26. 1 This
message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of
Josiah, king of Judah. 2
"This is what the Lord says£º Stand in the courtyard in front of the
Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there
to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every
word. 3 Perhaps
they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change my mind
about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins. 4
"Say to them, 'This is what the Lord says£º If you will not listen to me
and obey my word I have given you, 5 and if
you will not listen to my servants, the prophets - for I sent them again and
again to warn you, but you would not listen to them - 6 then I
will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle
was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on
earth.'" 7 The
priests, the prophets, and all the people listened to Jeremiah as he spoke in
front of the Lord's Temple. 8 But
when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the Lord had told him
to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him.
"Kill him!" they shouted. 9
"What right do you have to prophesy in the Lord's name that this Temple
will be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem will be
destroyed and left with no inhabitants?" And all the people threatened him
as he stood in front of the Temple. 10 When
the officials of Judah heard what was happening, they rushed over from the
palace and sat down at the New Gate of the Temple to hold court. 11 The
priests and prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the
people. "This man should die!" they said. "You have heard with
your own ears what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this
city." 12 Then
Jeremiah spoke to the officials and the people in his own defense. "The
Lord sent me to prophesy against this Temple and this city," he said.
"The Lord gave me every word that I have spoken. 13 But if
you stop your sinning and begin to obey the Lord your God, he will change his
mind about this disaster that he has announced against you. 14 As for
me, I am in your hands - do with me as you think best. 15 But if
you kill me, rest assured that you will be killing an innocent man! The
responsibility for such a deed will lie on you, on this city, and on every
person living in it. For it is absolutely true that the Lord sent me to speak
every word you have heard." 16 Then
the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets, "This man
does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the
Lord our God." 17 Then
some of the wise old men stood and spoke to all the people assembled there. 18 They
said, "Remember when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of
King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah, 'This is what the Lord of
Heaven's Armies says£º Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem
will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple
now stands.' 19 But
did King Hezekiah and the people kill him for saying this? No, they turned from
their sins and worshiped the Lord. They begged him for mercy. Then the Lord
changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had pronounced against them. So
we are about to do ourselves great harm." 20 At
this time Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim was also prophesying for
the Lord. And he predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and
nation as Jeremiah did. 21 When
King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying,
the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plan and escaped
in fear to Egypt. 22 Then
King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt along with several other men
to capture Uriah. 23 They
took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed
Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave. 24
Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the
court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed. 27. 1 This
message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Zedekiah son of
Josiah, king of Judah. 2 This is
what the Lord said to me£º "Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with
leather thongs. 3 Then
send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their
ambassadors who have come to see King Zedekiah in Jerusalem. 4 Give
them this message for their masters£º 'This is what the Lord of Heaven's
Armies, the God of Israel, says£º 5 With my
great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every
animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. 6 Now I
will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant.
I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. 7 All the
nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then
many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. 8 So you
must submit to Babylon's king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon's
yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the Lord. I
will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered
it. 9
"'Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of
dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, "The king of Babylon will not
conquer you." 10 They
are all liars, and their lies will lead to your being driven out of your land.
I will drive you out and send you far away to die. 11 But
the people of any nation that submits to the king of Babylon will be allowed to
stay in their own country to farm the land as usual. I, the Lord, have
spoken!'" 12 Then I
repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. "If you want to
live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people. 13 Why do
you insist on dying - you and your people? Why should you choose war, famine,
and disease, which the Lord will bring against every nation that refuses to
submit to Babylon's king? 14 Do not
listen to the false prophets who keep telling you, 'The king of Babylon will
not conquer you.' They are liars. 15 This
is what the Lord says£º 'I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you
lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die - you and
all these prophets, too.'" 16 Then I
spoke to the priests and the people and said, "This is what the Lord
says£º 'Do not listen to your prophets who claim that soon the gold articles
taken from my Temple will be returned from Babylon. It is all a lie! 17 Do not
listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should
this whole city be destroyed? 18 If
they really are prophets and speak the Lord's messages, let them pray to the
Lord of Heaven's Armies. Let them pray that the articles remaining in the Lord's
Temple and in the king's palace and in the palaces of Jerusalem will not be
carried away to Babylon!' 19
"For the Lord of Heaven's Armies has spoken about the pillars in front of
the Temple, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the water carts, and all the
other ceremonial articles. 20 King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin son of
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other nobles of Judah
and Jerusalem. 21 Yes,
this is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says about the
precious things still in the Temple and in the palace of Judah's king£º 22 They
will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them,'
says the Lord. 'Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again.'" 28. 1 One 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, 2
"This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says£º 'I
will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3 Within
two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar
carried off to Babylon. 4 And 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!'" 5
Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and
people at the Temple. 6 He
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. 7 But
listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these
people. 8 The
ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always
warning of war, disaster, and disease. 9 So 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." 10 Then
Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck and broke it in pieces. 11 And
Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, "This is what the Lord
says£º '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. 12 Soon
after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to
Jeremiah£º 13
"Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what the Lord says£º You have broken a
wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron. 14 The
Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says£º 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.'" 15 Then
Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not
sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16
Therefore, this is what the Lord says£º 'You must die. Your life will end this
very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.'"
17 Two
months later the prophet Hananiah died.