28One day in late summer of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said,H8141H7225H4467H6667H4428H3063H7243H8141H2549H2320H2608H1121H5809H5030H1391H559H1004H3068H5869H3548H5971H559 2“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H559H7665H5923H4428H894 3Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon.H3117H8141H7725H4725H3627H3068H1004H5019H4428H894H3947H4725H935H894 4And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”H7725H4725H3204H1121H3079H4428H3063H1546H3063H935H894H5002H3068H7665H5923H4428H894 5Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple.H5030H3414H559H5030H2608H5869H3548H5869H5971H5975H1004H3068 6He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives.H5030H3414H559H543H3068H6213H3068H6965H1697H5012H7725H3627H3068H1004H1473H894H4725 7But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people.H8085H1697H1696H241H241H5971 8The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease.H5030H6440H6440H5769H5012H7227H776H1419H4467H4421H7451H1698 9So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”H5030H5012H7965H1697H5030H935H227H5030H3045H3068H571H7971 10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces.H2608H5030H3947H4133H5030H3414H6677H7665 11And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.H2608H559H5869H5971H559H559H3068H7665H5923H5019H4428H894H6677H1471H3117H8141H5030H3414H3212H1870 12Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah:H1697H3068H3414H310H2608H5030H7665H4133H6677H5030H3414H559 13“Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron.H1980H559H2608H559H559H3068H7665H4133H6086H6213H4133H1270 14The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.’”H559H3068H6635H430H3478H5414H5923H1270H6677H1471H5647H5019H4428H894H5647H5414H2416H7704 15Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies.H559H5030H3414H2608H5030H8085H2608H3068H7971H5971H982H8267 16Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”H559H3068H7971H6440H127H8141H4191H1696H5627H3068 17Two months later the prophet Hananiah died.H2608H5030H4191H8141H7637H2320
29Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.H1697H5612H3414H5030H7971H3389H3499H2205H1473H3548H5030H5971H5019H1540H3389H894 2This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah, and all the craftsmen and artisans had been deported from Jerusalem.H310H3204H4428H1377H5631H8269H3063H3389H2796H4525H3318H3389 3He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jeremiah’s letter said.H3027H501H1121H8227H1587H1121H2518H6667H4428H3063H7971H894H5019H4428H894H559 4This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem:H559H3068H6635H430H3478H1473H1540H3389H894 5“Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.H1129H1004H3427H5193H1593H398H6529 6Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!H3947H802H3205H1121H1323H3947H802H1121H5414H1323H582H3205H1121H1121H7235H4591 7And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”H1875H7965H5892H1540H6419H3068H7965H7965 8This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams,H559H3068H6635H430H3478H5030H7080H7130H5377H8085H2472H2492 9because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.H5012H8267H8034H7971H5002H3068 10This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.H559H3068H6310H7657H8141H4390H894H6485H6965H2896H1697H7725H4725 11For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.H3045H4284H2803H5002H3068H4284H7965H7451H5414H8615H319 12In those days when you pray, I will listen.H7121H1980H6419H8085 13If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.H1245H4672H1875H3824 14I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”H4672H5002H3068H7725H7622H7622H6908H1471H4725H5080H5002H3068H7725H4725H1540 15You claim that the Lord has raised up prophets for you in Babylon.H559H3068H6965H5030H894 16But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all those still living here in Jerusalem—your relatives who were not exiled to Babylon.H559H3068H4428H3427H3678H1732H5971H3427H5892H251H3318H1473 17This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will send war, famine, and disease upon them and make them like bad figs, too rotten to eat.H559H3068H6635H7971H2719H7458H1698H5414H8182H8384H398H7455 18Yes, I will pursue them with war, famine, and disease, and I will scatter them around the world. In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery.H7291H310H2719H7458H1698H5414H2189H2113H4467H776H423H8047H8322H2781H1471H5080 19For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through the prophets I sent. And you who are in exile have not listened either,” says the Lord.H8085H1697H5002H3068H7971H5650H5030H7925H7971H8085H5002H3068 20Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, all you captives there in Babylon.H8085H1697H3068H1473H7971H3389H894 21This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about your prophets—Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah—who are telling you lies in my name: “I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar for execution before your eyes.