Bible in 90 Days
A message about the false prophets
9 I am very upset about what the prophets are doing.
My body is shaking.
I move like a man who has become drunk,
someone who has drunk too much wine.
I am afraid because of the Lord
and the holy message that he has spoken.
10 The land is full of people who are not faithful to God.
The prophets live wicked lives.
They use their power in a bad way.
Because of that, God has cursed the land.
The land is as dry as a desert,
and the fields have no grass.
11 The Lord says,
‘The prophets and the priests are all wicked.
I see the evil things that they do,
even in my temple.
12 Because of that, the paths that they travel on will be dark.
They will easily slip and fall to the ground.
I will cause terrible trouble to happen to them.
I will decide the time when I will punish them.’
That is what the Lord says.
13 ‘I saw the disgusting thing that the prophets in Samaria did.[a]
They used the name of Baal to prophesy.
Their messages deceived my people, Israel.
14 But now some prophets in Jerusalem do even worse things!
They are not faithful to their wives.[b]
They always deceive people.
They encourage people to do evil things.
They do not try to stop them.
They are as bad as the people of Sodom long ago.
The people of Jerusalem are as bad as the people of Gomorrah.[c]
15 So I, the Lord Almighty,
say this about these prophets:
I will cause them to have much pain and trouble.
They will eat bitter food.
They will drink water that is poison.
It is because of Jerusalem's prophets
that people do wicked things everywhere in the land.’
16 The Lord Almighty says to the people,
‘Do not listen to the messages that the prophets are telling you.
They are only deceiving you.
They speak about visions that are their own ideas.
They do not speak a message that comes from the Lord himself.
17 When people refuse to listen to me,
the prophets still encourage them.
They say to them,
“The Lord will give you peace.”
When people refuse to change their wicked way of life,
the prophets tell them,
“Nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 But none of those prophets has met with the Lord.
They have not seen him
and they have not heard his voice.
So none of them has ever listened to him
to know what he is saying.
19 But look! The Lord's anger will come
like a strong storm.
It will blow away the heads of those wicked people.
20 The Lord will not stop being angry,
until he has finished what he has decided to do.
When the time comes,
you will understand this clearly.
21 I did not send those prophets.
But they have still run to speak to you.
I did not tell them what to say,
but they have continued to prophesy.
22 If they had really met with me,
they would have spoken my message to my people.
They would have caused my people to turn away from their wicked way of life.
They would have stopped my people doing evil things.’
23 The Lord says, ‘Am I a God in only one place?
No! I see everything everywhere!
24 Do you think you can hide
in a place where I cannot see you?
You should know that I am everywhere,
in the heavens above and on the earth.’
That is what the Lord says.
25 ‘I have heard the lies that these prophets are saying. They say that they have messages from me. They say, “God has spoken to me in a dream!” 26 But all their words are lies. Their messages are their own ideas. When will they stop deceiving people? 27 They want to make my people forget who I am. They use their dreams to do this. They tell them to each other. They are as bad as their ancestors. They also forgot who I am when they worshipped the false god, Baal.
28 If a prophet has a dream, he should say what it is. If a prophet receives a message from me, he should speak that message faithfully. But dreams are very different from my messages. Straw is not the same as wheat! 29 A message from me is like a fire that burns things. It is like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.’ That is what the Lord says.
30 ‘I tell you that I am against those prophets! They say that they speak messages from me. But they are using each other's ideas. 31 They say, “This message is from the Lord,” but it is their own words that they speak. 32 Yes, I am against those who have dreams and use them to deceive people. They are using cruel lies to lead the people away from me. I did not send those prophets to speak on my behalf. They do nothing to help my people.’ That is what the Lord says.
33 The Lord said, ‘Jeremiah, someone may ask you a question. He may be one of these people or a prophet or a priest. He may ask you, “What message of trouble is the Lord telling us now?” Then you must say to him, “You are the trouble! The Lord says that he will go away from you.” 34 If a prophet, a priest, or anyone else says, “I have a message of trouble from the Lord,” I will punish that person. I will punish his whole family too.
