Bible in 90 Days

False Preachers and Empty Words

⁹ As for the men who speak for God, my heart is broken within me. All my bones shake. I have become like a drunk man, like a man who has had too much wine, because of the Lord and because of His holy words. ¹⁰ For the land is full of people who are not faithful. Because of the bad things that have come upon it, the land is filled with sorrow, and the fields of the desert have dried up. Their way is sinful, and they use their power in a wrong way. ¹¹ “For both the men of God and the religious leaders are sinful. I have found their sin even in My house,” says the Lord. ¹² “So their way will be a danger to them. They will be driven away into the darkness and fall down in it. For I will bring much trouble upon them in the year of their punishment,” says the Lord.

¹³ “In Samaria I have seen a very bad thing among the men of Samaria who tell what is going to happen in the future. They speak for the false god Baal, and have led My people into sin. ¹⁴ In Jerusalem I have seen a very sinful thing among the men of Jerusalem who tell what is going to happen in the future. They do sex sins and tell lies, and give help to those who do sinful things, so that no one turns from his sin. All of them have become like Sodom to Me. The people of Jerusalem have become like Gomorrah.” ¹⁵ So the Lord of All says about the men who tell what is going to happen in the future, “See, I will make them eat bitter food and drink water with poison. For from these men of Jerusalem sin has gone out into all the land.”

¹⁶ The Lord of All says, “Do not listen to the words of those who are telling you what will happen in the future. They are filling you with empty hopes. They tell of dreams from their own thoughts, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷ They keep saying to those who hate Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace.”’ To every one who walks in the strong-will of his own heart, they say, ‘Trouble will not come to you.’ ¹⁸ But who among them has listened to the Lord, that he should see and hear His Word? Who has given thought to His Word and listened? ¹⁹ See, the strong wind storm of the Lord has gone out in anger. It will come down upon the head of the sinful. ²⁰ The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has done all that He has planned in His heart. In the last days you will understand. ²¹ I did not send these men who say they speak for God, yet they ran to tell their news. I did not speak to them, yet they spoke in My name. ²² But if they had listened to Me, then they would have made My words known to My people. And they would have turned them back from their sinful way and from the sinful things they did.”

²³ “Am I a God Who is near,” says the Lord, “and not a God Who is far away? ²⁴ Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?” says the Lord. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

²⁵ “I have heard what the men say who speak false words in My name. They say, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ ²⁶ How long will there be lies in the hearts of those who speak false words in My name, who speak the lies of their own heart? ²⁷ They plan to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they tell one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal. ²⁸ The one who has a dream may tell about his dream, but let him who has My Word speak My Word in truth. How can straw be compared with grain?” says the Lord. ²⁹ “Is not My Word like fire,” says the Lord, “and like iron that breaks a rock in pieces? ³⁰ So I am against those who tell what is going to happen in the future,” says the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. ³¹ See, I am against these men,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘This is what the Lord says.’ ³² I am against those who have told false dreams,” says the Lord, “and have led My people the wrong way by their lies and foolish words of pride. I did not send them or tell them what to say, so they do not help these people at all,” says the Lord.

³³ “When these people, or the one who speaks in My name, or a religious leader asks you, ‘What heavy load has the Lord placed on us?’ then you say to them, ‘You are the heavy load. And I will throw you off, says the Lord.’ ³⁴ As for the man who speaks in My name, or the religious leader, or anyone of the people, who say, ‘The heavy load of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and those of his house. ³⁵ Each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord said?’ ³⁶ But you must not say, ‘The heavy load of the Lord,’ any more. For every man’s own word will be the weight upon himself. And you have made sinful the words of the living God, the Lord of All, our God. ³⁷ This is what you should say to the man who speaks in My name: ‘What answer has the Lord given you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord said?’ ³⁸ But if you say, ‘The heavy load of the Lord,’ then the Lord says, ‘You have said, “The heavy load of the Lord,” when I told you not to say it.’ ³⁹ So I will pick you up and throw you away from Me, together with the city which I gave to you and your fathers. ⁴⁰ I will put you to shame forever. You will always be ashamed, and it will not be forgotten.”