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H256H1121H6964H6667H1121H4641H5012H8267H8034H5414H3027H5019H4428H894H5221H5869 22Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that the Judean exiles will curse someone by saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!’H3947H7045H1546H3063H894H559H3068H7760H6667H256H4428H894H7033H784 23For these men have done terrible things among my people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have lied in my name, saying things I did not command. I am a witness to this. I, the Lord, have spoken.”H6213H5039H3478H6213H5003H7453H802H1696H8267H1697H8034H6680H3045H5707H5002H3068 24The Lord sent this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Babylon:H559H8098H5161H559 25“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You wrote to Zephaniah,H559H3068H6635H430H3478H559H7971H5612H8034H5971H3389H6846H1121H4641H3548H3548H559 26“The Lord has appointed you to replace Jehoiada as the priest in charge of the house of the Lord. You are responsible to put into stocks and neck irons any crazy man who claims to be a prophet.H3068H5414H3548H3077H3548H6496H1004H3068H376H7696H5012H5414H4115H6729 27So why have you done nothing to stop Jeremiah from Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you?H1605H3414H6069H5012 28Jeremiah sent a letter here to Babylon, predicting that our captivity will be a long one. He said, ‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.’”H7971H894H559H1931H752H1129H1004H3427H5193H1593H398H6529 29But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him.H6846H3548H7121H5612H241H3414H5030 30Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah:H1697H3068H3414H559 31“Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies,H7971H1473H559H559H3068H8098H5161H8098H5012H7971H982H8267 32I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has incited you to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”H559H3068H6485H8098H5161H2233H376H3427H8432H5971H7200H2896H6213H5971H5002H3068H1696H5627H3068
30The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,H1697H3414H3068H559 2“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah.H559H3068H430H3478H559H3789H1697H1696H5612 3For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3117H935H5002H3068H7725H7622H5971H3478H3063H559H3068H7725H776H5414H1H3423 4This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah.H1697H3068H1696H3478H3063 5This is what the Lord says: “I hear cries of fear; there is terror and no peace.H559H3068H8085H6963H2731H6343H7965 6Now let me ask you a question: Do men give birth to babies? Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced, hands pressed against their sides like a woman in labor?H7592H7200H2145H3205H7200H1397H3027H2504H3205H6440H2015H3420 7In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end they will be saved!H1945H3117H1419H369H6256H3290H6869H3467 8For in that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains. Foreigners will no longer be their masters.H3117H5002H3068H6635H7665H5923H6677H5423H4147H2114H5647 9For my people will serve the Lord their God and their king descended from David—the king I will raise up for them.H5647H3068H430H1732H4428H6965 10“So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,” says the Lord. “For I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children will return from their exile. Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet, and no one will terrorize them.H3372H5650H3290H5002H3068H2865H3478H3467H7350H2233H776H7628H3290H7725H8252H7599H2729 11For I am with you and will save you,” says the Lord. “I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.”H5002H3068H3467H6213H3617H1471H6327H6213H3617H3256H4941H5352H5352 12This is what the Lord says: “Your injury is incurable—a terrible wound.H559H3068H7667H605H4347H2470 13There is no one to help you or to bind up your injury. No medicine can heal you.H1777H1779H4205H8585H7499 14All your lovers—your allies—have left you and do not care about you anymore. I have wounded you cruelly, as though I were your enemy. For your sins are many, and your guilt is great.H157H7911H1875H5221H4347H341H4148H394H7230H5771H2403H6105 15Why do you protest your punishment—this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great.H2199H7667H4341H605H7230H5771H2403H6105H6213 16“But all who devour you will be devoured, and all your enemies will be sent into exile. All who plunder you will be plundered, and all who attack you will be attacked.H398H398H6862H3212H7628H7601H8154H4933H962H5414H957 17I will give you back your health and heal your wounds,” says the Lord. “For you are called an outcast—‘Jerusalem for whom no one cares.’”H5927H724H7495H4347H5002H3068H7121H5080H6726H1875 18This is what the Lord says: “When I bring Israel home again from captivity and restore their fortunes, Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins, and the palace reconstructed as before.H559H3068H7725H7622H3290H168H7355H4908H5892H1129H8510H759H3427H4941 19There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people, not diminish them; I will honor them, not despise them.H3318H8426H6963H7832H7235H4591H3513H6819 20Their children will prosper as they did long ago. I will establish them as a nation before me, and I will punish anyone who hurts them.H1121H6924H5712H3559H6440H6485H3905 21They will have their own ruler again, and he will come from their own people. I will invite him to approach me,” says the Lord, “for who would dare to come unless invited?H117H4910H3318H7130H7126H5066H6148H3820H5066H5002H3068 22You will be my people, and I will be your God.”H5971H430 23Look! The Lord’s anger bursts out like a storm, a driving wind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.H5591H3068H3318H2534H1641H5591H2342H7218H7563 24The fierce anger of the Lord will not diminish until it has finished all he has planned. In the days to come you will understand all this.H2740H639H3068H7725H6213H6965H4209H3820H319H3117H995
Dublin, OH
of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said,H8141
