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.