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The False Prophet Hananiah
28 It was in that same year, in the fifth month of Zedekiah’s fourth year as king of Judah [C 593 bc], soon after he began to rule. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord ·in front [L before the eyes] of the priests and all the people. He said: 2 “The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Before two years are over, I will ·bring back [restore] ·everything [L all the vessels] that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took to Babylon from the Lord’s ·Temple [L house]. 4 I will also ·bring back [restore] ·Jehoiachin [L Jeconiah] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other ·captives [exiles] from Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord. ‘So I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah ·in front [L before the eyes] of the priests and all the people who were standing in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! Let the Lord really do that! May the Lord ·make the message you prophesy come true [L confirm your word which you prophesied]. May he ·bring back here [L restore] ·everything [L the vessels] the Lord’s ·Temple [L house] and all the ·people who were taken as captives [exiles] to Babylon.
7 “But listen to ·what I am going to say to you and [L this word which I am speaking in your ears and the ears of] all the people. 8 There were prophets long before we became prophets, Hananiah. They prophesied that war, ·hunger [famine; or disaster; calamity], and ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence] would come to many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But if a prophet prophesies that we will have peace and that message comes true, he can be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord [C prophets usually came announcing judgment not peace].”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and ·broke [shattered] it. 11 Hananiah said ·in front [L before the eyes] of all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He put that yoke on all the nations of the world, but I will break it before two years are over.’” After Hananiah had said that, Jeremiah ·left the Temple [L went on his way].
12 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off of the prophet Jeremiah’s neck. 13 The Lord said, “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but I will make a yoke of iron in its place! 14 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: I will put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will be slaves to him. I will even give Nebuchadnezzar ·control over the wild animals [L the beasts of the field].’ ”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, and you have made the people of Judah ·trust [have confidence] in lies. 16 So this is what the Lord says: ‘Soon I will ·remove you from [L send you off the face of] the earth. You will die this year, because you taught ·the people to turn [rebellion] against the Lord [Deut. 18:20].’”
17 Hananiah died in the seventh month of that same year.
A Letter to the Captives in Babylon
29 This is the ·letter [L words of the scroll] that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders who were among the ·captives [exiles], the priests, and the prophets. He sent it to all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had taken as ·captives [exiles] from Jerusalem to Babylon [C in 597 bc; 2 Kin. 24:12–17; 2 Chr. 36:6–8]. 2 (This ·letter [L scroll] was sent after all these people were taken away: Jehoiachin [L Jeconiah] the king and the queen mother [C Nehushta; 13:18]; the ·officers [servants; L eunuchs] and leaders of Judah and Jerusalem; and the craftsmen and metalworkers from Jerusalem.) 3 Zedekiah king of Judah sent Elasah son of Shaphan [C perhaps the court secretary under Josiah; 2 Kin. 22:3, 8–9] and Gemariah son of Hilkiah [C perhaps the high priest under Josiah; 2 Kin. 22:8] to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. So Jeremiah gave them this ·letter [L scroll] to carry to Babylon:
4 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says to all those ·people I sent away [exiles] from Jerusalem as ·captives [exiles] to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle ·in the land [down]. Plant gardens and eat ·the food they grow [L their fruit]. 6 ·Get married [L Take wives] and have sons and daughters. ·Find [L Take] wives for your sons, and let your daughters be married so they also may have sons and daughters. ·Have many children in Babylon [L Multiply there]; don’t become fewer in number. 7 ·Also do good things for [L Seek the peace/security of] the city where I ·sent you as captives [exiled you]. Pray to the Lord for the city where you are living, because ·if good things happen in the city, good things will happen to you also [L in its peace/security you will have peace/security].” 8 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let the prophets among you and the ·people who do magic [L diviners] ·fool [deceive] you. Don’t listen to ·their dreams [their/or your dreams that they/or you dream]. 9 They are prophesying ·lies [falsehoods] to you, ·saying that their message is from me [L …in my name]. But I did not send them,” says the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says: “·Babylon will be powerful for seventy years. After that time I will come to [L Only after the seventy years of Babylon are filled will I visit; 25:11] you, and I will ·keep my promise [L confirm my good word] to ·bring [restore] you back to ·Jerusalem [L this place]. 11 I say this because I know ·what [L the plans] I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have ·good plans for you [L plans for your peace/security], not plans ·to hurt you [L for your harm]. I will give you hope and a good future. 12 Then you will call ·my name [L me]. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me [Dan. 9:4–19]! 14 I will let you find me,” says the Lord. “And I will ·bring you back from your captivity [restore your fortunes]. I ·forced you to leave [drove you from] this place, but I will gather you from all the nations, from the places I have ·sent you as captives [exiled you],” says the Lord. “And I will ·bring you back [restore you] to this place.”
