27 In the beginning of the kingdom of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word occurred to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: 2 “This is what Jehovah has said to me, ‘Make for yourself bands and yoke bars, and you must put them upon your neck. 3 And you must send them to the king of Edom and to the king of Moab and to the king of the sons of Ammon and to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon by the hand of the messengers who are coming to Jerusalem to Zedekiah the king of Judah. 4 And you must give them a command for their masters, saying:

“‘“This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said; this is what YOU should say to YOUR masters, 5 ‘I myself have made the earth, mankind and the beasts that are upon the surface of the earth by my great power and by my stretched-out arm; and I have given it to whom it has proved right in my eyes. 6 And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and even the wild beasts of the field I have given him to serve him. 7 And all the nations must serve even him and his son and his grandson until the time even of his own land comes, and many nations and great kings must exploit him as a servant.’

8 “‘“‘And it must occur that the nation and the kingdom that will not serve him, even Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon; and the one that will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence I shall turn my attention upon that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘until I shall have finished them off by his hand.’

9 “‘“‘And as for YOU men, do not listen to YOUR prophets and to YOUR practicers of divination and to YOUR dreamers and to YOUR practicers of magic and to YOUR sorcerers, who are saying to YOU: “YOU men will not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU, for the purpose of having YOU taken far away from off YOUR ground; and I shall have to disperse YOU, and YOU will have to perish.

11 “‘“‘And as for the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and actually serve him, I will also let it rest upon its ground,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and it will certainly cultivate it and dwell in it.’”’”

12 Even to Zedekiah the king of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: “Bring YOUR necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and keep on living. 13 Why should you yourself and your people die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence according to what Jehovah has spoken to the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? 14 And do not listen to the words of the prophets that are saying to YOU men, ‘YOU will not serve the king of Babylon,’ because falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU.

15 “‘For I have not sent them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘but they are prophesying in my name falsely, to the end that I shall disperse YOU, and YOU will have to perish, YOU men and the prophets that are prophesying to YOU.’”

16 And to the priests and to all this people I spoke, saying: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘Do not listen to the words of YOUR prophets that are prophesying to YOU, saying: “Look! The utensils of the house of Jehovah are being brought back from Babylon soon now!” For falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and keep on living. Why should this city become a devastated place? 18 But if they are prophets and if the word of Jehovah does exist with them, let them, please, beseech Jehovah of armies, that the utensils that are remaining over in the house of Jehovah and the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not come into Babylon.’

19 “For this is what Jehovah of armies has said concerning the pillars and concerning the sea and concerning the carriages and concerning the remainder of the utensils that are remaining over in this city, 20 that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had not taken when he carried Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, together with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 for this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said concerning the utensils that are remaining over at the house of Jehovah and the house of the king of Judah and Jerusalem, 22 ‘“To Babylon is where they will be brought and there they will continue to be until the day of my turning my attention to them,” is the utterance of Jehovah. “And I will bring them up and restore them to this place.”’”

28 Then it came about in that year, in the beginning of the kingdom of Zedekiah the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of Jehovah before the eyes of the priests and of all the people: 2 “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said, ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years more I am bringing back to this place all the utensils of the house of Jehovah that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took from this place that he might bring them to Babylon.’” 4 “‘And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who have come to Babylon I am bringing back to this place,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘for I shall break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

5 And Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to say to Hananiah the prophet before the eyes of the priests and before the eyes of all the people who were standing in the house of Jehovah; 6 yes, Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to say: “Amen! Thus may Jehovah do! May Jehovah establish your words that you have prophesied by bringing back the utensils of the house of Jehovah and all the exiled people from Babylon to this place! 7 However, hear, please, this word that I am speaking in your ears and in the ears of all the people. 8 As regards the prophets that happened to be prior to me and prior to you from long ago, they also used to prophesy concerning many lands and concerning great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. 9 As regards the prophet that prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes true the prophet whom Jehovah has sent in truth will become known.”

10 At that Hananiah the prophet took the yoke bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 And Hananiah went on to say before the eyes of all the people: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘Just like this I shall break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon within two full years more from off the neck of all the nations.’” And Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to go his way.

