Chronological

26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord:

² Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house [Jeremiah] and speak to all [the people of] the cities of Judah who come to worship in the Lord’s house all the words that I command you to speak to them; subtract not a word.

³ It may be that they will listen and turn every man from his evil way, that I may relent and reverse My decision concerning the evil which I purpose to do to them because of their evil doings.

⁴ And you will say to them, Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to and obey Me, to walk in My law, which I have set before you,

⁵ And to hear and obey the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you urgently and persistently—though you have not listened and obeyed—

⁶ Then will I make this house [the temple] like Shiloh [the home of the Tent of Meeting, abandoned and later destroyed after the ark was captured by the Philistines], and I will make this city subject to the curses of all nations of the earth [so vile in their sight will it be].^(A)

⁷ And the priests and the [false] prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

⁸ Now when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the [false] prophets and all the people seized him, saying, You shall surely die!

⁹ Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh [after the ark of the Lord had been taken by our enemies] and this city [Jerusalem] shall be desolate, without inhabitant? And all the people were gathered around Jeremiah in the [outer area of the] house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord.

¹¹ Then the priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people, This man is deserving of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.

¹² Then Jeremiah said to all the princes and to all the people: The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard.

¹³ Therefore now amend your ways and your doings and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent and reverse the decision concerning the evil which He has pronounced against you.

¹⁴ As for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as seems good and suitable to you.

¹⁵ But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.

¹⁶ Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and to the prophets: This man is not deserving of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.

¹⁷ Then certain of the elders of the land arose and said to all the assembly of the people,

¹⁸ Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah and said to all the people of Judah, Thus says the Lord of hosts: Zion shall be ^[a]plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps [of ruins], and the mountain of the house [of the Lord—Mount Moriah, on which stands the temple, shall become covered not with buildings, but] like a densely wooded height.^(B)

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put [Micah] to death? Did he not [reverently] fear the Lord and entreat the Lord? And did not the Lord relent and reverse the decision concerning the evil which He had pronounced against them? But [here] we are thinking of committing what will be a great evil against ourselves.

²⁰ And there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land in words similar to those of Jeremiah.

²¹ And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put [Uriah] to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt.

²² And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan son of Achbor and certain other men [who went] with him into Egypt.

²³ And they fetched Uriah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who slew him [God’s spokesman] with the sword and cast his dead body among the graves of the common people.

²⁴ But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that he might not be given into the hands of the people to put him [also] to death.

27 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:

² Thus says the Lord to me: Make for yourself thongs and yoke bars and put them on your neck,

³ And send them to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the Ammonites, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the hand of the messengers who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

⁴ And command them to say to their masters, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Thus shall you say to your masters:

⁵ I have made the earth, the men, and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I give it to whomever it seems right and suitable to Me.

⁶ And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant and instrument, and the beasts of the field also I have given him to serve him.

⁷ And all nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the [God-appointed] time [of punishment] of his own land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

⁸ But any nation or kingdom that will not serve this same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says the Lord, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, until I have consumed it by [Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand.

⁹ So do not listen to your [false] prophets, your diviners, your dreamers [and your dreams, whether your own or others’], your soothsayers, your sorcerers, who say to you, You shall not serve the king of Babylon.

¹⁰ For they prophesy a lie to you which will cause you to be removed far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish.

¹¹ But any nation that brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, that nation will I let remain on its own land, says the Lord, to cultivate it and dwell in it.

¹² I spoke also to Zedekiah king of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

¹³ Why will you and your people die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴ Do not listen to and believe the words of the [false] prophets who are saying to you, You shall not serve the king of Babylon, for it is a lie that they prophesy to you.

¹⁵ For I have not sent them, says the Lord; but they are prophesying falsely in My name. [It will only end when] I will drive you out to perish together with the [false] prophets who prophesy to you.

¹⁶ Also I said to the priests and to all these people, Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your [false] prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house shall now shortly be brought ^[b]back from Babylon; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

¹⁷ Do not listen to them or heed them; serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be laid waste?