15 You might say, “The Lord has ·given [raised up/established/confirmed for; Deut. 18:18] us prophets here in Babylon.”
16 But the Lord says this about the king who is sitting on David’s throne now and all the other people still in this city [C Jerusalem], your ·relatives [L brothers] who did not go ·as captives to Babylon [L out as exiles] with you. 17 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “I will soon send ·war [L sword], ·hunger [famine], and ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence; C against those still in Jerusalem]. I will make them like bad figs that are too rotten to eat [24:1–10]. 18 I will ·chase [pursue] them with ·war [L sword], ·hunger [famine], and ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence]. I will make them ·hated by [a horror to] all the kingdoms of the earth. ·People will curse them and be shocked and will use them as a shameful example [L …an object of cursing, shock, hissing and reproach] ·wherever I make them go [L among the nations where I have driven them]. 19 This is because they have not listened to my message,” says the Lord. “I sent my ·message [word] to them again and again through my servants, the prophets, but they did not listen,” says the Lord.
20 You ·captives [exiles], whom I ·forced to leave [sent from] Jerusalem ·and go to [L to] Babylon, listen to the message from the Lord. 21 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says this about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah: “These two men have been prophesying ·lies [falsehood] to you, ·saying that their message is from me [L in my name]. But soon I will ·hand over those two prophets to [L give them into the hand of] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will ·kill [L strike] them ·in front of you [L before your eyes]. 22 Because of them, all the ·captives [exiles] from Judah in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord ·treat [make] you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ·burned [roasted] in the fire.’ 23 They have done evil things among the people of Israel. They are guilty of adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have also spoken ·lies and said those lies were a message from me [L falsehoods in my name; Deut. 18:14–21]. I did not ·tell [L command] them to do that. I know what they have done; I am a witness to it,” says the Lord.
24 Also give a message to Shemaiah from the Nehelamite family. 25 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: “Shemaiah, you sent ·letters [scrolls] in your name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. 26 You said to Zephaniah, ‘The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. You are to be in charge of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. You should arrest any ·madman [crazy person] who acts like a prophet. Place him in stocks [C wooden restraints] and put an iron collar around his neck. 27 Now Jeremiah from Anathoth is acting like a prophet. So why haven’t you ·arrested [L rebuked] him? 28 He [C Jeremiah] has sent [C this message] to us in Babylon: You will be there for a long time, so build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat ·what they grow [L their fruit].’”
29 Zephaniah the priest read ·the letter to [L this scroll in the ear of] Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: 31 “Send this message to all the ·captives in Babylon [exiles]: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah has prophesied to you, but I did not send him. He has made you ·believe [trust; have confidence in] a lie. 32 So the Lord says, I will soon punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ·family [L seed]. He will not see the good things I will do for my people, says the Lord. None of his family will be left alive among the people, because he has taught the people to ·turn [rebel] against me.’”
1 From Paul, an ·apostle [messenger] of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.
2 To Timothy [Acts 16:1–5; 1 Cor. 16:10–11; Phil. 2:19–24], a ·true [genuine] child to me ·because you believe [or in the faith]:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Warning Against False Teaching
3 I ·asked [urged; encouraged] you to stay longer in Ephesus [C a major port city in the Roman province of Asia, present-day western Turkey; Acts 19] when I went into Macedonia [C a Roman province in present-day northern Greece] so you could ·command [charge; instruct] some people there ·to stop teaching [or not to teach] ·false things [L different doctrine/teachings; C different from Paul’s Gospel, and so false]. 4 Tell them not to ·spend their time on [occupy themselves with; devote themselves to] ·stories that are not true [myths] and ·on long lists of names in family histories [endless/useless genealogies; Titus 3:9]. These things only bring ·arguments [controversy; or useless speculation]; they do not help God’s ·work [plan; redemptive purpose], which ·is done in [or operates by; or is received by; or is known by] faith. 5 The ·purpose [goal; aim] of this ·command [charge; instruction] is for people to have love, a love that comes from a pure heart and a ·good [clear] conscience and a ·true [genuine; sincere] faith. 6 Some people have ·missed [departed/deviated from] these things and turned to ·useless talk [empty/meaningless/foolish discussion]. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand either what they are talking about or what they ·are sure about [so confidently assert].