35 Instead, each of you should ask your friends, “What is the Lord's answer?” or “What has the Lord said?” 36 But you must not speak any more about “a message of trouble from the Lord”. It is the person's own message that brings the trouble. In that way, you change the true message of our God, the living God who is the Lord Almighty. 37 You should ask the prophet, “What answer did the Lord give to you?” or “What did the Lord say?” 38 You must no longer say, “What is the message of trouble from the Lord?” If you continue to say that when I have told you not to say it, this is what will happen: 39 I will pick you up and I will throw you away! I will send you all a long way away from me. I will chase out all the people of this city that I gave to you and to your ancestors. 40 I will make you very ashamed. People will never forget your great shame.’
Jeremiah's vision of figs
24 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jeconiah away as his prisoner. Jeconiah was the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.[d] Nebuchadnezzar also took all Jeconiah's officers and the workers in Judah who had special skills. He took them all away from Jerusalem to Babylon as his prisoners.
After that happened, the Lord showed me a vision. I saw two baskets of figs. Somebody had put them in front of the Lord's temple. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that are ready to eat early in the year. The other basket had very bad figs. They were too bad to eat.
3 Then the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
I answered, ‘Figs. The good figs are very good. But the bad figs are so bad that nobody can eat them.’
4 Then the Lord gave me this message:
5 ‘The Lord, Israel's God, says, “The people that I sent away from Judah to Babylon as prisoners are like the good figs. I see them as good. 6 I will watch them carefully and I will take care of them. I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and make them strong. I will not knock them down. I will help them to grow in the land, like plants with good roots. I will not pull them up.[e] 7 I will cause them to want to know me. They will know that I am the Lord. They will be my people and I will be their God, because they will choose to return to me.”
8 But I, the Lord, also tell you this: “King Zedekiah of Judah and his officers are like the bad figs. That is true of the people who still live in Jerusalem, and those who have run away to Egypt to live there. They are all like the figs that are too bad to eat. 9 I will send great trouble to punish them. It will make everyone afraid. The people of all the kingdoms on the earth will think that they are disgusting. People will insult them. They will use them as an example in proverbs. They will use their name as a curse. That will happen in all the places where I send my people. 10 I will send war, famine and disease to kill them. I will destroy them all. They will disappear from the land that I gave to them and to their ancestors.” ’
Judah's people will be in a foreign land for 70 years
25 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the fourth year that Jehoiakim ruled Judah as king. Jehoiakim was the son of King Josiah. It was also the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. The Lord's message was about the people of Judah. 2 So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem.
3 He said, ‘For 23 years the Lord has been giving me his messages. I started to tell you his messages when Amon's son Josiah had been ruling Judah for 13 years. I have continued to tell you many times what the Lord has said, even until today. But you have refused to listen.
4 The Lord has also sent his servants, the prophets, to speak to you many times. You have refused to listen to them too. 5 The Lord's message to you was, “Turn away from your wicked way of life. Stop doing the evil things that you are doing. If you do that, you may continue to live in this land. It is the land that the Lord gave to you and to your ancestors to be their home for ever. 6 Do not look for other gods that you can serve and worship. Do not continue to do things that make me angry. Then I will not hurt you.”
7 So now the Lord says, “You have refused to listen to my messages. You have continued to do things that make me angry. So you have brought trouble on yourselves.”
8 The Lord Almighty says, “You have not listened to my messages. 9 So I, the Lord, tell you that I will call the nations in the north to come. I will call my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to come. I will bring them to attack this land and the people who live here. They will also attack all the nations that are around you. I will completely destroy this land, its people and all the nations around it. Their houses will become heaps of stones for ever. The land will become a terrible place. People will always see how foolish my people are. 10 Everywhere, I will stop people's happy songs and their marriage parties. Nobody will make flour any more. Nobody will light lamps in their homes. 11 This whole place will be as empty as a desert. Nobody will live here. The people of Judah and these other nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.”