12 Then the word of Jehovah occurred to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 13 “Go, and you must say to Hananiah, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “Yoke bars of wood you have broken, and instead of them you will have to make yoke bars of iron.” 14 For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “A yoke of iron I will put upon the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon; and they must serve him. And even the wild beasts of the field I will give him.”’”

15 And Jeremiah the prophet went on to say to Hananiah the prophet: “Listen, please, O Hananiah! Jehovah has not sent you, but you yourself have caused this people to trust in a falsehood. 16 Therefore this is what Jehovah has said, ‘Look! I am sending you away from off the surface of the ground. This year you yourself must die, for you have spoken outright revolt against Jehovah.’”

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


29 And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the older men of the exiled people and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2 after Jeconiah the king and the lady and the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and the builders of bulwarks had gone forth from Jerusalem. 3 It was by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah the king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, saying:

4 “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said to all the exiled people, whom I have caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and inhabit [them], and plant gardens and eat their fruitage. 6 Take wives and become father to sons and to daughters; and take wives for YOUR own sons and give YOUR own daughters to husbands, that they may give birth to sons and to daughters; and become many there, and do not become few. 7 Also, seek the peace of the city to which I have caused YOU to go into exile, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for YOU yourselves. 8 For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “Let not YOUR prophets who are in among YOU and YOUR practicers of divination deceive YOU, and do not YOU listen to their dreams that they are dreaming. 9 For ‘it is in falsehood that they are prophesying to YOU in my name. I have not sent them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.”’”

10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’

11 “‘For I myself well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give YOU a future and a hope. 12 And YOU will certainly call me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to YOU.’

13 “‘And YOU will actually seek me and find [me], for YOU will search for me with all YOUR heart. 14 And I will let myself be found by YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘And I will gather YOUR body of captives and collect YOU together out of all the nations and out of all the places to which I have dispersed YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘And I will bring YOU back to the place from which I caused YOU to go into exile.’

15 “But YOU have said, ‘Jehovah has raised up for us prophets in Babylon.’

16 “For this is what Jehovah has said to the king sitting on the throne of David and to all the people dwelling in this city, YOUR brothers that have not gone forth with YOU into exile, 17 ‘This is what Jehovah of armies has said: “Here I am sending against them the sword, the famine and the pestilence, and I will make them like the burst-open figs that cannot be eaten for badness.”’

18 “‘And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine and with the pestilence, and I will give them for a quaking to all the kingdoms of the earth, for a curse and for an object of astonishment and for a whistling at and for a reproach among all the nations to which I shall certainly disperse them, 19 due to the fact that they have not listened to my words,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘that I have sent to them with my servants the prophets, getting up early and sending [them].’

“‘But YOU have not listened,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

20 “And as for YOU, hear the word of Jehovah, all you exiled people, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and to Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to YOU falsehood in my own name, ‘Here I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and he must strike them down before YOUR eyes. 22 And from them a malediction will certainly be taken on the part of the entire body of exiles of Judah that is in Babylon, saying: “May Jehovah make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!” 23 for the reason that they have carried on senselessness in Israel, and they keep committing adultery with the wives of their companions and keep speaking falsely in my own name the word that I did not command them.

“‘“And I am the One knowing and am a witness,” is the utterance of Jehovah.’”

24 “And to Shemaiah of Nehelam you will say, 25 ‘This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “For the reason that you yourself have sent in your name letters to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘Jehovah himself has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, in order to become the grand overseer of the house of Jehovah toward any man maddened and behaving like a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the pillory; 27 now, then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is behaving as a prophet to YOU people? 28 For that is why he has sent to us at Babylon, saying: “It is long drawn out! Build houses and inhabit [them], and plant gardens and eat their fruitage,—”’”’”

29 And Zephaniah the priest proceeded to read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30 Then the word of Jehovah occurred to Jeremiah, saying: 31 “Send to all the exiled people, saying, ‘This is what Jehovah has said concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: “For the reason that Shemaiah has prophesied to YOU people, but I myself did not send him, and he tried to make YOU trust in falsehood, 32 therefore this is what Jehovah has said, ‘Here I am turning my attention upon Shemaiah of Nehelam and upon his offspring.’

“‘“‘He will not come to have a man dwelling in the midst of this people; and he will not look upon the good that I am doing for my people,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘for he has spoken outright revolt against Jehovah.’”’”