Beginning

The people want to kill Jeremiah

26 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah at the time when Josiah's son Jehoiakim became king of Judah. ² The Lord said, ‘Go and stand in the yard of the Lord's temple. People come from all the towns in Judah to worship the Lord in his temple. Speak to them. Tell them everything that I command you to say. Do not leave out even one word. ³ Perhaps they will listen to what you say. Then they may stop living in the evil way that they do now. If they change how they live, I will not punish them for their sins, as I had promised to do. ⁴ Tell them that the Lord says this: “You must obey me. I have given you my laws that tell you how you should live. ⁵ You must listen to the messages that my servants the prophets tell you. I have sent them to speak to you many times, but you have not listened to them. ⁶ So if you do not obey me, I will destroy this temple, as I destroyed Shiloh. People of all the other nations on earth will use the name of this city as a curse.” ’^[a]

⁷ The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah's message in the Lord's temple. ⁸ Jeremiah said everything that the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. Just as he finished, some of the priests, the prophets, and the people took hold of him. They shouted, ‘You deserve to die! ⁹ You should not say that you have the Lord's authority to prophesy such terrible things! You cannot say that this temple will become like Shiloh. You cannot say that this city will become a heap of stones where nobody lives!’

The whole crowd of people pushed together around Jeremiah in the yard of the temple.

¹⁰ Some of Judah's officers heard about what was happening. So they left the king's palace and they went up to the Lord's temple. They went to the gate of the temple that is called ‘The New Gate’. They sat in their places as judges near the gate.^{[b] 11} Then the priests and the prophets told the officers and all the people why they accused Jeremiah. They said, ‘This man deserves to die because he has prophesied trouble against this city. You yourselves have heard what he said!’

¹² Then Jeremiah said to all the officers and to all the people, ‘The Lord sent me to say all the things that you have heard me speak. He told me to prophesy against this temple and against this city. ¹³ Now you must change the way that you have been living. You must do what is good and right. Obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will not punish you as he said that he would do. ¹⁴ As for me, I am under your authority. Do with me whatever you think is good and right. ¹⁵ But you should know this: If you punish me with death, you will bring great trouble on yourselves, this city, and everyone who lives here. You will be guilty of murder, because I have not done anything wrong. The Lord has sent me to speak all these words for you to hear. That is the truth!’

¹⁶ Then the officers and all the people gave their answer to the priests and the prophets. They said, ‘This man does not deserve to die. The Lord our God has given him authority to say these things to us.’

¹⁷ Then some of Judah's leaders stood up to speak to all the people who were there. ¹⁸ They said, ‘Micah from Moresheth prophesied when Hezekiah was king of Judah. He gave this message to all the people of Judah:

¹⁹ When Micah said that, King Hezekiah and all Judah's people did not punish him with death. Instead, Hezekiah gave honour to the Lord. He wanted to please the Lord. So the Lord did not destroy them as he had said he would do. If we are not careful, we will bring great trouble on ourselves!’

²⁰ There was another prophet who was called Uriah. He was the son of Shemaiah, from Kiriath-Jearim. Uriah prophesied against this city and this nation, with the Lord's authority, as Jeremiah did. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim, his personal guards and all his officers heard what Uriah was saying, the king wanted to kill him. But Uriah heard about it and he was afraid. So he ran away to Egypt. ²² But King Jehoiakim sent Akbor's son Elnathan and some other men to Egypt. ²³ They brought Uriah back from there to King Jehoiakim. The king punished Uriah with death. They threw his dead body in the place where they buried poor people.^[c]

²⁴ But Shaphan's son Ahikam, spoke on Jeremiah's behalf. He stopped the people from taking hold of Jeremiah and killing him.

Judah's people will serve King Nebuchadnezzar

27 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when Josiah's son Zedekiah became king of Judah. ² The Lord said to me, ‘Use wood and leather to make a yoke. Tie the yoke around your neck.^{[d] 3} Then send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Those kings have officers who have come to see King Zedekiah of Judah here in Jerusalem. ⁴ Give them this message to tell their masters:

“The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, ‘Tell this to your masters: ⁵ I used my great power and strength to make this earth, as well as the people and the animals who live on it. I give these things that I have made to anyone that I choose. ⁶ Now I choose to give all your countries to my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will rule over you and even over the wild animals. ⁷ People from all nations will serve him. They will also serve his son and his grandson until the time of their kingdom has finished. Then great kings and people from many other nations will take away his power. ⁸ But if the people of any nation or kingdom refuse to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, I will punish those people. They must agree to work for him, like oxen that have a yoke around their necks. If they refuse, I will cause the king of Babylon to punish that nation. I will destroy them with war, famine or disease.