12 The Lord also says, “But after the 70 years have finished, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation. I will punish them for their sins. I will destroy the land of the Babylonians. It will be a heap of stones for ever. 13 I will certainly do to them all the terrible things that I have spoken about. I will do to them everything that is written in this book. I will cause them to have all the trouble that Jeremiah prophesies against all the nations.[f] 14 Many nations and great kings will have power over the king of Babylon and his people. The Babylonians will become their slaves. In that way, I will punish the Babylonians for all the bad things that they did to my people.” ’
Jeremiah's vision of a cup of wine
15 The Lord, Israel's God, said to me, ‘Take this cup from me. It is full of wine that shows my great anger. Take it to the nations where I send you. Make them drink this wine of punishment. 16 When they drink it, they will walk like people who are drunk. They will seem to be crazy, because they know that I will send armies to attack them.’
17 So I took the cup from the Lord's hand. In my vision, I took it to the nations where the Lord sent me. I made them drink the wine of his punishment. 18 I went to Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. I made the people of Judah, its kings and its officers drink from the cup. It was to destroy them all. Judah would become a terrible place. People would see that its people are very foolish. They would use their name as a curse. That is already happening today.
19 I also took the cup of punishment to these people:
Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his officers, his servants and his people;
20 the foreign people who lived in Egypt;
all the kings of Uz;
all the kings of the Philistines (They were the kings of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the people who were still living in Ashdod);
21 the people of Edom, Moab and Ammon;
22 all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon;
the kings of the nations around the Mediterranean Sea;
23 the people of Dedan, Tema, and Buz;
the people who live in the desert and who cut their hair short;
24 all the kings of Arabia and the kings of the tribes who live in the desert;
25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media;
26 all the kings of the nations in the north, those who live near together and those who live far apart;
the people of all the other kingdoms everywhere on the earth.
Finally, the king of Babylon will have to drink the wine of the Lord's great anger.
27 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them that the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “Drink the wine from this cup until you become drunk. Drink so much that you are sick. Drink it until you fall down and cannot get up again, because you know that I will send armies to attack you.”
28 But people may refuse to take the cup from you. They may refuse to drink from it. Then you must tell them that the Lord Almighty says this: “You must drink this wine of my punishment! 29 I have already begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that is my special home. So do not think that I will leave you other nations alone! I will certainly punish you too. I will send war against everyone who lives on the earth. That is what the Lord Almighty says will happen!”
30 Now Jeremiah, prophesy this message against them:
“The Lord will shout from his high place above.
He will roar like a lion that is ready to attack his land.
He will make a noise like thunder from his holy home.
He will shout aloud like people who are stamping on grapes
to make wine.
He will shout against everyone who lives on the earth.
31 People everywhere will hear his message.
The Lord will accuse the nations of their sins,
and he will judge all the people on the earth.
He will send war to kill all the wicked people.”
That is what the Lord says.
32 The Lord Almighty also says this:
“Listen to me! Great trouble will come to every single nation.
War will come like a great storm
from the ends of the earth.”
33 At that time, dead bodies will lie everywhere,
all over the earth.
Those will be people that the Lord has killed.
Nobody will weep for them.
Nobody will take their bodies
to bury them in the ground.
Their dead bodies will lie on the ground like dung.
34 You leaders should have been like shepherds
to take care of my people.
But now it is time for you to weep!
Roll on the ground in the dust!
The time of your death has arrived.
You will lie on the ground,
like pieces of a broken pot.
35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide.
The shepherds of my people will not escape.
36 Listen to the leaders as they weep!
The Lord's people were like their sheep.
Now the shepherds are weeping loudly,
because the Lord is destroying their fields.
37 The Lord will completely destroy the fields
where the sheep quietly ate the grass.
He will do that because he is very angry.
38 The Lord will come out,
like a lion that comes out of its cave.
He will make their land a terrible place.
Cruel armies will destroy the land,
because of the Lord's great anger.’
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.” ’[g]
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.[h] 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:
“The Lord Almighty says this:
Zion will be like a field that a farmer has dug.
Jerusalem will become a heap of stones.
Trees will cover the hill where the temple is now.”
