Jer 27-28 | ESV | STEP | In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah , king of Judah , this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord .

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: ^b“Make yourself straps and ^cyoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word ^{▼▼Hebrew Send them} to the king of ^eEdom, the king of ^fMoab, the king of the sons of ^gAmmon, the king of ^hTyre, 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 ⁱby my great power and my outstretched arm ^jhave made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ^kand I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 ^lNow I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^mmy servant, ⁿand I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 ^oAll the nations shall serve him and ^phis son and ^qhis grandson, ^runtil the time of his own land comes. ^sThen 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, ^tand put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^uwith the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So ^vdo not listen to your ^wprophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^xfortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 ^yFor 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 ^zBut 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 ^aaZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^ab“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^acserve him and his people and live. 13 ^adWhy will you and your people die ^aeby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^afas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 ^agDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^ahfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^aithey 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: ^ajDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^ak‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^alfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 ^amDo not listen to them; ^anserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^aobecome a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^aplet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^aqthat 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 ^arFor 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, ^aswhen 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, ^atconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 ^auThey shall be carried to Babylon ^avand remain there ^awuntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^axThen I will bring them back ^ayand restore them to this place.”

Jeremiah 28

Hananiah the False Prophet

1 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of ^azZedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of ^baAzzur, the prophet from ^bbGibeon, 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: ^bcI have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 ^bdWithin ^betwo 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 ^bfJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, ^bgfor 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, ^bh“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 ^biThe prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 ^bjAs 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 ^bkyoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ^bl“Thus says the Lord: ^bmEven so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of ^bnall the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Sometime after the prophet ^boHananiah 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 ^bpan iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^bqand they shall serve him, ^brfor I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, ^bsthe Lord has not sent you, ^btand 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, ^bubecause you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

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