The Two Baskets of Figs

24 After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the leaders of Judah, together with the able workmen from Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs set in front of the house of the Lord. ² One basket had very good figs, like figs just ready to eat. And the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. ³ Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

⁴ Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so will I think of the people of Judah as being good, whom I have sent away from this place into the land of the Babylonians. ⁶ For I will keep My eyes on them for their good, and I will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not pull them up by the roots. ⁷ And I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord. They will be My people and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.’

⁸ “But the Lord says, ‘Like the bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten, so I will give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his captains. And I will give up those left of Jerusalem who stay in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. ⁹ I will make them a cause of fear and trouble for all the nations of the earth. They will be a shame and a curse and spoken against in all the places where I will make them go. ¹⁰ And I will send the sword and hunger and disease upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.’”

Seventy Years of Not Being Free

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah. (That was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.) ² Jeremiah the man of God spoke this word to all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, saying, ³ “These twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, until this day, the Word of the Lord has come to me. And I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. ⁴ The Lord has sent to you all his servants who have spoken for Him again and again, but you have not listened or turned your ear to hear. ⁵ They have said, ‘Every one of you turn now from your sinful way and the sinful things you do, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. ⁶ Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them. Do not make Me angry with the work you do, and I will not hurt you.’ ⁷ Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord. “You have made Me angry with the work of your hands to your own hurt. ⁸ “So the Lord of All says, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹ I will send for all the families of the north. And I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its people, and against all these nations around you. I will make a complete end of them. I will destroy them all and make them an object of fear and hate, and a waste place forever. ¹⁰ I will also take from them the voice of joy, the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride. I will take from them the sound of the grinding stones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole land will be a waste and a cause of fear. And these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

¹² ‘Then when seventy years have past, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, and the land of the Babylonians, for their sin,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will make that land a waste forever. ¹³ I will bring upon that land all My words which I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has spoken against all the nations. ¹⁴ They themselves will be made to serve many nations and great kings. I will pay them for what they have done, and for the work of their hands.’”

The Cup of God’s Anger

¹⁵ For the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of anger from My hand. And make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶ They will drink and have trouble walking and become crazy because of the sword that I will send among them.” ¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it. ¹⁸ I was sent to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, to its kings and its leaders, to make them a waste, an object of fear and hate, and a curse, as it is this day. ¹⁹ I was sent to Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his sons, and to all his people. ²⁰ I was sent to all the people from different countries, all the kings of the land of Uz, and to all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and those left of Ashdod). ²¹ I was sent to Edom, Moab, the sons of Ammon, ²² and to all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and to the kings of the lands across the sea. ²³ I was sent to Dedan, Tema, Buz, to all who are far away in their lands, ²⁴ to the kings of Arabia, and to all the kings of the different people who live in the desert. ²⁵ I was sent to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, all the kings of Media, ²⁶ and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one after another. I was sent to all the nations on the earth. And after them the king of Sheshach will drink.

²⁷ “Then you will say to them, ‘The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Drink, be drunk, throw up, fall, and get up no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”’ ²⁸ And if they will not take the cup from your hand to drink, then say to them, ‘The Lord of All says, “You must drink! ²⁹ See, I am beginning to make trouble in this city which is called by My name. And will you not be punished? You will not be free from punishment, for I am bringing a sword against all the people of the earth,” says the Lord of All.’

³⁰ “So you should speak all these words against them. Tell them, ‘The Lord will sound from on high. His voice will be heard from His holy place. He will call out in a loud voice against his flock. He will call out like those who crush the grapes, against all the people of the earth. ³¹ The noise will go to the ends of the earth, because the Lord has something against the nations. He is deciding what should be done with all flesh. As for the sinful, He has given them to the sword,’” says the Lord.