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.[i]
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.[j] 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.[k] 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.” ’[l]
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.[m] 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.” ’[n]
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.’[o]
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.[p] 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.’
The Lord makes promises to his people
30 The Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 ‘The Lord, Israel's God, says, “Write all the words that I have spoken in a book.” 3 I, the Lord, tell you this: “The time will come when I will bring back my people from foreign lands. I will bring the people of Israel and Judah back to the land that I gave to their ancestors. It will belong to them.” That is what the Lord says.’
4 The Lord spoke this message about Israel and Judah:
5 The Lord said,
‘People are shouting because they are afraid!
Listen to them!
There is no peace anywhere.
6 Think carefully about this.
Do men ever give birth to babies?
So why are these strong men weak with pain?
They seem like a woman who is giving birth.
All their faces have become white with fear.
7 It will be a time of terrible trouble,
worse than anything that has happened before.
It will be a time of great trouble for Jacob's descendants.[q]
But I will rescue them from their trouble.’
8 The Lord Almighty says this:
‘When that day comes,
I will break the yoke that is around your necks.[r]
I will remove the ropes that tie your legs.
My people will no longer be slaves
under the power of foreign people.
9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God.
They will serve David's descendant.
I will raise that man up to be their king.’
10 The Lord says,
‘Do not be afraid, descendants of Jacob, my servants.
People of Israel, do not be upset.
I will rescue you and your descendants from your enemies.
I will bring you back from the land far away,
where you are prisoners.
Jacob's descendants will return to their own land.
They will live there safely in peace.
There will be no enemies to make them afraid.’
11 The Lord says,
‘I am with you and I will save you.
I have sent you away to live in foreign lands.
That was the punishment that you deserved.
I will completely destroy the nations where I sent you to live.
But I will not completely destroy you.
I will certainly punish you,
but only as much as you deserve.’
12 The Lord says this to Zion's people:
‘You have received very bad wounds.
Nobody can make you well again.
13 There is no one who will speak on your behalf.
There is no medicine that can make you well.
14 All your friends have turned away from you.
They do not want to help you in your troubles.
I have hurt you,
in the way that an enemy might attack you.
You have lived in a very wicked way,
and you are guilty of many sins.
So I had to punish you,
to teach you what is right.
15 You complain about your wounds.
You say that your pain will never get better.
But I had to punish you,
because you are very wicked,
and you are guilty of many sins.
16 But I will destroy your enemies who destroyed you.
All of them will go as prisoners to foreign lands.
They took your valuable things for themselves.
Now I will take away their valuable things.
17 People say that nobody takes care of you,
people of Zion.
They say that I have chased you out of your land.
But I will give you back your health.
I will make your wounds better.’
That is what the Lord says.
18 The Lord says,
‘I will bring back Jacob's descendants to their own land.
Enemies have knocked down their houses,
but I will repair the homes where they lived.
I will be kind to them,
so that each family can live safely.
The city will stand again in its right place.
The palace will also stand where it was before.
19 In those places you will hear happy songs,
as people thank God.
People will laugh aloud because they are so happy.
I will make them grow in number.
Their descendants will be many.
I will cause other nations to give them honour.
They will no longer insult my people.
20 Jacob's descendants will be strong again,
as they were long ago.
They will serve me together as one group of people.
I will punish anyone who wants to hurt them.
21 One of their own people will rule them as king.
I will ask him to come near to me,
and he will come near.
Nobody would be brave enough to come near to me,
unless I asked him to come.’
That is what the Lord says.
22 ‘At that time, you will again be my people,
and I will be your God. ’
23 Look! The Lord's anger will come
like a strong storm.
Like a strong wind,
it will blow away the heads of wicked people.
24 The Lord will not stop being angry,
until he has finished what he has decided to do.
When the time comes,
you will understand this clearly.
The Israelites will return to their own land
31 The Lord says this:
‘When that time comes,
I will be the God of every family in Israel.
And they will be my people.’
2 The Lord says,
‘I was kind to the Israelites
when they travelled in the desert.
I helped those that the enemy had not killed,
as they looked for a place where they could rest.’
