Jer 26-29 | ESV | STEP | In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah , king of Judah , this word came from the Lord :

1 ^aIn the beginning of the reign of ^bJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^cStand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord ^dall the words that I command you to speak to them; ^edo not hold back a word. 3 ^fIt may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, ^gthat I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them ^hbecause of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ⁱIf you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 ^jand to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you ^kurgently, ^lthough you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house ^mlike Shiloh, and I will make this city ⁿa curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

7 ^oThe priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then ^pthe priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be ^qlike Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, ^rwithout inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When ^sthe officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the ^tentry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. 11 Then ^uthe priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^v“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore ^wmend your ways and your deeds, ^xand obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^yand the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 ^zBut as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^aayou will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

16 ^abThen the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^ac“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 ^adAnd certain of ^aethe elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

^af“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^agDid he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^ahand did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^aiBut we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^ajKiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when ^akKing Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then ^alKing Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^amElnathan the son of ^anAchbor and others with him, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^aowho struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

24 But the hand of ^apAhikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Jeremiah 27

The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah ^{▼▼Or Jehoiakim} the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 Thus the Lord said to me: ^ar“Make yourself straps and ^asyoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word ^{▼▼Hebrew Send them} to the king of ^auEdom, the king of ^avMoab, the king of the sons of ^awAmmon, the king of ^axTyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 “It is I who ^ayby my great power and my outstretched arm ^azhave made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ^baand I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 ^bbNow I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^bcmy servant, ^bdand I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 ^beAll the nations shall serve him and ^bfhis son and ^bghis grandson, ^bhuntil the time of his own land comes. ^biThen many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

8 “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^bjand put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^bkwith the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So ^bldo not listen to your ^bmprophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^bnfortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 ^boFor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 ^bpBut any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.”’”

12 To ^bqZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^br“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^bsserve him and his people and live. 13 ^btWhy will you and your people die ^buby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^bvas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 ^bwDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^bxfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^bythey are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ^bzDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^ca‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^cbfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 ^ccDo not listen to them; ^cdserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^cebecome a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^cflet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^cgthat the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 ^chFor thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ^ciwhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^cjconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 ^ckThey shall be carried to Babylon ^cland remain there ^cmuntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^cnThen I will bring them back ^coand restore them to this place.”

Jeremiah 28

Hananiah the False Prophet

1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of ^cpZedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of ^cqAzzur, the prophet from ^crGibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^csI have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 ^ctWithin ^cutwo years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place ^cvJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, ^cwfor I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^cx“Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 ^cyThe prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 ^czAs for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the ^dayoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ^db“Thus says the Lord: ^dcEven so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of ^ddall the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Sometime after the prophet ^deHananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations ^dfan iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^dgand they shall serve him, ^dhfor I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, ^dithe Lord has not sent you, ^djand you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, ^dkbecause you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^dlthe surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^dmthe priests, ^dnthe prophets, and ^doall the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after ^dpKing Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^dqShaphan and Gemariah the son of ^drHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ^dsBuild houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^dtpray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^duDo not let your prophets and ^dvyour diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, ^{▼▼Hebrew your dreams, which you cause to dream} 9 for ^dxit is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^dyI did not send them, declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord: ^dzWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^eaI will visit you, ^eband I will fulfill to you my promise ^ecand bring you back to this place. 11 ^edFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare ^{▼▼Or peace} and not for evil, ^efto give you a future and a hope. 12 ^egThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^ehand I will hear you. 13 ^eiYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^ejwith all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^ekand I will restore your fortunes and ^elgather you from all the nations and all the places ^emwhere I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16 thus says the Lord concerning ^enthe king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them ^eosword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^epvile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with ^eqsword, famine, and pestilence, ^erand will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^esto be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^etwhere I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^euthat I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20 Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^evwhom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^ewwho are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 ^exBecause of them ^eythis curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^ezwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^fathey have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and ^fbthey have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^fcI am the one who knows, ^fdand I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah’s False Prophecy

24 To ^feShemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^ffZephaniah the son of ^fgMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^fhcharge in the house of the Lord ^fiover every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^fjthe stocks and neck irons. 27 Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^fkof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^flbuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

29 ^fmZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 ^fnThen the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^foShemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^fpShemaiah had prophesied to you ^fqwhen I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^frShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^fsand he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^ftfor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”