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Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies
28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,(A) 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.(B) 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.(C) 4 I will also bring back to this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”(D)
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah 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, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles.(E) 7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.(F) 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.(G) 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”(H)
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.(I) 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: This is how I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went his way.(J)
12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:(K) 13 Go, tell Hananiah, Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars only to forge iron bars in place of them!(L) 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations so that they may serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they shall indeed serve him; I have even given him the wild animals.(M) 15 And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you made this people trust in a lie.(N) 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to send you off the face of the earth. Within this year you will be dead, for you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.”(O)
17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles in Babylon
29 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.(P) 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar 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:(Q) 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they 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.(R) 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.(S) 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams that you dream,(T) 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.(U)
10 For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.(V) 11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.(W) 12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.(X) 13 When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,(Y) 14 I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.(Z)
15 Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16 thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who live in this city, your kinsfolk who did not go out with you into exile:(AA) 17 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to let loose on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like rotten figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.(AB) 18 I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of cursing and horror and hissing and a derision among all the nations where I have driven them,(AC) 19 because they did not heed my words, says the Lord, when I persistently sent to them my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, says the Lord.(AD) 20 But now, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word of the Lord:(AE) 21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: I am going to deliver them into the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall kill them before your eyes. 22 And on account of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,”(AF) 23 because they have perpetrated outrage in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them; I am the one who knows and bears witness, says the Lord.(AG)
The Letter of Shemaiah
24 To Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: In your own name you sent letters to all the people who are in Jerusalem and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to all the priests, saying,(AH) 26 The Lord himself has made you priest instead of the priest Jehoiada, so that there may be officers in the house of the Lord to control any madman who plays the prophet, to put him in the stocks and the collar.(AI) 27 So now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who plays the prophet for you? 28 For he has actually sent to us in Babylon, saying, “It will be a long time; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat what they produce.”
29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah. 30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 Send to all the exiles, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and has led you to trust in a lie,(AJ) 32 therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants; he shall not have anyone living among this people to see[a] the good that I am going to do to my people, says the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.(AK)
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,(A)
2 To Timothy, my true child[a] in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.(B)
Warning against False Teachers
3 I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings(C) 4 and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training[b] that is known by faith.(D) 5 But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.(E) 6 Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately; 9 this means understanding that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers,(F) 10 the sexually immoral, men who engage in illicit sex,[c] slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching(G) 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I was entrusted.
Gratitude for Mercy
12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful and appointed me to his service,(H) 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,(I) 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me[d] with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.(J) 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.(K) 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience as an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible,[e] the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.[f] Amen.(L)
18 This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,(M) 19 having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith;(N) 20 among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme.(O)
Psalm 86
Supplication for Help against Enemies
A Prayer of David.
1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.(A)
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God;(B) 3 be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all day long.(C)
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.(D)
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.(E)
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.(F)
7 In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me.(G)
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.(H)
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.(I)
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.(J)
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.(K)
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.(L)
14 O God, the insolent rise up against me;
a band of ruffians seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.(M)
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.(N)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the child of your maidservant.(O)
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.(P)
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
lest the neighbor become weary of you and hate you.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.