⁹ So do not listen to your prophets, or to your diviners. Do not listen to people who use dreams or magic or the spirits of dead people to tell you what will happen. Those people tell you that you will not have to serve the king of Babylon. ¹⁰ But the things that they say are lies, so do not agree with them. It will cause me to take you away from your own land. I will remove you to a country that is far away and you will die there. ¹¹ But if the people of any nation agree to serve the king of Babylon, I will let them stay in their own land. If they work for him, with his yoke around their necks, they can continue to grow crops and live in their own land.’ That is what the Lord says.” ’

¹² I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. I told him, ‘Put the yoke of the king of Babylon around your neck. Agree to work for him and for his people. Then you will continue to live. ¹³ You and your people do not need to die. But war, famine or disease will destroy any nation that refuses to serve the king of Babylon. The Lord has said that this will happen. ¹⁴ So do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, “You will not have to serve the king of Babylon.” The things that they prophesy are lies. ¹⁵ The Lord says, “I have not sent those prophets. They are using my name to tell you lies. If you agree with them, I will chase you all out of the land, including those false prophets. You will die in a foreign land.” ’

¹⁶ I also spoke to the priests and to all the people. I told them, ‘The Lord says, “Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They say that the people of Babylon will soon bring back the valuable things that they took from the Lord's temple. But the things that they tell you are lies. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them. Agree to serve the king of Babylon. Then you will continue to live. This city does not need to become a heap of stones!”

¹⁸ Perhaps you think that they are true prophets who speak the Lord's messages. Then tell them to pray to the Lord Almighty for help. They should ask him to keep safe the valuable things that remain in Jerusalem. They should pray that the things in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace would not be taken away to Babylon. ¹⁹ The Lord Almighty has already spoken about the valuable things that remain in this city. He has spoken about the two bronze pillars, the big bronze bath which is called “the Sea”, and the bronze carts to carry water.^{[e] 20} King Nebuchadnezzar did not take these things away with him when he took the king of Judah away as prisoner. He took away Jehoiakim's son, King Jeconiah of Judah, as well as the important people of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ Yes, Israel's God, the Lord Almighty has spoken about the things that still remain in Jerusalem, in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace. ²² He has said, “King Nebuchadnezzar's men will take them away to Babylon. They will remain there until I decide to do something with them. Then I will bring them back here to Jerusalem again.” That is what the Lord says. ’

Hananiah, the false prophet

28 In the same year, the prophet Hananiah spoke to me. It happened in the fifth month of the fourth year that King Zedekiah ruled Judah. Hananiah was the son of Azzur, who came from Gibeon. He spoke to me in the Lord's temple, where the priests and all the people could hear him. ² He said, ‘Israel's God, the Lord Almighty, says this: “I will break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put around your necks. ³ King Nebuchadnezzar took with him to Babylon many valuable things from this temple. In less than two years, I will bring all those things back here. ⁴ I will also bring back Jehoiakim's son, King Jeconiah of Judah. And I will bring back all the people of Judah that King Nebuchadnezzar took as prisoners to Babylon.” The Lord says, “I will break the king of Babylon's yoke.” ’^[f]

⁵ Jeremiah replied to Hananiah, the prophet, in the Lord's temple. The priests and all the people who were standing there could hear him. ⁶ The prophet Jeremiah said, ‘Amen! I agree! I pray that the Lord would do that! I pray that what you have prophesied really happens. May the Lord bring back from Babylon all the valuable things that belong in his temple. May he bring back all the people that King Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon as prisoners. ⁷ But listen to what I say to you, and to all the people here. ⁸ From long ago, there have been prophets, before you and I became prophets. They often prophesied that war, famine and disease would bring great trouble to many countries and kingdoms. ⁹ But it is different if a prophet says that people will live safely in peace. We would only agree that the Lord has really sent him if his message becomes true.’

¹⁰ Then the prophet Hananiah removed the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah.^[g] He broke it into pieces. ¹¹ He said in front of all the people, ‘The Lord says, “That shows how I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He has put his yoke around the necks of all the nations. In less than two years I will break his yoke and I will remove it from their necks.” ’

After Hananiah said that, the prophet Jeremiah went away from the temple.

¹² Soon after Hananiah had broken the yoke that was on Jeremiah's neck, the Lord spoke again to Jeremiah. ¹³ He said, ‘Go to Hananiah and tell him that the Lord says, “It is true that you have broken a wooden yoke. But instead of that you will get a yoke that is made from iron! ¹⁴ Yes, the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this: I have put an iron yoke around the necks of all those nations. They will have to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as his slaves. Everything will be under his power, even the wild animals.” ’^[h]

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, ‘Listen to me, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you as his prophet. You have spoken lies to these people and they have believed you. ¹⁶ So the Lord says to you, “I will remove you from this earth. You have taught people to turn against me, the Lord. You will certainly die this year.” ’

¹⁷ In the seventh month of that same year, the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah's letter