¹⁸ But if they are true prophets and if the word of the Lord is really spoken by them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are [still] 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 [bronze] pillars [each twenty-seven feet high], the [bronze] Sea [the laver at which the priests cleansed their hands and feet before ministering at the altar], the [bronze] bases [of the ten lavers in Solomon’s temple used for washing animals to be offered as sacrifices], and the remainder of the vessels which are left in this city [Jerusalem],^(C)

²⁰ Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—

²¹ Yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels which [still] remain in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:

²² They will be ^[c]carried to Babylon and there will they be until the day that I visit them [with My favor], says the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.

28 In that same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year and the fifth month, Hananiah son of Azzur, the [false] prophet, who was from Gibeon [one of the priests’ cities], said [falsely] to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people:

² Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³ Within two [full] years will I bring back into this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.

⁴ And I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.^(D)

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who stood in the house of the Lord.

⁶ The prophet Jeremiah said, Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied to bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive.

⁷ Nevertheless, listen now to and hear this word which I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people:

⁸ The prophets who were before me and before you from of old prophesied against many countries and against great kingdoms, of war, of evil, and of pestilence.

⁹ But as for the prophet who [on the contrary] prophesies of peace, when that prophet’s word comes to pass, [only] then will it be known that the Lord has truly sent him.

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke bar off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and smashed it.

¹¹ And Hananiah said in the presence of all the people, Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke bars of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within the space of two [full] years. But the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹² The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet [some time] after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah:

¹³ Go, tell Hananiah, Thus says the Lord: You have broken yoke bars of wood, but you have made in their stead bars of iron.

¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations the iron yoke of servitude of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him. For I have given him even the beasts of the field.^(E)

¹⁵ Then said the prophet Jeremiah to Hananiah the prophet, Listen now, Hananiah, The Lord has not sent you, but you have made this people trust in a lie.

¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because you have uttered and taught rebellion against the Lord.

¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died [two months later], the same year, in the seventh month.

29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders in exile and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.

² This was after King Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.

³ [The letter was sent] by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said:

⁴ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵ Build yourselves houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat the fruit of them.

⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not be diminished.

⁷ And seek (inquire for, require, and request) the peace and welfare of the city to which I have caused you to be carried away captive; and pray to the Lord for it, for in the welfare of [the city in which you live] you will have welfare.

⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your [false] prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you; pay no attention and attach no significance to your dreams which you dream or to theirs,

⁹ For they prophesy falsely to you in My name. I have not sent them, says the Lord.

¹⁰ For thus says the Lord, When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My good promise to you, causing you to return to this place.

¹¹ For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

¹² Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.

¹³ Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.^(F)

¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵ [But as for those still in Jerusalem] because you have said, The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,

¹⁶ Thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits upon the throne of David and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brethren who did not go forth with you into captivity—

¹⁷ Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I am sending on them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten.

¹⁸ And I will pursue them with the sword, famine, and pestilence and will give them up to be tossed to and fro and to be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, an astonishment, and a terror, a hissing and a reproach among all the nations to which I have driven them,

¹⁹ Because they have not listened to and heeded My words, says the Lord, which I sent to them persistently by My servants the prophets; but you [exiles] would not listen [either], says the Lord.^(G)

²⁰ Hear therefore the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of ^[d]Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them [those false prophets whom you say I have raised up for you in Babylon] before your eyes!^(H)

²² And because of them, this curse shall be taken up and used by all from Judah who are in captivity in Babylon: The Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire—

²³ Because they have committed folly in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I had not commanded them. I am the One Who knows and I am witness, says the Lord.

²⁴ Also you shall say this concerning and to Shemaiah of Nehelam [among the exiles in Babylon]:

²⁵ Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have sent letters in your [own] name to all the people who are in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest and to all the priests, saying,

²⁶ The Lord has made you [Zephaniah] priest instead of Jehoiada the [deputy] priest, that you should have oversight in the house of the Lord over every madman who makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and collar.

²⁷ Now therefore [continued the letter from Shemaiah in Babylon to Zephaniah in Jerusalem], why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you?

²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, [This captivity of yours] is to be long; build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat the fruit of them.

²⁹ And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.

³⁰ Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah:

³¹ Send [this message] to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and has caused you to trust in a lie,

³² Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his offspring. He will not have anyone [born] to dwell among this people, nor will he see the good that I will do to My people, says the Lord, because he has spoken and taught rebellion against the Lord.