3 At that time long ago,
the Lord showed himself to his people.
He said, ‘I have always loved you
and I always will love you.
My faithful love for you continues for ever.
4 My special people of Israel,
I will make you strong again.
You will be so happy that you dance,
as people make music with tambourines.
5 You will again plant vines
on the hills in Samaria.
Yes, farmers will plant vines
and they will eat their fruit.
6 There will be a time when guards will call out,
as they watch for danger in the hills of Ephraim.
They will shout, “Let us go up to Zion,
to worship the Lord our God.” ’[s]
7 The Lord says this:
‘Sing with joy for Jacob's descendants!
They are the greatest of all the nations!
Praise the Lord with loud voices!
Say, “Lord, please save your people.
Save those Israelites who are still alive.”
8 See what I will do!
I will bring them back from the land in the north.
Wherever they are, I will bring them back.
A great crowd of my people will return.
Blind people will be among them,
and people who cannot walk well.
There will be pregnant women
and some who will very soon give birth.
9 They will be weeping as they come.
They will pray for my help as I lead them.
I will lead them beside streams of fresh water,
and on flat paths where they will not fall down.
I will help them because I am a father for Israel's people.
Ephraim is like my firstborn son.’[t]
10 People of all nations,
listen to the Lord's message.
Shout it aloud for everyone to hear,
even those who live on the coasts far away.
Say, ‘The Lord chased Israel's people away,
but now he will bring them back.
He will take care of them,
like a shepherd who takes care of his sheep.’
11 Yes, the Lord will rescue Jacob's descendants.
He will pay the cost to let them be free.
They will no longer be under the power of people who were stronger than them.
12 His people will come back to Mount Zion,
and they will shout with joy.
They will be very happy
because of all the good things that the Lord gives to them.
There will be grain to make bread,
new wine and olive oil.
There will be lambs and young cows.
They will grow and be strong,
like a garden that has plenty of water.
They will not be weak or sad any more.
13 The Lord says this:
‘Young women will dance because they are happy.
The young men and the old men will also be happy.
I will cause them to laugh instead of weep.
I will comfort them,
so that they are happy instead of sad.
14 I will give the priests plenty of good things.
My people will have everything that they need,
because of all the good things that I give to them.’
15 The Lord says,
‘You can hear a sad noise in Ramah.
Someone is weeping with a loud voice.
It is Rachel, and she is weeping for her children.
Nobody can help her to stop weeping,
because her children are dead.’[u]
16 The Lord says,
‘Stop crying!
Do not weep any more!
I will help you because of what you have done.
Your children will return from the land of their enemies.’
That is what the Lord says.
17 ‘Yes, you will have descendants in the future.
Your children will return to their own land.’
That is what the Lord says.
18 ‘I have heard Israel's people when they are sad.
They say to me, “You punished us,
and we accepted it.
You taught us to obey you,
like a farmer teaches an ox to work for him.
So let us come back to serve you.
We are ready to return to you,
because you are the Lord, our God.
19 After we turned away from you,
we were sorry that we had done that.
We understood what we had done,
and we showed that we were sad.
We were ashamed and upset,
because of the disgusting things that we did when we were young.”
20 But Israel's people are my own dear children.
I still love them,
even when I have to speak against them.
I can never forget them.
I only want to help them.
I will certainly be kind to them.’
That is what the Lord says.
21 ‘People of Israel, put up signs along the roads,
so that you know the way to go.
Remember the road that you travelled on
when you went away from your land.
Now return, my special people, Israel.
Return to your cities that you had to leave.
22 You went away from me,
like a daughter who refuses to obey her father.
Do not continue to turn away from me.
I, the Lord, promise to do a new thing.
Women will take care of men!’
The people of Judah will be strong again
23 The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this:
‘I will bring my people back from the land where they have been prisoners. Then the people in the towns of Judah will again say, “We pray that the Lord will bless you, Jerusalem. You are the special place where he lives on his holy mountain!”[v]
24 People will live together in the towns of Judah. Farmers and shepherds will work in the fields. 25 I will help those who feel tired. I will make those who feel weak strong again.
