Jeremiah 26-29 Wholeheartedly Seeking and Finding God
Psalm 87:1-7 Born in Zion
Observations: 87:1-3 This composition by the sons of Korah must have had a catchy tune, because the words lack a little. The previous psalm (86:9) indicated that all nations would come and worship God. The spot where they would worship is where God caused His glory to dwell (see next post) at the temple in Jerusalem, also known as Zion. The tabernacle/temple is where people come to thank and praise God for answered prayer. The foundation or establishment of God's presence is in the city surrounded by hills/mountains. God loves the gates of Zion, through which people come to worship, more than the houses of Jacob, for here it is that people praise Him. In their praise, people attribute glory to God, so others can acknowledge Him as well.
87:4-6 People from many nations will trace their spiritual (or physical) lineage back to Jerusalem. Rahab (“the proud one”) was another name for Egypt.
87:7 Those who sing and dance for joy will acknowledge that the source of their blessing and abundance comes from Zion, pointing to the God who dwells there.
Application: Our trust and resultant praise of God should attract others to trust Him, and thus repeat the process, magnifying His name.
Prayer: God, thanks for dwelling in the midst of Your people, answering my prayers, and being my source of joy. May my praise cause others to speak well of You and seek You. Amen.
Proverbs 21:9-10 Home Sweet Attic
Pr 21:9 “It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman. 10 The soul of the wicked craves evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.”
Observations: 21:9 Another one of the “betters” in Proverbs. The corner of a roof was exposed to storms and winds, but that would be preferable to being in a house with a contentious stormy woman. Proverbs has no less than four variations on this theme. Proverbs 28:25 reveals that pride is the source of strife, while 29:22 states it is anger. Both are related. When one fails to get their worth and value from pleasing God, and having Him meet their needs, they seek it at the expense of others. When they don't get worth and value from others meeting their needs, they get angry and cause contention. Like that's gonna work.
21:10 A wicked person is one who recites but doesn't apply God's word (Ps 50). As a result of their disobedience, God doesn't meet their needs and desires. So they crave fulfillment outside of God's will (evil). They show no other-centered love nor favor to their neighbor, because they are totally focused on themselves and their lust.
Application: Seeking to meet the needs of others, while trusting God to meet our needs is the path to enjoying a satisfying life.
Prayer: God, may I crave loving You and loving my neighbor more than getting my needs met. Amen.
Jeremiah 26-29 In these chapters Jeremiah has to contend with a bunch of people doing Satan's will rather than God's. From wicked ritualists, to false prophets, everyone is out to do in Jeremiah, and overthrow God's word. Yet God remains faithful to His promise that they won't prevail, and delivers promises of deliverance and prosperity to those who seek Him wholeheartedly.
Jeremiah 26 Saved by a History Lesson
26:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Yahweh, saying, 2 Thus says Yahweh: Stand in the court of Yahweh’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Yahweh’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them; don’t diminish a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may repent of the evil which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings. 4 You shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, even rising up early and sending them, but you have not listened; 6 then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahweh. 8 It happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, you shall surely die. 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? All the people were gathered to Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of Yahweh; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Yahweh’s house. 11 Then spoke the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears. 12 Then spoke Jeremiah to all the princes and to all the people, saying, Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Yahweh your God; and Yahweh will repent him of the evil that he has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as is good and right in your eyes. 15 Only know for certain that, if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for of a truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.
16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God. 17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls. 20 There was also a man who prophesied in the name of Yahweh, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: 21 and when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt: 22 and Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt; 23 and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. 24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Observations: 26:1-15 God commands Jeremiah to deliver His message to the religious ritual folks that judgment was coming if they didn't pay attention to God's word and do it. God makes a great offer: if they repent, He will relent. (Both the message and offer should sound if familiar if you've been reading your Bible with your eyes open.) Shiloh was where the Tabernacle had stood, the first location of God's presence before the temple. It was now a wilderness. Note the conditional aspect of God's purpose; His actions are totally conditional, depending on the free-will choices of His people. They choose to not fear Him and lay hold of Jeremiah to kill him, because he said something “hurtful.” Jeremiah’s response is to admonish them to amend/correct their ways, and remind them that shedding innocent blood isn't kosher. At this stage Jeremiah wasn't enjoying life, and knew what was coming, so leaving the planet was looking pretty good.
