to you. ¹³ You will ^(KO)seek Me and find Me when you ^(KP)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be ^(KQ)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(KR)restore your ^[az]fortunes and will ^(KS)gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(KT)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up ^(KU)prophets for us in Babylon’— ¹⁶ for thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did ^(KV)not go with you into exile— ¹⁷ thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(KW)sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like ^(KX)split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will ^(KY)make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(KZ)curse and a horror and a ^(LA)hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they have ^(LB)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by ^(LC)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 ^(LD)sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are ^(LE)prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. ²² Because of them a ^(LF)curse will be ^[ba]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ^(LG)roasted in the fire, ²³ because they have ^(LH)acted foolishly in Israel, and ^(LI)have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have ^(LJ)spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who ^(LK)knows and am a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

²⁴ To ^(LL)Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, ²⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent ^(LM)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(LN)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the ^[bb](LO)overseer in the house of the Lord over every ^(LP)madman who ^(LQ)prophesies, to ^(LR)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, ²⁷ now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ^(LS)Anathoth who prophesies to you? ²⁸ For he has ^(LT)sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be ^(LU)long; ^(LV)build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their ^[bc]produce.’”’”

^29 (LW)Zephaniah the priest read this letter ^[bd]to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹ “Send to ^(LX)all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^(LY)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has ^(LZ)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(MA)made you trust in a lie,” ³² therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to ^(MB)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[be]descendants; he will ^(MC)not have anyone living among this people, ^(MD)and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has ^[bf](ME)preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”