³² The Lord of All says, “See, sinful ways are spreading from nation to nation. A powerful storm is moving from the farthest parts of the earth. ³³ Those killed by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. No one will cry for them or gather up the bodies and bury them. They will be like animal waste on the ground. ³⁴ Cry in a loud voice, you shepherds. And roll in ashes, you leaders of the flock. For the days for you to be killed and sent everywhere have come, and you will fall and be broken like a fine pot. ³⁵ The shepherds will have no place to run. And the leaders of the flock will have no place to get away. ³⁶ Listen to the cry of the shepherds and the loud cry of the leaders of the flock! For the Lord is destroying their field. ³⁷ The fields of peace are laid waste because of the burning anger of the Lord. ³⁸ He has left His hiding place like a lion. For their land has become a cause of much fear because of the sword of the one who makes it hard for them, and because of the Lord’s burning anger.”

Jeremiah’s Trial

26 In the beginning of the rule of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand in the open space of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the Lord’s house. Tell them all the words that I have told you to say to them. Do not leave out one word! ³ It may be they will listen and everyone will turn from his sinful way. Then I may change My mind about the trouble I plan to put on them because of the sinful things they have done.’ ⁴ And tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “If you will not listen to Me and follow My Law which I have set before you, ⁵ and if you do not listen to the words of My servants who speak for Me, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened, ⁶ then I will make this House of God like Shiloh. And I will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

⁷ The religious leaders and the men of God 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 told him to speak to all the people, the religious leaders and men of God and all the people took hold of him, saying, “You must die! ⁹ Why have you spoken in the name of the Lord saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be laid waste with no one living in it’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰ When the leaders of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat beside the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹ Then the religious leaders and men of God said to the leaders and to all the people, “This man must die! For he has spoken against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” ¹² Then Jeremiah said to all the leaders and to all the people, “The Lord sent me to speak against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³ So now change your ways and your works, and obey the voice of the Lord your God. Then the Lord will change His mind about the trouble He has said would come to you. ¹⁴ But as for me, see, I am in your hands. Do with me what is good and right in your eyes. ¹⁵ Only know for sure that if you put me to death, you will bring the sin of killing a man who is not guilty on yourselves, on this city, and on its people. For it is true that the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words for you to hear.”

¹⁶ Then the leaders and all the people said to the religious leaders and men of God, “No, this man should not be put to death! For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷ Then some of the leaders of the land stood up and said to all the people who had gathered, ¹⁸ “Micah of Moresheth spoke in God’s name in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah. He said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of All has said: Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will be destroyed. And trees will cover the mountain where the Lord’s house is.’ ¹⁹ Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all the people of Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and pray for the Lord’s favor? And the Lord changed His mind about the trouble He had said would come to them. But we are about to bring a very bad thing on ourselves.”

²⁰ There was another man who spoke in the name of the Lord. He was Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He spoke against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim and all his powerful men and all his leaders heard his words, the king wanted to put Uriah to death. But Uriah heard about it, and he was afraid and ran away to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him to Egypt. ²³ And they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who killed him with a sword. Then he threw his dead body where most people are buried.

²⁴ But Ahikam the son of Shaphan helped Jeremiah, so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Judah Will Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the rule of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ² The Lord said to me, “Make ropes and a cross-bar for carrying a load, and put them on your neck. ³ Then send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon. Send them with the men who bring news to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. ⁴ Tell them to go to their leaders, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, and this is what you should say to your leaders: ⁵ “I have made the earth, and the men and the animals that are on it by My great power and by My long arm. And I will give it to the one who is right in My eyes. ⁶ Now I have given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant. And I have given him the wild animals of the field to serve him. ⁷ All the nations will serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time for his land comes. Then many nations and great kings will make him their servant. ⁸ But if any nation will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the load of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, hunger, and disease,” says the Lord, “until I have destroyed it by his hand. ⁹ So do not listen to your men who tell of their special dreams, your men who tell what is going to happen in the future, or your wonder workers who use their secret ways. They say to you, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon.’ ¹⁰ But they are lying to you, and will cause you to be taken far from your land. I will drive you out, and you will die. ¹¹ But the nation that brings its neck under the cross-bar of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will let stay on its own land,” says the Lord. “And its people will take care of the fields and live there.”’”

¹² I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way, saying, “Bring your necks under the cross-bar of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and live! ¹³ Why will you and your people die by the sword, hunger, and disease, as the Lord has said would happen to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Do not listen to the men who tell of their dreams and say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they are telling you a lie. ¹⁵ I have not sent them,” says the Lord. “They speak false words in My name, so that I may drive you out, and that you may die, both you and the men who tell these things to you.”