26:16-24 The princes and people didn't have the vested interest in preserving the religious status quo as did the priests and (bogus) prophets, so Jeremiah was saved by a history lesson, about Hezekiah and Micah. (Uriah on the other hand feared men and was slain by them.) Ahikam who had been sent by Josiah to consult the prophetess Huldah when the book of the law was discovered (2Kg 22:12-14) champions Jeremiah's cause.
Application: Those who fear God are receptive to His truth; those who don't fear Him delight in insincere ritual.
Prayer: God, may I be faithful to do and declare Your truth, regardless of whether it is in or out of season, welcomed or warred against. Thanks that I can trust in Your protection until Your purposes are accomplished. Amen.
Jeremiah 27 The Yoke's On You
12 I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 15 For I have not sent them, says Yahweh, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you. 16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Don’t listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Yahweh’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Don’t listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city become a desolation? 18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don’t go to Babylon. 19 For thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 yes, thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, says Yahweh; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
Observations: 27:1-11 God has Jeremiah deliver an object lesson to the surrounding nations, announcing His plan to put all nations under Babylon, and then destroy Babylon. He wants to show that He is the Creator God, not the false gods they worship (whose job was to protect the people of their land). By making them vassals to Babylon, and then destroying Babylon, Yahweh would demonstrate His sovereignty.
27:12-22 Jeremiah personally told Zedekiah and the priests not to listen to the false prophets who would tell them not to go to Babylon. If they didn't go, they would die. Jeremiah also prophesied that the temple vessels would return to Jerusalem when God restored them and the people. He issues a challenge to the false prophets to intercede with God for the remaining vessels of the temple, if they are indeed prophets of Yahweh.
Application: Security is found in obeying God's revealed will, even in the midst of judgment.
Prayer: God, please give me the grace to remain in circumstance that aren't to my liking until Your good purposes are accomplished in my life. Thanks. Amen.
Jeremiah 28 False Prophet Busted
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it. 11 Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. The prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus says Yahweh: you have broken the bars of wood; but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also. 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah: Yahweh has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth: this year you shall die, because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh. 17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Observations: 28:1-17 Hananiah sounds pretty convincing, announcing a message from Yahweh, that in two years there will be peace, and the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar will be broken. But God reconfirms His word to Jeremiah indicating that Hananiah will be dead withing the year. And it was so.
Application: False prophets may sound convincing, but their folly of contradicting God's word will be exposed, as will that of those who follow them.
Prayer: Lord, help me know Your word and promises so I can develop discernment and not be deceived by those who don't know You in truth, nor teach Your word accurately. Amen.
Jeremiah 29 Seek Wholeheartedly and Find
8 For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Don’t let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them, says Yahweh. 10 For thus says Yahweh, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. 12 You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says Yahweh, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahweh; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.
15 Because you have said, Yahweh has raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who haven’t gone forth with you into captivity; 17 Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can’t be eaten, they are so bad. 19 because they have not listened to my words, says Yahweh, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, but you would not hear, says Yahweh. 21 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes; 22 and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 because they have worked folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them; and I am he who knows, and am witness, says Yahweh.
24 Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 25 Thus speaks Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Yahweh, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles. 27 Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you, 28 because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit? 29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn’t send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie; 32 therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people, says Yahweh, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.
Observations: 29:1-14 God has plans for the captives for good, not evil, a message of hope and encouragement, saying He will bring them back after 70 years. Therefore they should prosper in Babylon and pray for its peace, since it was also their peace. If they seek God wholeheartedly, they will find Him, and He will answer their prayers. Not all Israel returned, nor sought Him wholeheartedly, so many consider the regathering from the nations a promise that goes beyond the return from Babylon (which is made explicit in other places like chapter 31).
