24 Now you shall speak to (A)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent (B)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to (C)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 [a](D)overseer of the house of the Lord for every (E)insane person who (F)prophesies, to (G)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar. 27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of (H)Anathoth who prophesies to you, 28 seeing that he has (I)sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘[b]The exile will be (J)long; (K)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their [c]produce’?”’”

29 Now (L)Zephaniah the priest read this letter [d]to Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 31 “Send word to (M)all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning (N)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has (O)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has (P)made you trust in a lie,” 32 therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to (Q)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his [e]descendants; he will (R)not have anyone living among this people, (S)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has (T)spoken falsely against the Lord.”’”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 29:26 Lit overseers
  2. Jeremiah 29:28 Lit It
  3. Jeremiah 29:28 Lit fruit
  4. Jeremiah 29:29 Lit in the ears of
  5. Jeremiah 29:32 Lit seed

24 Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: [a] You sent letters on your own accord to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah’s son, and to the rest of the priests. 26 You said to Zephaniah:[b] The Lord has appointed you priest in charge of the Lord’s temple instead of Jehoiada. You are responsible for putting every madman who prophesies into stocks and neck irons. 27 So why haven’t you threatened Jeremiah of Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you? 28 He has sent a letter telling those of us in Babylon: “You are going to be there a long time, so build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce.”

29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah. 30 Then the Lord’s word came to Jeremiah: 31 Send word to all the exiles: The Lord proclaims concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesied to you when I didn’t send him, and because he convinced you to believe a lie, 32 I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants, declares the Lord. Not one member of this people will be around to see the good that I have in store for my people, declares the Lord, for he incited rebellion against me.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 29:25 Or because you sent
  2. Jeremiah 29:26 Heb lacks You said to Zephaniah.