¹⁶ Then I said to the religious leaders and to all these people, “The Lord says: Do not listen to the men who speak in God’s name saying, ‘See, the objects of the Lord’s house will soon be returned from Babylon,’ for they are telling you a lie. ¹⁷ Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city be destroyed? ¹⁸ But if they are true men of God, and if the Word of the Lord is with them, let them now pray to the Lord of All. Let them ask that the objects which 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 For this is what the Lord of All says about the pillars, the brass pool, the stands, and the rest of the objects that are left in this city. ²⁰ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take these things from Jerusalem to Babylon when he took Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ So this is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says about the objects that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem. He says, ²² ‘They will be carried to Babylon, and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back to this place.’”

Jeremiah and the False Preacher Hananiah

28 In that same year, in the beginning of the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the man from Gibeon who told what would happen in the future, spoke to me in the house of the Lord. He said to me in front of the religious leaders and all the people, ² “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the crossbar across the shoulders of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I will bring back to this place all the objects of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from here and carried to Babylon. ⁴ I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the people of Judah who were taken to Babylon,’ says the Lord. ‘For I will break the cross-bar of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵ Then Jeremiah, the man of God, spoke to Hananiah, the man who told what would happen, in front of the religious leaders and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. ⁶ And Jeremiah, the man who spoke for God, said, “Let it be so! May the Lord do so. May the Lord make the words you have spoken come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the objects of the Lord’s house and all the people of Judah. ⁷ Yet listen now to what I am about to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The men who spoke for God before us from long ago spoke of war and trouble and disease coming to many lands and great nations. ⁹ As for the man who told that peace would come, when his word comes to pass, then that man will be known as the one that the Lord has sent.” ¹⁰ Then Hananiah, the man who told what would happen, took the cross-bar from the neck of Jeremiah the man of God and broke it. ¹¹ And Hananiah said in front of all the people, “The Lord says, ‘In this way I will break the cross-bar of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.’” Then Jeremiah the man of God went his way.

¹² Some time after Hananiah had broken the cross-bar from off the neck of Jeremiah, the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘The Lord says, “You have broken the cross-bars of wood, but you have made bars of iron in their place.” ¹⁴ For the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “I have put the cross-bar of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And they will serve him. I have given him the animals of the field also.”’” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah who spoke for God said to Hananiah who told what would happen, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you. And you have made these people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ So the Lord says, ‘See, I am about to take you from the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have spoken against the right and power of the Lord.’” ¹⁷ So Hananiah, who had said these things in God’s name, died in the seventh month of the same year.

Jeremiah’s Letter to Those Taken to Babylon

29 These are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the man of God sent from Jerusalem to the leaders, the religious leaders, the men of God, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the king’s servants, the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem, and the able workmen had left Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent with Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said, ⁴ “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says to all of His people who have been sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ ‘Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit. ⁶ Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters. And take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may give birth to sons and daughters. Become many there, and do not let your number become less. ⁷ Work for the well-being of the city where I have sent you to and pray to the Lord for this. For if it is well with the city you live in, it will be well with you.’ ⁸ For the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, ‘Do not let the people among you who tell what is going to happen in the future and those who use their secret ways fool you. Do not listen to their dreams. ⁹ For they speak false words to you in My name. I have not sent them,’ says the Lord.

¹⁰ “For the Lord says, ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My promise to you. I will bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will bring you back and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have made you go,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you away.’

¹⁵ “You have said that the Lord has given men who speak for Him in Babylon. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord says about the king who sits on the throne of David, and about all the people who live in this city, your brothers who were not taken with you to Babylon. ¹⁷ The Lord of All says, ‘I am sending the sword, hunger, and disease upon them. I will make them like bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸ I will go after them with the sword, hunger, and disease, and will make them a cause of trouble to all the nations of the earth. They will be a curse, an object of much shame and hate among all the nations where I have made them go. ¹⁹ This is because they have not listened to My words,’ says the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants who spoke for Me. And you did not listen,’ says the Lord. ²⁰ So hear the Word of the Lord, all you people who have been sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says about Ahab the son of Kolaiah and about Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are speaking false words to you in My name: ‘See, I will give them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will kill them in front of your eyes. ²² Because of them a curse will be used by all the people who are from Judah but are in Babylon: “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.” ²³ This is because they have done what is foolish in Israel. They have done sex sins with their neighbors’ wives. And they have spoken false words in My name, which I did not tell them to speak. I am He Who knows, and I see what they have done,’ says the Lord.”