26 Then they will say, “When I woke from my sleep and I looked around, I was happy.” ’
27 The Lord says this:
‘The time will come when I fill the lands of Israel and Judah with people and animals. 28 In past time, I chose to pull them out of their land, like a plant with its roots. I knocked them down and I destroyed them. But now I will put them in their land again, like strong plants.’ That is what the Lord says.
29 ‘When that happens, people will not say, “The fathers have eaten bitter fruit, but it causes their children's teeth to hurt.”[w] 30 Instead, I will punish everyone for their own sins. It will be the teeth of the person who eats bitter fruit that will hurt.’
31 The Lord says, ‘A time will soon come when I make a new covenant with Israel's people and with Judah's people. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors. At that time, I brought them safely out of Egypt. I took care of them, like a faithful husband who takes care of his wife. But they did not obey my covenant.’ That is what the Lord says.
33 ‘Yes, I will make a new covenant with Israel's people at that time. It will be like this: I will put my law deep inside them, in their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ That is what the Lord says.
34 ‘Then people will not have to teach their friends or their family about me. They will all know me already. The important people and the ordinary people will all know me. I will forgive the wicked things that they have done. I will no longer think about their sins.’ That is what the Lord says.
35 The Lord is the one who causes the sun to shine during the day.
He causes the moon and the stars to shine at night.
He causes the waves of the sea to move around
and they make a loud noise.
He is the Lord Almighty,
and he makes this promise:
36 ‘I will always take care of Israel's people as my special nation.
I will always cause the laws that rule everything to continue.
I could never forget those laws, and I could never forget my people.’
37 The Lord says,
‘Nobody can measure the size of the sky.
Nobody can dig down to the bottom of the earth's foundations.
In the same way, I can never turn away from all Israel's people.
I will not leave them,
even though they have done wicked things.’
That is what the Lord says.[x]
38 The Lord says this:
‘The time will soon come when this city of Jerusalem belongs to me again. You will build it all again, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner gate. 39 The edge of the city will go straight from there to Gareb hill. Then it will turn south and go to Goah. 40 The whole area will belong to the Lord as a holy place. It will include the valley where they throw dead bodies and the ashes from sacrifices. It will include all the fields of the Kidron valley in the east, as far north as the corner of the Horse Gate. All of that will be my holy place. Nobody will ever again take the city or destroy it.’
Jeremiah buys a field
32 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah had ruled Judah for ten years. At that time, King Nebuchadnezzar had ruled in Babylon for 18 years. 2 Nebuchadnezzar's army had made their camp all around Jerusalem. Jeremiah was a prisoner in the city. Guards kept him in a yard of the palace of the king of Judah.[y]
3 King Zedekiah had put Jeremiah in prison there. He did not like the messages from God that Jeremiah was speaking. He said to Jeremiah, ‘You should stop saying these things! Do not continue to say, “The Lord will put this city under the power of the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon will take the city for himself. 4 Zedekiah, king of Judah, will not escape from Babylon's army. They will take him to the king of Babylon. Zedekiah will have to stand in front of the king of Babylon and answer his questions. 5 They will take Zedekiah away to Babylon as their prisoner. He will stay there until the Lord has punished him completely. If you continue to fight against Babylon's army, you will never win.” ’ That was the Lord's message that Jeremiah had told Zedekiah.
6 While Jeremiah was in prison, the Lord said to him, 7 ‘Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to visit you. He will say to you, “I want you to buy my field in Anathoth. The law says that I should offer it to you first, because you are my relative.” ’
8 This happened as the Lord had said it would happen. My cousin Hanamel came to visit me in the prison. He said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin's tribe. I offer it to you first, as my relative. So you can buy it for yourself.’
When this happened, I realized I had really heard the Lord's message. 9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed 17 shekels of silver to pay him for it. 10 I wrote my name on a piece of paper to show that I had bought the land. Some men watched as I did this, to agree to the sale. I closed the paper with a seal.[z] Then I gave Hanamel the silver that I had weighed. 11 I took the paper with the seal, and also a copy of it that had no seal. The agreement about the sale of land was written on those pieces of paper. 12 I gave both pieces of paper to Baruch, the son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. Hanamel watched me as I did this, as well as the men who had written their names on the paper. The people of Judah who were there in the guards' yard also watched me.
