The Daily Audio Bible

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah,^(A) in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon^(B) said to me in the temple of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, ² “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.^{(C) 3} Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles of the Lord’s temple^(D) that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from here and transported to Babylon. ⁴ And I will restore to this place Jeconiah^[a] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah^(E) who went to Babylon’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

Jeremiah’s Response to Hananiah

⁵ The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord. ⁶ The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen!^(F) May the Lord do that. May the Lord make the words you have prophesied come true and may he restore the articles of the Lord’s temple and all the exiles from Babylon to this place! ⁷ Only listen to this message I am speaking in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster,^[b] and plague against many lands and great kingdoms. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies peace—only when the word of the prophet comes true will the prophet be recognized as one the Lord has truly sent.”^(G)

Hananiah Breaks Jeremiah’s Yoke

¹⁰ The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.^{(H) 11} In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” The prophet Jeremiah then went on his way.

The Lord’s Word against Hananiah

¹² After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “Go say to Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,^(I) and they will serve him.^(J) I have even put the wild animals under him.’”^(K)

¹⁵ The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, but you have led these people to trust in a lie.^{(L) 16} Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to send you off the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’”^{(M) 17} And the prophet Hananiah died that year in the seventh month.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter^(N) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar^(O) had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after King Jeconiah,^[c](P) the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. ³ He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah,^(Q) whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter stated:

⁴ This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build houses and live in them.^(R) Plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.^{(S) 7} Pursue the well-being^[d] of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf,^(T) for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

⁸ For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you^(U) and your diviners deceive you,^(V) and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, ⁹ for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.”^(W) This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁰ For this is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete,^(X) I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you”^(Y)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.^{(Z) 13} You will seek me^(AA) and find me when you search for me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes^[e](AB) and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”^(AC)

¹⁵ You have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon!” ¹⁶ But this is what the Lord says concerning the king sitting on David’s throne^(AD) and concerning all the people living in this city—that is, concerning your brothers who did not go with you into exile. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord of Armies says: “I am about to send sword, famine, and plague against them,^(AE) and I will make them like rotten figs that are inedible because they are so bad. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse and a desolation, an object of scorn and a disgrace among all the nations^(AF) where I have banished them.^{(AG) 19} I will do this because they have not listened to my words”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the words that I sent to them with my servants the prophets time and time again.^[f](AH) And you too have not listened.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

²⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.^{(AI) 21} This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, the ones prophesying a lie to you in my name:^(AJ) “I am about to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes. ²² Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse^(AK) that says, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’ ^{(AL) 23} because they have committed an outrage^(AM) in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken in my name a lie, which I did not command them. I am he who knows, and I am a witness.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

²⁴ To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to say, ²⁵ “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You^[g] in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(AN) son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ ‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer^(AO) in the temple of the Lord, responsible for every madman^(AP) who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks^(AQ) and an iron collar. ²⁷ So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who has been acting like a prophet among you?^{(AR) 28} For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, “The exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.”’” ^(AS)

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

A Message about Shemaiah

³⁰ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send a message to all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie,^{(AT) 32} this is what the Lord says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people,^(AU) nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people—this is the Lord’s declaration—for he has preached rebellion against the Lord.’”^(AV)

Greeting

1 Paul,^(A) an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command^(B) of God our Savior^(C) and of Christ Jesus our hope:^(D)

² To Timothy,^(E) my true son in the faith.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the^[a] Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

False Doctrine and Misuse of the Law

³ As I urged you when I went to Macedonia,^(F) remain in Ephesus^(G) so that you may instruct certain people^(H) not to teach false doctrine ⁴ or to pay attention to myths^(I) and endless genealogies. These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan,^(J) which operates by faith. ⁵ Now the goal of our instruction is love^(K) that comes from a pure heart,^(L) a good conscience,^(M) and a sincere faith.^{(N) 6} Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. ⁷ They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on. ⁸ But we know that the law is good,^(O) provided one uses it legitimately. ⁹ We know that the law is not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious,^(P) for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰ for the sexually immoral^(Q) and males who have sex with males,^(R) for slave traders, liars,^(S) perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching^{(T) 11} that conforms to the gospel^(U) concerning the glory of the blessed God,^(V) which was entrusted to me.^(W)

Paul’s Testimony

¹² I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened^(X) me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— ¹³ even though I was formerly a blasphemer,^(Y) a persecutor,^(Z) and an arrogant man.^(AA) But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, ¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ This saying is trustworthy^(AB) and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world^(AC) to save sinners”^(AD)—and I am the worst of them.^{(AE) 16} But I received mercy^(AF) for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience^(AG) as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life.^{(AH) 17} Now to the King^(AI) eternal,^(AJ) immortal,^(AK) invisible, the only^[b] God,^(AL) be honor^(AM) and glory^(AN) forever and ever. Amen.^(AO)

Engage in Battle

¹⁸ Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies^(AP) previously made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹ having faith^(AQ) and a good conscience,^(AR) which some^(AS) have rejected and have shipwrecked the faith. ²⁰ Among them are Hymenaeus^(AT) and Alexander,^(AU) whom I have delivered to Satan,^(AV) so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Psalm 86

Lament and Petition

A prayer of David.