The Letter to Shemaiah

²⁴ And say to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ²⁵ “This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the religious leader, and to all the religious leaders. You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶ “The Lord has made you the religious leader over the house of the Lord instead of Jehoiada. You are to take every crazy man who says he speaks in God’s name and put him in chains with iron around his neck. ²⁷ So why have you not spoken sharp words to Jeremiah of Anathoth who is speaking to you in God’s name? ²⁸ For he has sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘You will be held there for a long time. So build houses and live in them. And plant gardens and eat their fruit.’”’”

²⁹ Zephaniah the religious leader read this letter to Jeremiah the man of God. ³⁰ Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹ “Send word to all My people held in Babylon, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah has spoken to you in My name, but I did not send him. He has made you trust in a lie.’ ³² So the Lord says, ‘I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his children after him. He will not have anyone living among these people. And he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,’ says the Lord, ‘because he has spoken against Me.’”

Israel and Judah to Be Free Again

30 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words which I have spoken to you. ³ For the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will bring back My people Israel and Judah from where they are held.’ The Lord says, ‘I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers before them, and it will be theirs.’”

⁴ These are the words which the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah: ⁵ “The Lord says, ‘I have heard cries of much trouble, of being afraid, and there is no peace. ⁶ Ask now and see, can a man give birth to a child? Why do I see every man with his hands on his body like a woman giving birth? Why have all faces turned white? ⁷ That day will be very bad! There is none like it. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he will be saved out of it. ⁸ On that day,’ says the Lord of All, ‘I will break the cross-bar off from their neck, and will tear off their chains. Strangers will no longer make them their servants. ⁹ But they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. ¹⁰ So do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant,’ says the Lord, ‘and do not be troubled, O Israel, for see, from far away I will save you and your children from the land where they are being held. Jacob will return and have quiet rest, and no one will make him afraid. ¹¹ For I am with you to save you,’ says the Lord. ‘I will make a complete end of all the nations where I have sent you. I will not make a complete end of you, but I will give you the right punishment. I will not let you go without being punished.’

¹² “For the Lord says, ‘Your hurt cannot be healed. Your hurt is very bad. ¹³ There is no one to ask for you in your cause, no help for your hurt, no healing for you. ¹⁴ All your lovers have forgotten you. They do not care about you. For I have hurt you as if you were hurt by one who hates you. You have been punished without pity, because you have much guilt. You have done many sins. ¹⁵ Why do you cry out because of your hurt? Your pain cannot be healed. Because you have much guilt and have done many sins, I have done these things to you. ¹⁶ But all who destroy you will be destroyed. Every one of those who hate you will be taken away against their will. Those who rob you will be robbed, and all who hurt you will be hurt. ¹⁷ For I will heal you. I will heal you where you have been hurt,’ says the Lord, ‘because they have said that you are not wanted. They have said, “It is Zion. No one cares for her.”’

¹⁸ “The Lord says, ‘I will bring the tents of Jacob back from Babylon, and will have pity on his houses. The city will be built up again on its broken walls. And the king’s house will stand where it used to be. ¹⁹ The people who live there will give much thanks and happy voices will be heard. And I will add to their numbers. They will not be made less. I will honor them, and they will be important. ²⁰ Their children will be as they were before. They will be a strong people before Me. And I will punish all those who make it hard for them. ²¹ Their leader will be one of them. Their ruler will come from among them. I will bring him near, and he will come close to Me. For who would have the strength of heart to come near Me on his own?’ says the Lord. ²² ‘And you will be My people, and I will be your God.’”

