12I also spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in just the same way: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live! 13Otherwise you will die together with your people, by sword, famine, and pestilence, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon. 14Give no heed to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘Do not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy falsely to you. 15I have not sent them—declares the LORD—and they prophesy falsely in My name, with the result that I will drive you out and you shall perish, together with the prophets who prophesy to you.”
16And to the priests and to all that people I said: “Thus said the LORD: Give no heed to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, ‘The vessels of the House of the LORD shall shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ for they prophesy falsely to you. 17Give them no heed. Serve the king of Babylon, and live! Otherwise this city shall become a ruin. 18If they are really prophets and the word of the LORD is with them, let them intercede with the LORD of Hosts not to let the vessels remaining in the House of the LORD, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem, go to Babylon!
19“For thus said the LORD of Hosts concerning the columns, the tank,d the stands, and the rest of the vessels remaining in this city, 20which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take when he exiled King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21for thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels remaining in the House of the LORD, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22They shall be brought to Babylon, and there they shall remain, until I take note of them—declares the LORD of Hosts—and bring them up and restore them to this place.”
28 That year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, 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“Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: I hereby break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3In two years, I will restore to this place all the vessels of the House of the LORD which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. 4And I will bring back to this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the Judean exiles who went to Babylon—declares the LORD. Yes, I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
5Then the prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and of all the people who were standing in the House of the LORD. 6The prophet Jeremiah said: “Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill what you have prophesied and bring back from Babylon to this place the vessels of the House of the LORD and all the exiles! 7But just listen to this word which I address to you and to all the people: 8The prophets who lived before you and me from ancient times prophesied war, disaster, and pestilence against many lands and great kingdoms. 9So if a prophet prophesies good fortune, then only when the word of the prophet comes true can it be known that the LORD really sent him.”
10But the prophet Hananiah removed the bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, and broke it; 11and Hananiah said in the presence of all the people, “Thus said the LORD: So will I break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from off the necks of all the nations, in two years.” And the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
12After the prophet Hananiah had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13“Go say to Hananiah: Thus said the LORD: You broke bars of wood, but a-you shall-a make bars of iron instead. 14For thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: I have put an iron yoke upon the necks of all those nations, that they may serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—and serve him they shall! I have even given the wild beasts to him.”
15And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, and you have given this people lying assurances. 16Assuredly, thus said the LORD: I am going to banish you from off the earth. This year you shall die, for you have urged disloyalty to the LORD.”
17And the prophet Hananiah died that year, in the seventh month.
29 This is the text of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the priests, the prophets, the rest of the elders of the exile community, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon—2after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and smiths had left Jerusalem. 3[The letter was sent] through Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had dispatched to Babylon, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
4Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to the whole community which I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there, do not decrease. 7And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the LORD in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.
8For thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Let not the prophets and diviners in your midst deceive you, and pay no heed to the dreams theya dream. 9For they prophesy to you in My name falsely; I did not send them—declares the Lord.
10For thus said the LORD: When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of you, and I will fulfill to you My promise of favor—to bring you back to this place. 11For I am mindful of the plans I have made concerning you—declares the LORD—plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a hopeful future. 12When you call Me, and come and pray to Me, I will give heed to you. 13You will search for Me and find Me, if only you seek Me wholeheartedly. 14I will be at hand for you— declares the LORD—and I will restore your fortunes. And I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have banished you—declares the LORD—and I will bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.
15But you say, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon.”b
16Thus said the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go out with you into exile—17thus said the LORD of Hosts: I am going to let loose sword, famine, and pestilence against them and I will treat them as loathsome figs, so bad that they cannot be eaten.c 18I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse and an object of horror and hissingd and scorn among all the nations to which I shall banish them, 19because they did not heed My words—declares the LORD—when I persistently sent to them My servants, the prophets, and theya did not heed—declares the LORD.
20But you, the whole exile community which I banished from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word of the LORD! 21Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who prophesy falsely to you in My name: I am going to deliver them into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall put them to death before your eyes. 22And the whole community of Judah in Babylonia shall use a curse derived from their fate: “May God make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon consigned to the flames!”—23because they did vile things in Israel, committing adultery with the wives of their fellows and speaking in My name false words which I had not commanded them. I am He who knows and bears witness—declares the