8 But we know that the law [C the OT law of Moses] is good if someone uses it ·lawfully [legitimately; as God intended]. 9 ·We also know [or …recognizing this:] that the law is not ·made [intended; laid down] for ·good people [L the just/righteous person] but for those who are ·against the law [lawbreakers; lawless] and for ·those who refuse to follow it [rebels; criminals]. It is for people who are ·against God [godless; ungodly] and are sinful, who are unholy and ·ungodly [irreverent; profane], who ·kill [or strike] their fathers and mothers, who murder, 10 who take part in sexual sins, who ·have sexual relations with people of the same sex [are practicing homosexuals], who ·sell slaves [are kidnappers/slave traders], who tell lies, who speak falsely, and ·who do anything against [or all who live contrary to] the true teaching of God. 11 That teaching ·is part of [accords with; conforms to] the ·Good News [Gospel] of the blessed God that he ·gave me to tell [entrusted to me].
Thanks for God’s Mercy
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength, because he ·trusted me [considered me trustworthy/faithful] and ·gave me this work of serving him [placed me in his service; appointed me to ministry]. 13 [Even though] In the past I ·spoke against Christ [L was a blasphemer] and persecuted him and ·did all kinds of things to hurt him [was an arrogant/insolent/violent man; Acts 8:3]. But God showed me mercy, because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 But the grace of our Lord ·was fully given [overflowed; abounded] to me, and with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 ·What I say is true [or This saying/word is trustworthy; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8], and ·you should fully accept it [L worthy of full acceptance; C what follows may be an early Christian hymn]: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the ·worst [L first; foremost]. 16 But [L for that reason] I was given mercy so that in me, the worst of all sinners, Christ Jesus could show that he has ·unlimited [immense; perfect; L all] patience. His patience with me made me an example for those who would believe in him and have ·life forever [eternal life]. 17 To the ·King who rules forever [eternal King; L King of the ages], ·who will never die [immortal; incorruptible], ·who cannot be seen [invisible], the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18 Timothy, my child, I am giving you ·a command [this charge/instruction] that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past [4:14; 6:12]. I tell you this so that ·by following [or by recalling; L by] them you can fight the good fight. 19 Continue to have faith and ·do what you know is right [L a good conscience]. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus [2 Tim. 2:17] and Alexander [2 Tim. 4:14] have done that, and I have ·given them [handed them over] to Satan so they will learn not to ·speak against God [L blaspheme].
A Cry for Help
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, ·listen to me [L incline your ear] and answer me.
I am poor and ·helpless [needy].
2 ·Protect [Guard] me, because I ·worship you [am loyal/holy/a saint].
My God, ·save me [give me victory], your servant who ·trusts [has confidence] in you.
3 Lord, ·have mercy on [be gracious to] me,
because I have called to you all day.
4 Give ·happiness [joy] to me, your servant,
because I ·give [lift up] my life to you, Lord.
5 Lord, you are ·kind [good] and forgiving
and have great ·love [loyalty] for those who call to you [Ex. 34:7].
6 Lord, ·hear [L give ear to] my prayer,
and ·listen [pay attention] ·when I ask for mercy [L to the sound of my supplication].
7 I call to you in ·times of trouble [L the day of my distress],
because you will answer me.
8 Lord, there is ·no god like you [L none like you among the gods; Ex. 15:11; 20:3]
and no works like yours.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and ·worship [bow down before] you.
They will ·honor you [L glorify your name].
10 You are great and you do ·miracles [wonderful acts].
Only you are God.
11 Lord, teach me ·what you want me to do [L your way],
and I will ·live [walk] ·by your truth [in your faithfulness].
·Teach me to respect you completely [L Give me an undivided heart to fear your name].
12 Lord, my God, I will ·praise [thank] you with all my heart,
and I will ·honor [glorify] your name forever.
13 You have great ·love [loyalty] for me.
You have ·saved [T delivered] me from ·death [L Sheol down below; C the grave or the underworld].
14 God, ·proud [arrogant] people ·are attacking [rise up against] me;
a ·gang [assembly] of ·cruel [violent] people ·is trying to kill me [seek my life].
They do not ·respect you [L set you before them].
15 But, Lord, you are a God who shows ·mercy [compassion] and is ·kind [merciful; compassionate].
You ·don’t become angry quickly [are patient/longsuffering].
You have great ·love [loyalty] and ·faithfulness [truth; Ex. 34:6–7].
16 Turn to me and ·have mercy [be gracious].
Give me, your servant, strength.
·Save [Give victory to] me, the son of your female servant.
17 ·Show [L Give] me a sign of your goodness.
When my enemies look, they will be ashamed.
You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
17 ·Don’t go to your neighbor’s house too often [L Rarely let your feet step into your neighbor’s house];
·too much of you will make him [L they will have their fill of you and] hate you.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.