²³ See the storm of the Lord! Anger has gone out, a very bad storm. It will break upon the heads of the sinful. ²⁴ The burning anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has done what He has planned in His heart to do. In days to come you will understand this.

Israel Returns Home

31 “At that time,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.” ² The Lord says, “The people who were not killed by the sword found loving-favor in the desert, when Israel looked for rest.” ³ The Lord came to us from far away, saying, “I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. So I have helped you come to Me with loving-kindness. ⁴ Again I will build you, and you will be built, O pure Israel! Again you will take up your brass noise-makers and go to the dances of the happy people. ⁵ Again you will plant grape-fields on the hills of Samaria. The planters will plant and find joy in the fruit. ⁶ For there will be a day when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim will call out, ‘Get up, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’”

⁷ For the Lord says, “Sing loud with joy for Jacob, and call out among the heads of the nations. Make it known, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save Your people. Save those who are left of Israel.’ ⁸ See, I am bringing them from the north country. And I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth. Among them will be the blind and those who cannot walk, the woman with child and she who is giving birth, together. Many people will return here. ⁹ They will come crying, and in answer to their prayers, I will lead them. I will make them walk by rivers of waters on a straight path where they will not fall. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My first-born.”

¹⁰ Hear the Word of the Lord, O nations, and make it known in the lands far across the sea. Say, “He Who sent Israel everywhere will gather them, and will watch over His flock like a shepherd.” ¹¹ For the Lord has paid the price to make Jacob free. He has made him free from the one who was stronger than he. ¹² And they will come and call out for joy on the height of Zion. They will shine with joy over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the cattle. Their life will be like a well-watered garden. They will never have sorrow again. ¹³ Then the young women who have never had a man will dance for joy, and the young men and old as well. For I will change their sorrow to joy, and will comfort them. I will give them joy for their sorrow. ¹⁴ I will fill the soul of the religious leaders with more than they need. My people will be filled with My goodness,” says the Lord.

The Lord Shows His Loving-Kindness on Israel

¹⁵ The Lord says, “The sound of crying and much sorrow is heard in Ramah. Rachel is crying for her children. She will not be comforted because they are dead.” ¹⁶ The Lord says, “Keep your voice from crying and your eyes from tears. For you will receive pay for your work,” says the Lord. “They will return from the land of those who hate them. ¹⁷ There is hope for your future,” says the Lord, “and your children will return to their own land. ¹⁸ I have heard Ephraim crying in sorrow, ‘You have punished me, and I was punished, like a calf that has not learned. Bring me back that I may return to my place, for You are the Lord my God. ¹⁹ For after I turned back, I was sorry for my sins. And after I was taught, I hit my upper leg in sorrow. I was ashamed and troubled, because I suffered the shame from what I did when I was young.’ ²⁰ Is Ephraim My loved son? Is he the child of My joy? Yes, as many times as I have spoken against him, I still remember him. So My heart has a desire for him. For sure I will have loving-pity on him,” says the Lord.

²¹ “Set up marks on the road for yourself. Set up marks to lead you the right way. Remember the way you went, and return, O pure Israel. Return to your cities. ²² How long will you go here and there, O daughter without faith? For the Lord has made a new thing on the earth: A woman will keep a man safe.”

Good Will Come to God’s People

²³ The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “When I bring them back to their own land, once again the people in the land of Judah and in its cities will speak these words: ‘May the Lord bring good to you, O place that is right with God, O holy hill!’ ²⁴ The people of Judah and all its cities will live there together, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. ²⁵ For I will help the tired ones and give strength to everyone who is weak.” ²⁶ At this I woke up and looked, and my sleep was pleasing to me.

²⁷ “See, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will plant the people of Israel and the people of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of animal. ²⁸ And as I have watched over them to pull up, to break down, to take power away, to destroy, and to bring trouble, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” says the Lord. ²⁹ “In those days they will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children got the sour taste.’ ³⁰ But every one will die for his own sin. Each man who eats the sour grapes will get the sour taste. ³¹ The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a New Way of Worship for the Jews and those of the family group of Judah. ³² The New Way of Worship will not be like the Old Way of Worship I gave to their early fathers. That was when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. But they did not follow the Old Way of Worship, even when I was a husband to them,” says the Lord. ³³ “This is the New Way of Worship that I will give to the Jews. When that day comes,” says the Lord, “I will put My Law into their minds. And I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. ³⁴ No one will need to teach his neighbor or his brother to know the Lord. All of them will already know Me from the least to the greatest,” says the Lord. “I will forgive their sins. I will remember their sins no more.”

