The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NLT. Switch to the NLT to read along with the audio.
The False Prophet Hananiah
28 That same year, in the fifth month of the fourth year (early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah), the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the House of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people. He said, 2 “The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this. I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 When two full years have passed, I will bring back all the vessels of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried off to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back Jeconiah[a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah along with all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the House of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! May the Lord do that! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied and bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house, and may he bring all the exiles back from Babylon to this place. 7 Nevertheless, listen now to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets from ancient times, who came before you and me, prophesied war, famine,[b] and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, only when the word of the prophet actually comes true will that prophet become known as someone whom the Lord has truly sent.”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 In the presence of all the people, Hananiah said, “This is what the Lord says. This is how I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from off the neck of all the nations within two full years.” So the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
12 After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go and tell Hananiah that this is what the Lord says. You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will receive an iron yoke. 14 For the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says, I will put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations so that they will serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Yes, they will certainly serve him. I have even given him the wild animals.”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you are making this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore this is what the Lord says. Watch, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you will die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.”
17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.
A Letter to the Exiles
29 This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remnant of the elders in exile, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after Jeconiah,[c] the queen mother, the secretaries, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was delivered by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemaraiah son of Hilkiah when Zedekiah king of Judah sent them to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter said:
4 The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this to all the exiles whom I have deported from Jerusalem to Babylon.
5 Build houses and settle in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Get married and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there, and do not decrease in number. 7 Seek the peace of the city where I have exiled you. Pray to the Lord for that city, because when it has peace and prosperity, you will have peace and prosperity.
8 The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this. Do not let the prophets and fortune tellers who are among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams they dream for you. 9 For they prophesy falsely in my name, but I did not send them, declares the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says. After seventy years have passed in Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious word to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 When you seek me, you will find me, when you will seek me with all your heart. 14 I will let you find me, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from your exile. I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have sent you as exiles, declares the Lord. I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
15 Because you say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on David’s throne and concerning all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who were not carried away into exile with you. 17 Yes, this is what the Lord says. Watch, I am going to send sword, famine, and plague against them, and I will make them like rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague, and I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, a terror, a thing to be hissed at, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they have not obeyed my words, declares the Lord, words I sent them again and again through my servants the prophets. And you have not listened, either, declares the Lord.
Two Men Roasted in the Fire
20 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 The Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says this about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Ma’aseiah, who are prophesying a lie in my name: Watch, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your eyes. 22 All the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse because of them:
May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and like Ahab,
whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire.
23 This is because they have done sinful things in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbor’s wives, and they have spoken lies in my name, things I did not tell them to do. I am the one who knows. I am the witness, declares the Lord.
The Lord’s Response to Shemaiah’s Letter
24 Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite 25 that this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says.
You have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Ma’aseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, and you told them the following:
26 The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there will be officers[d] in the Lord’s house who can deal with every crazy man who calls himself a prophet. You should put him in the stocks and in shackles. 27 So why have you not rebuked Jeremiah from Anathoth, who makes himself out to be a prophet among you?
28 Jeremiah sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Build houses and settle in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit.
29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter so that Jeremiah the prophet could hear the reading.
30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.
31 Send the following message to all the exiles.
This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, but I did not send him, and he has led you to trust in a lie, 32 the Lord says this. Watch, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left to live among this people. He will never see the good things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against the Lord.
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teachers
3 As I urged you while I was going to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach any different doctrines 4 or pay any attention to myths and endless genealogies that bring about aimless speculations rather than God’s plan, which centers in faith. 5 The goal of this command is love that comes from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith. 6 By veering away from these things, some have turned aside into meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, although they do not comprehend what they are saying or the things they so strongly affirm. 8 Now, we know that the law is good as long as one uses it correctly— 9 keeping in mind that the law is not laid down for a righteous person, but for lawless and rebellious people, for godless people and sinners, for unholy and worldly people, for those who kill their fathers and those who kill their mothers, for murderers, 10 for sexually immoral people, for homosexuals, for kidnappers,[a] for liars, for perjurers, and for whatever else is opposed to sound teaching— 11 in keeping with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.
God’s Mercy to Paul
12 I give thanks to the one who empowered me, namely, Christ Jesus our Lord, that he treated me as trustworthy, appointing me into his ministry. 13 He did this even though formerly I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. But I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord overflowed on me along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” of whom I am the worst. 16 But I was shown mercy for this reason: that in me, the worst sinner, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his unlimited patience as an example for those who are going to believe in him, resulting in eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Fight the Good Fight
18 I am entrusting this instruction to you, Timothy, my child, according to the prophecies about you, which were made earlier, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 with faith and a good conscience. By rejecting these, some people have suffered shipwreck with regard to their faith, 20 including Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan so that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
Psalm 86
Guard My Life
Heading
A prayer by David.
David’s Need and David’s Faith
1 Turn your ear, O Lord.
Answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am favored by you.[a]
You are my God.
Save your servant, who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
God’s Grace
5 Indeed, you, Lord, are good and forgiving
and abounding in mercy to all who call to you.
6 Give ear to my prayer, O Lord.
Pay attention to the sound of my cries for mercy.
God’s Ruling Power
7 In the day of my distress I will call to you,
because you will answer me.
8 There is no one like you among the gods, O Lord.
There are no deeds like your deeds.
9 All the nations you have made will come.
They will bow before you, O Lord,
and they will give glory to your name,
10 because you are great and do marvelous deeds.
You alone are God.
God’s Praise
11 Teach me your way, O Lord.
I will walk in your truth.
Give me wholehearted commitment to fear your name.
12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your mercy toward me,
and you have delivered my soul from “the lowest hell.”[b]
The Plea Repeated
14 God, the arrogant rise against me.
A mob of ruthless men seeks my life.
They pay no attention to you.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant.
Save the son of your maidservant.
17 Give a sign of your goodness for me.
Then those who hate me will see it and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
17 Do not set foot in your neighbor’s house too often.
If you do, he will have too much of you and hate you.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.