29 Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the people of Judah who were in Babylon. He sent it to the Israelite leaders and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people who were there. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them there as prisoners from Jerusalem. ² He sent the letter after King Nebuchadnezzar had taken King Jeconiah and his mother away from Jerusalem. He had taken them to Babylon with Jeconiah's officers, and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. He had also taken away to Babylon the men who had special skills to work with wood or metal. ³ King Zedekiah of Judah was sending some men to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. They were Shaphan's son Elasah, and Hilkiah's son Gemariah. Jeremiah gave his letter to them to take to Babylon. This is what the letter said:

⁴ The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, sends this message to all the people of Judah who are in Babylon. He sent them there from Jerusalem as prisoners. ⁵ He says, ‘Build houses for yourselves. Make Babylon your home. Plant gardens. Eat the food that grows in them. ⁶ Marry, so that you have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons to marry. Let your daughters marry too. Then they also can give birth to sons and daughters. Your descendants should become more and more, not fewer. ⁷ Work well to help the foreign place where I have sent you to live. Try to make it a successful place. Pray to the Lord that it will do well. If it does well, you will also do well.’

⁸ Yes, the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, ‘Some of the prophets and the other people use magic to tell you what will happen in the future. Do not let them deceive you with their lies. Do not listen to the dreams that they tell you about. ⁹ They say that they are speaking with my authority. But the things that they prophesy are lies. I have not sent them to speak to you.’ That is what the Lord says.

¹⁰ The Lord says, ‘You will live in Babylon for 70 years. Then I will choose to help you. I will be kind to you, as I promised. I will bring you back here to your home. ¹¹ I, the Lord, tell you this: I have decided what I will do for you. I have plans to help you to do well. I do not want to hurt you. I want to give you hope for a good life in the future. ¹² At that time, when you call out to me for help, I will hear your prayers. ¹³ You will want to find me, and I will be ready to meet with you. If you really want to find me, ¹⁴ I will be there for you.’ That is what the Lord says. ‘I will bring you back from the nations and all the places where I sent you as prisoners. You will no longer have to live in those foreign places.’^[i]

¹⁵ You may say, ‘The Lord has chosen prophets to bring his message to us here in Babylon.’ ¹⁶ But listen to what the Lord says about the people who are still here in Jerusalem. The enemy did not take them with you as prisoners to Babylon. That includes the king who now rules David's kingdom.^{[j] 17} The Lord Almighty says, ‘I will send war, famine and disease to hurt them. They will be like bad figs that nobody can eat. ¹⁸ I will use war, famine and disease to chase them away from their homes. I will send them to live among other nations. The people of all the nations in the world will see how disgusting they are. People will use their names as a curse. They will see how foolish they are and they will laugh at them. ¹⁹ I will do that because they have not listened to my message. I sent my servants, the prophets, to speak to them many times, but the people in Jerusalem refused to listen.’ That is what the Lord says.

The Lord also says, ‘You people of Judah who are now in Babylon have not listened to my message either. ²⁰ I sent you away from Jerusalem as prisoners to Babylon. All of you must also listen carefully to my message.’

²¹ The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this about Kolaiah's son Ahab and Maaseiah's son Zedekiah: ‘They are speaking to you in my name, but they are prophesying lies. So I will put them under the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will kill them while you watch. ²² They will be an example to the people of Judah who are now living in Babylon. When they want to curse someone, they will say, “May the Lord punish you in the same way that the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah and Ahab. He burned them to death in a fire!” ²³ That will happen to them because of the terrible sins that they have done in Israel. They have sex with the wives of their neighbours. They have used my name to tell lies. They have spoken messages that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done because I have seen it all.’ That is what the Lord says.

A message to Shemaiah

²⁴ The Lord told Jeremiah to send this message to Shemaiah, who came from Nehelam: ²⁵ ‘The Lord Almighty, Israel's God says, “You sent a letter on your own authority to all the people in Jerusalem. Those people included the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah's son, and all the other priests. In your letter, you said to Zephaniah: ²⁶ The Lord chose you to be priest instead of Jehoiada. You are the officer who has authority over the Lord's temple. If there is any crazy man who says that he is a prophet, you must take hold of him. It is your duty to tie him up. Put heavy pieces of wood on his legs and iron chains around his neck. ²⁷ That is your job, so I do not know why you have not punished Jeremiah, the man from Anathoth. He is there and he is prophesying to you. ²⁸ He has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He told us that we will be here for a long time. He told us to build houses and make our homes here. He says that we should plant gardens to grow food for ourselves.” ’

²⁹ When Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah's letter, he read it to the prophet Jeremiah. ³⁰ Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, ³¹ ‘Send a message to all the people of Judah who are now in Babylon. Tell them that the Lord says this about Shemaiah, the man from Nehelam: “Shemaiah has prophesied to you. But I did not send him to you. He has caused you to believe a lie.” ³² So the Lord says, “I will certainly punish Shemaiah and his family. He will not have any descendants who remain among my people. None of them will receive any of the good things that I will do for my people. I will punish him because he has taught my people to turn against me.” That is what the Lord has said.’