³⁵ The Lord, the Lord of All is His name, Who gives the sun for light during the day, and put the moon and the stars in place to give light during the night, Who causes the waves of the sea to make a loud noise, says, ³⁶ “If these laws change before Me, then the children of Israel will stop being a nation before Me forever.” ³⁷ The Lord says, “If one can find out how wide the heavens are, and look through the deepest places of the earth, then I will send all the children of Israel away from Me for all that they have done,” says the Lord.

³⁸ “See, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when the city will be built again for the Lord from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. ³⁹ And its wall will go out farther, straight on to the hill of Gareb. Then it will turn to Goah. ⁴⁰ The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the river Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, will be holy to the Lord. It will never again be pulled up by the roots or destroyed.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ² At that time the army of the king of Babylon was around Jerusalem. And Jeremiah the man of God was shut up in the open space of the prison, in the house of the king of Judah. ³ For King Zedekiah of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you speak these things in the Lord’s name? You have said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am giving this city to the king of Babylon, and he will take it. ⁴ King Zedekiah of Judah will not get away from the Babylonians. For sure he will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵ He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says the Lord. “If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not win.”’”

⁶ Jeremiah said, “The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷ ‘Hanamel, the son of your father’s brother Shallum, will come to you and say, “Buy my field at Anathoth. For because of your place in the family you have the right to buy it.”’ ⁸ Then Hanamel, the son of my father’s brother, came to me in the open space of the prison, as the Word of the Lord had said. And he said to me, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. For you have the right to own it. Because of your place in the family you have the right, so buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the Word of the Lord. ⁹ So I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel, the son of my father’s brother. And I weighed out seventeen pieces of silver for him. ¹⁰ I wrote my name and put my mark on the agreement, and called in people to watch. And I weighed the silver. ¹¹ Then I took the agreement which showed that I had bought the field, both the agreement which was not to be opened, and the open one. ¹² And I gave the written agreement to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. This was seen by Hanamel, the son of my father’s brother, and by those who watched me write my name on the agreement, and by all the Jews who were sitting in the open space of the prison. ¹³ I said to Baruch in front of them, ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: “Take these agreements, both the closed and open one, and put them in a clay jar so they may last a long time.” ¹⁵ For the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Houses and fields and grape-fields will again be bought in this land.”’

Jeremiah’s Prayer

¹⁶ “After I had given the agreement showing I had bought the field to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying, ¹⁷ ‘O Lord God! See, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your long arm! Nothing is too hard for You! ¹⁸ You show loving-kindness to thousands, but put punishment for the sins of fathers on their children after them. O great and powerful God, the Lord of All is Your name. ¹⁹ You are great in wisdom and powerful in Your works. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men. You pay every one for what he does and for the fruit of what he does. ²⁰ You have made special things to see and have done wonders in the land of Egypt, and are still doing them even to this day both in Israel and among all men. You have made a name for Yourself as it is today. ²¹ You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with special things to see and with wonders, and with a strong hand and a long arm, and with much trouble. ²² And You gave them this land which You promised their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³ They came in and took it for their own. But they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your Law. They did not do anything that You told them to do. So You have made all this trouble come upon them. ²⁴ See, a battle-wall has been built up against the city to take it. And the city is given to the Babylonians who fight against it, because of the sword, hunger, and disease. What You have said would happen has now happened, as You see. ²⁵ O Lord God, You have said to me, “Buy the field with money, and call in people to see you buy it,” even though the city will be given over to the Babylonians.”’”