29:15-23 God corrects a couple of misconceptions about false prophets and those who remained in Jerusalem. He didn't sent them the false prophets in Babylon (although Daniel and Ezekiel are exceptions); those who remained in Jerusalem will be shortly destroyed; and He definitely didn't send two guys, Zedekiah and Ahab, who became BBQ and a curse.
29:24-32 Another false prophet, Shemaiah, sends a letter in the name of Yahweh, denouncing Jeremiah for delivering the Lord's message at the beginning of the chapter. God says He will destroy him and his house.
Application: Wholeheartedly seek and find God, and experience the good plans He has for you.
Prayer: Gracious God, thanks that You accept back Your people who repent, and still want a relationship with them; may I wholeheartedly seek You every day. Amen.
Digging Deeper:
God in a nutshell: God has gracious plans to bless His people which should give them hope in difficult times. He watches over them even while disciplining them, because His goal is not ruin, but a relationship with Himself. He can be found when we seek Him wholeheartedly. He judges false prophets with punishment and total destruction, for they are used by Satan to try to lead His people astray. He can take care of His servants.
Us in a nutshell: We can experience God's best by responding obediently to Him, even while reaping negative consequences for our sin (Plan B). If we seek Him wholeheartedly, Plan B can even seem like Plan A (after we get over the pain). Those who seek to serve Him, will encounter opposition, but God will protect them until His purposes are accomplished.
Where to Go for More:
Truthbase.net
Jeremiah complete text
Jeremiah 26
26:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Yahweh, saying, 2 Thus says Yahweh: Stand in the court of Yahweh’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Yahweh’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them; don’t diminish a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings. 4 You shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, even rising up early and sending them, but you have not listened; 6 then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahweh. 8 It happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, you shall surely die. 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? All the people were gathered to Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of Yahweh; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Yahweh’s house. 11 Then spoke the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears. 12 Then spoke Jeremiah to all the princes and to all the people, saying, Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13 Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Yahweh your God; and Yahweh will repent him of the evil that he has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as is good and right in your eyes. 15 Only know for certain that, if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for of a truth Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.
16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God. 17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favour of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls. 20 There was also a man who prophesied in the name of Yahweh, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath Jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: 21 and when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt: 22 and Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt; 23 and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. 24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Jeremiah 27
27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 2 Thus says Yahweh to me: Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck; 3 and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah; 4 and give them a command to their masters, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, you shall tell your masters: 5 I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me. 6 Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant. 8 It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says Yahweh, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 But as for you, don’t you listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10 for they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and you should perish. 11 But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land, says Yahweh; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
12 I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 15 For I have not sent them, says Yahweh, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you. 16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Don’t listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Yahweh’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Don’t listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city become a desolation? 18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don’t go to Babylon. 19 For thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 yes, thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, says Yahweh; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
Jeremiah 28
28:1 It happened the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Yahweh, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 2 Thus speaks Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Yahweh’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon: 4 and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, who went to Babylon, says Yahweh; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of Yahweh, 6 even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: Yahweh do so; Yahweh perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Yahweh’s house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon to this place. 7 Nevertheless hear you now this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people: 8 The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. 9 The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall happen, then shall the prophet be known, that Yahweh has truly sent him.
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it. 11 Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. The prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus says Yahweh: you have broken the bars of wood; but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also. 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah: Yahweh has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth: this year you shall die, because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh. 17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Jeremiah 29
29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2 (after that Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem), 3 by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), saying, 4 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and don’t be diminished. 7 Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.
8 For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Don’t let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them, says Yahweh. 10 For thus says Yahweh, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. 12 You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says Yahweh, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahweh; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.
15 Because you have said, Yahweh has raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who haven’t gone forth with you into captivity; 17 thus says Yahweh of Hosts; Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can’t be eaten, they are so bad. 18 I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them; 19 because they have not listened to my words, says Yahweh, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear, says Yahweh. 20 Hear therefore the word of Yahweh, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes; 22 and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 because they have worked folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them; and I am he who knows, and am witness, says Yahweh.
24 Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 25 Thus speaks Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Yahweh, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles. 27 Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you, 28 because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit? 29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn’t send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie; 32 therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people, says Yahweh, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.
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