Cities of Judah Warned

26 In the beginning of the reign of ^(A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord, ‘^(B)Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^(C)come to worship in the Lord’s house ^(D)all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^(E)Do not omit a word! ^3 (F)Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that ^(G)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, “^(H)If you will not listen to Me, to ^(I)walk in My law which I have set before you, ⁵ to listen to the words of ^(J)My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you ^[a]again and again, but you have not listened; ⁶ then I will make this house like ^(K)Shiloh, and this city I will make a ^(L)curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

A Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷ The ^(M)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, “^(N)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 ^(O)desolate, without inhabitant’?” And ^(P)all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the ^(Q)officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat in the ^(R)entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets ^(S)spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^(T)death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied ^(U)against this city as you have heard in your hearing.”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “^(V)The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³ Now therefore ^(W)amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will ^[b]change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴ But as for me, behold, ^(X)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 ^(Y)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 ^(Z)said to the priests and to the prophets, “No ^(AA)death sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷ Then ^(AB)some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸ “^[c](AC)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 ^(AF)fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and ^(AG)the Lord ^[e]changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are ^(AH)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 ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and ^(AK)fled and went to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^(AL)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 ^(AM)slew him with a sword and cast his dead body into the ^[f]burial place of the ^[g]common people.

²⁴ But the hand of ^(AN)Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^(AO)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 ^[a](A)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 ^(B)bonds and ^(C)yokes and put them on your neck, ³ and send ^[b]word to the king of ^(D)Edom, to the king of ^(E)Moab, to the king of the sons of ^(F)Ammon, to the king of ^(G)Tyre and to the king of ^(H)Sidon ^[c]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 “^(I)I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth ^(J)by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will ^(K)give it to the one who is ^[d]pleasing in My sight. ⁶ Now I ^(L)have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(M)My servant, and I have given him also the ^(N)wild animals of the field to serve him. ^7 (O)All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson ^(P)until the time of his own land comes; then ^(Q)many nations and great kings will ^[e]make him their servant.

⁸ “It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which ^(R)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 ^(S)sword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the Lord, “until I have destroyed ^[f]it by his hand. ⁹ But as for you, ^(T)do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[g]dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ For they prophesy a ^(U)lie to you in order to ^(V)remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish. ¹¹ But the nation which will ^(W)bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will ^(X)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 ^(Y)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 ^(Z)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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)lie to you; ¹⁵ for ^(AC)I have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they ^(AD)prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may ^(AE)drive you out and that you may perish, ^(AF)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 ^(AG)vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a ^(AH)lie to you. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city ^(AI)become a ruin? ¹⁸ But ^(AJ)if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now ^(AK)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 ^(AL)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 ^(AM)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 ^(AN)carried to Babylon and they will be there until the ^(AO)day I visit them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will ^(AP)bring them ^[h]back and restore them to this place.’”

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 son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from ^(D)Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “^(E)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 ^(F)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 ^(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 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 ^(K)house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “^(L)Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord ^[a]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 ^(M)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 ^(N)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. ⁹ 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 presence of all the people, saying, “^(Q)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 ^(R)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 ^(S)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a ^(T)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will ^(U)serve him. And ^(V)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 ^(W)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘^(X)Behold, I am about to ^[b]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(Y)die, because you have ^[c](Z)counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”

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