²⁶ Then the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷ “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me? ²⁸ So this is what the Lord says: ‘See, I am giving this city to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. ²⁹ The Babylonians who are fighting against this city will come into it and set this city on fire and burn it. And the houses will burn where people have given special perfume to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink gifts to other gods to make Me angry. ³⁰ For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only what is sinful in My eyes since they were young. The sons of Israel have been only making Me angry by the work of their hands,” says the Lord. ³¹ ‘This city has made Me very angry since the day they built it until now. So I will put it away from before My face ³² because of all the sin of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, which they have done to make Me angry. They have sinned together with their kings, their leaders, their religious leaders, their men who speak in My name, the men of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem. ³³ They have turned their back to Me, and not their face. I taught them again and again, but they would not listen and learn. ³⁴ They put their things that I hate in the house which is called by My name, and made it unclean. ³⁵ They built the high places of the false god Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, to give their sons and daughters as burnt gifts to Molech. I did not tell them to do this hated thing that made Judah sin. It did not even come into My mind.

A Promise for the Future

³⁶ “So now this is what the Lord God of Israel says about this city of which you say, ‘It is given over to the king of Babylon because of the sword, hunger, and disease.’ ³⁷ I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My strong anger. And I will bring them back to this place to live where they will be safe. ³⁸ They will be My people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰ I will make an agreement with them that I will not turn away from them. I will do good to them, an agreement that will last forever. And I will help them fear Me in their hearts so they will not turn away from Me. ⁴¹ I will have joy in doing good to them. And I will be faithful to plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. ⁴² For the Lord says, ‘Just as I brought all this trouble on these people, so I am going to bring all the good on them that I have promised them. ⁴³ Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is a waste, without man or animal. It is given over to the Babylonians.” ⁴⁴ Men will buy fields for money, write their names and put their marks on agreements while people watch them do this in the land of Benjamin and in the places around Jerusalem. Also they will do this in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the Negev. For I will bring them back to their own land,’ says the Lord.”

A Promise of Hope

33 While Jeremiah was still shut up in the open space of the prison, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time, saying, ² “This is what the Lord says Who made the earth. The Lord made it to last. The Lord is His name. ³ ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’ ⁴ For this is what the Lord God of Israel says about the houses of this city and about the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a strong wall to help in the battle against the Babylonians. ⁵ Some will come to fight with the Babylonians, and they will fill the houses with the dead bodies of men whom I have killed in My anger. I will hide My face from this city because of all their sin. ⁶ See, I will make it well again, and I will heal them. I will let them have much peace and truth. ⁷ I will return the land to Judah and to Israel, and I will help them to become as they were before. ⁸ I will make them clean from all the sins they have done against Me. I will forgive all their sins against Me. ⁹ This city will make My name known. It will be to Me joy, praise and shining-greatness before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good that I do for them. And they will fear and shake because of all the good and all the peace that I give it.’

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say of this place, “It is a waste, without man or animal.” Yet in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are laid waste, with no man or animal living in them, there will again be heard ¹¹ the voice of joy and the voice of happiness. In this place will be heard the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride, and the voice of those who say, “Give thanks to the Lord of All, for the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever.” And here will be heard the voice of those who bring a gift of thanks into the house of the Lord. For I will bring them back to the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

¹² “The Lord of All says, ‘This place is now a waste, without man or animal. Yet there will again be shepherds living in this place and in all its cities who can care for their sheep. ¹³ In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the valley, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the land around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.

¹⁴ ‘See, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will do what I promised to the people of Israel and the people of Judah. ¹⁵ In those days and at that time I will cause a right and good Branch of David to rise up. And He will do what is fair and right and good on the earth. ¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will be safe. And this is the name it will be called: The Lord makes us right and good.’ ¹⁷ For the Lord says, ‘David will never be without a man to sit on the throne of the people of Israel. ¹⁸ And the Levite religious leaders will never be without a man before Me to give burnt gifts, to burn grain gifts, and to make gifts ready on the altar all the time.’”

¹⁹ The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break My agreement with the day and night, so that day and night will not come at their set time, ²¹ then My agreement may also be broken with David My servant, that he will not have a son to rule on his throne. And then My agreement may be broken with My servants, the Levite religious leaders. ²² The stars of heaven cannot be numbered, and the sand of the sea cannot be weighed. In the same way I will make the children of David My servant many, as well as the Levites who serve Me.’”