And in that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Jehovah in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,

Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took from this place and carried to Babylon.

And Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, I will bring back to this place, declares Jehovah; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who were standing in the house of Jehovah.

And the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen! May Jehovah do so. May Jehovah establish your words which you have prophesied and bring back the vessels of the house of Jehovah and all the exiles from Babylon to this place.

Nevertheless hear now this word which I am about to speak in your ears and in the ears of all the people.

The prophets who were before me and before you since long ago prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of evil and of pestilence.

The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then the prophet will be known as one whom Jehovah has truly sent.

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.

And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says Jehovah, Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two full years. Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, Thus says Jehovah, You have broken the wooden yoke bars, but you have made in their place iron yoke bars.

For thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, I have put an iron yoke upon the neck of all these nations that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon; and they will serve him. And I have also given the beasts of the field to him.

And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, Listen now, O Hananiah, Jehovah has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in falsehood.

Therefore thus says Jehovah, I will send you from the face of the earth. This year you will die because you have spoken rebellion against Jehovah.

And the prophet Hananiah died in that very year in the seventh month.

And these are the words of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon

(After King Jeconiah and the queen mother and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah, and Jerusalem and the craftsmen and the smiths had gone out from Jerusalem),

By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah the king of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon at Babylon, saying:

Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

Build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.

Take wives and beget 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 do not become few.

And seek the peace of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to Jehovah for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

For thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Do not let your prophets, who are in your midst, and your diviners deceive you; and do not listen to your dreams, which you cause to be dreamed.

For they prophesy to you falsely in My name; and I have not sent them, declares Jehovah.

For thus says Jehovah, When  ¹seventy years are fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you and establish My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

For I know the thoughts that I think about you, declares Jehovah, thoughts of peace and not for evil, to give you a latter end and a hope.

Then you will  ¹call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you;

And you will seek Me and find Me if you search for Me with all your heart;

And I will be found by you, declares Jehovah. And I will turn your captivity and gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares Jehovah, and bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.

If you say, Jehovah has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,

Indeed thus says Jehovah concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go out with you into exile:

Thus says Jehovah of hosts, I am about to send upon them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs, which cannot be eaten because of rottenness.

And I will pursue them with sword, with famine, and with pestilence, and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth to be a curse and an astonishment and a hissing and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them;

Because they have not listened to My words, declares Jehovah, which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending; but you did not listen, declares Jehovah.

Therefore hear the word of Jehovah, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsehood in My name, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and he will strike them before your eyes.

And because of them a curse will be taken up by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, May Jehovah make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

Because they have committed folly in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken a word of falsehood in My name, which I did not command them to do; indeed I am the One who knows and am witness, declares Jehovah.

And you shall speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

Thus speaks Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

Jehovah has made you a priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers in the house of Jehovah over every madman who prophesies so that you might put him in the stocks and in the iron collar.

And now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesies to you?

For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, It will be a long time; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.

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

Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,

Send word to all the exiles, saying, Thus says Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, when I did not send him, and has made you trust in falsehood,

Therefore thus says Jehovah, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his seed: He will not have anyone living among this people and will not see the good that I am about to do to My people, declares Jehovah, because he has spoken rebellion against Jehovah.

The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

Thus speaks Jehovah the God of Israel, saying, Write in a book all the words which I have spoken to you.

Yes indeed, days are coming, declares Jehovah, when I will turn the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, says Jehovah, and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.

And these are the words which Jehovah spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:

For thus says Jehovah,
We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of fear and not of peace.

Ask now and see
Whether a man can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his loins like a woman about to give birth
And every face turned pale?

Alas! For that day is great,
And there is none like it;
And it is a time of  ¹distress for Jacob,
But he will be saved out of it.

And on that day, declares Jehovah of hosts, I will break his yoke from your neck and tear off your bonds, and strangers will no longer make him serve them.
land in faithfulnes with all My heart and with all My soul.

But they will serve Jehovah their God and  ¹David their King, whom I will raise up for them.

Therefore do not fear, O Jacob My servant, declares Jehovah,
And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For indeed, I will save you from afar,
And your seed from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be undisturbed and at ease,
And no one will frighten him.

For I am with you, declares Jehovah, to save you;
For I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have scattered you;
But I will not make a full end of you,
But will correct you in measure
And will by no means leave you unpunished.

For thus says Jehovah,
Your hurt is incurable;
Your wound is grievous.

There is none to judge your judgment, to bind your wound;
There are no healing medicines for you.

All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not search for you;
For I have struck you with the striking of an enemy,
With the chastisement of one who is cruel,
Because of the greatness of your iniquity;
Your sins are numerous.

Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.
Because of the greatness of your iniquity,
Because your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.

Therefore all those who consume you will be consumed,
And all those who distress you, every one of them, will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will become plunder,
And all those who prey on you I will make a prey.

For I will bring you recovery
And will heal you of your wounds, declares Jehovah;
Because they have called you an outcast, saying,
She is Zion, whom no one searches after.

Thus says Jehovah,
I will turn the captivity of the tents of Jacob
And have compassion on his dwelling places;
And the city will be rebuilt on its mound,
And the palace will be inhabited after its own manner.

And out from them will come thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry.
And I will multiply them, so that they will not be few;
And I will cause them to be honored, so that they will not be small.

And  ¹their children will be as they were of old,
And  ¹their assembly will be established before Me;
And I will punish all those who oppress  ²them,

And their leader will be one of them.
And their ruler will come out from their midst,
And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me.
For who else would be bold enough
To approach Me? declares Jehovah.

And you will be My people,
And I will be your God.

Look, the storm wind of Jehovah!
Wrath has gone forth,
A whirling tempest;
It will whirl down on the head of the wicked.

The burning anger of Jehovah will not turn back,
Until He has executed and until He has accomplished
The purposes of His heart;
In the last days You will understand it.