13 While all those people listened, I said to Baruch, 14 ‘The Lord Almighty, Israel's God says, “Take these two pieces of paper that have the agreement about the sale of land. Take the piece that has a seal on it and the piece without a seal. Put them both in a clay jar to keep them safe for a long time.” 15 The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, “A time will come when people in this land again buy houses, fields and vineyards.” ’
Jeremiah prays about the land that he has bought
16 After I had given Baruch the pieces of paper about the sale of land, I prayed to the Lord.
17 I said, ‘Lord God, you used your great power and strength to make the earth and the sky. Nothing is too difficult for you to do. 18 You show your faithful love to thousands of people. But you also punish people for the sins that their ancestors did in past times. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord Almighty.
19 You have wise thoughts and you do great things. You see everything that people do. You see how they live. You give everyone what they deserve. 20 You did powerful miracles in Egypt, and we still remember them today. In this way you continue to be famous in Israel and everywhere in the world. 21 You used your great power and strength to bring your people out of Egypt. You did miracles that showed your power. It caused the Egyptians to be very afraid. 22 You gave this land to the Israelites, as you had promised to their ancestors. It was a land where there was plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. 23 Your people moved in to the land and they made it their home. But they did not obey you. They did not live in the way that your law taught them. They did not do the things that you commanded them to do. Because of that, you caused them to have all this terrible trouble.
24 Babylon's army have already put heaps of earth around the city's walls. They are ready to attack us. War, famine and disease will soon kill us. Babylon's soldiers will come into the city and take it for themselves. Lord, you warned us that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already happening. 25 I know that Babylon's army will soon get power over the city. But you still told me to use my silver to buy that field. And people watched me write my name on the paper.’
The Lord replies to Jeremiah
26 Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, 27 ‘I am the Lord, the God who rules all people. Nothing is too difficult for me to do. 28 So I, the Lord, tell you this: I will certainly give this city to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army. They will get power over it. 29 The soldiers from Babylon who are attacking the city will come in. They will destroy it with fire. They will burn down the houses of the people. These people have made me angry. They went up on the roofs of their houses and they burned incense to worship Baal. They also poured out drink offerings to other false gods.
30 The people of Israel and Judah have continued to do things that I see are evil. They have done those things since they were a young nation. They have always done things that make me angry. That is what the Lord says.
31 The people of this city have made me very angry from the time when they built it, even until now. Because of that, I have decided to destroy it completely. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have made me angry because of all the wicked things that they have done. Their kings, officers, priests and prophets have all done wicked things. I will destroy this city because of the wicked things that the people of Jerusalem and all of Judah have done. 33 They should have come to me for help, but instead they turned away from me. Many times I taught them what was right. But they would not listen to me when I warned them. 34 They put their disgusting idols in the temple. I chose that place to be my special home, but they have made it unclean. 35 They have built altars in Ben-Hinnom valley to worship Baal. On those altars, they light fires to burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to Molech. I never commanded them to do that. I never even thought about it. It has caused Judah's people to be guilty of sin.
36 You are right to say, “War, famine and disease will cause the king of Babylon to get power over this city.” But I, the Lord, Israel's God, tell you this: 37 I will certainly bring my people back from the foreign countries where I will send them. I will send them away as prisoners because they have made me very angry. But I will bring them back to this place so that they can live here safely. 38 They will be my people and I will be their God. 39 I will make them all want to do one thing. They will want to live in a way that always pleases me. They will do that so that they enjoy good lives and their children also enjoy good lives after them. 40 I will make a covenant with them that will continue for ever. I will promise always to do good things for them. They will want to respect me and obey me so that they never turn away from me again. That is what I will do for them. 41 I will be happy to help them with good things. I promise them faithfully that I will put them in this land again. They will grow like strong plants.’
42 The Lord says this: ‘It is true that I have brought terrible trouble to this people. But in the same way, I will give them all the good things that I have promised. 43 At this time, you are saying, “Babylon's army will take power over our land. It will become like a desert. No people or animals will live in it.” But I tell you that one day people will again buy and sell fields in this land. 44 They will pay silver to buy fields. There will be pieces of paper that show the agreement for the sale. There will be seals on those papers. People will watch and agree that the sale has happened. People will buy fields in the land that belongs to Benjamin's tribe and in the villages round Jerusalem. They will buy land in the towns of Judah, in the hill country, in the low hills in the west and in the Negev region in the south. At that time, I will bring my people back to live safely in their land. I, the Lord, promise that this will happen!’
God's promises to his people
33 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah a second time while he was in prison in the yard of the palace. 2 He said, ‘I am the Lord who made the earth. I gave a shape to it and I put it in its place. The Lord is my name. I say this to you: 3 “Call out to me and I will answer you. I will tell you about great things. They are secret things that you do not yet know.” 4 The Lord, Israel's God, has a message about the houses in this city and about the royal palaces of Judah's kings. The people have knocked down the city's buildings. They have used the stones to make the city's walls stronger, 5 to fight against Babylon's army. The Lord says, “The city's houses will be full of dead bodies. I am very angry with the people in the city and I will kill them. I will refuse to help this city because of the wicked things that its people have done.
6 But listen to me! I will bring health again to the people of this city. I will make my people well again. They will live safely in peace. 7 I will bring back the people of Judah and Israel from foreign lands. I will make them a strong nation, as they were before. 8 They have done bad things and they have turned against me. But I will forgive all their sins that they have done against me. 9 Then this city will cause the people of all the nations on the earth to give me honour. They will praise me and make me happy. They will hear about all the good things that I am doing for Jerusalem. They will see that I have caused its people to have health and peace. Because of that, they will respect me and they will shake with fear.”
10 The Lord says, “You say that this place is like a desert, and no people or animals live here. But I tell you that people will return to live here. You will hear the voices of people in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah that are now empty. 11 You will hear the sounds of happy people. You will hear the songs of men and women at their weddings. You will hear the voices of people as they bring gifts to the Lord's temple to thank him. They will say,
‘We thank the Lord Almighty,
because he is good.
His faithful love continues for ever.’
Yes, I will make the land successful again, as it was before.” That is what the Lord says.
12 The Lord Almighty says, “This place will become a heap of stones. No people or animals will live here. But I will put fields of grass around the towns again. There will be places for shepherds to rest with their sheep. 13 Shepherds will count their sheep again, one by one. They will do that in the towns of the hill country, in the low hills in the west and in the Negev region in the south. They will do it in the land that belongs to Benjamin's tribe, in the villages around Jerusalem and in all the towns of Judah.” That is what the Lord says.
14 The Lord also says, “A time will soon come when I do good things for the nations of Israel and Judah. I will do what I have promised to do for them. 15 At that time, I will cause a descendant of David to be born. He will be righteous. He will grow like a branch on the tree of David's family. He will do what is right and fair in the land.[aa] 16 When he rules, the people of Judah will be safe. Jerusalem's people will live in peace. People will give this name to the city: ‘The Lord is our righteous Saviour.’ ”
17 The Lord says, “One of David's descendants will always rule as king over the nation of Israel. 18 There will always be priests who are descendants of Levi. They will serve me in my temple. They will always be there to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings and other sacrifices to me.” ’
19 The Lord also said this to Jeremiah: 20 ‘I, the Lord, say to you, “The day and the night will always come at their proper times. I have made that agreement with them, and nobody can stop it. 21 In the same way, nobody can stop the covenant that I have made with my servant David, and with the Levites. I promise you that there will always be a descendant of King David who rules as king. I also promise that there will always be descendants of Levi to serve me as priests. 22 I promise that my servant David will always have many descendants. There will also be very many Levites to serve me as priests. You will not be able to count them. They will be more than the stars in the sky and more than the sand on the shore of the sea.” ’
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