Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

Therefore thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am casting thee from off the face of the ground; this year thou diest, for apostasy thou hast spoken concerning Jehovah.'

The letter was hand-carried by Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, to all the removal that I removed from Jerusalem to Babylon,

For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Let not your prophets who are in your midst, and your diviners, lift you up, nor hearken ye unto their dreams, that ye are causing them to dream;

For thus said Jehovah, Surely at the fulness of Babylon -- seventy years -- I inspect you, and have established towards you My good word, to bring you back unto this place.

Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;

Surely thus said Jehovah concerning the king who is sitting on the throne of David, and concerning all the people that is dwelling in this city, your brethren who went not forth with you in the removal;

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Lo, I am sending among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I have given them up as figs that are vile, that are not eaten for badness.

I'll pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague, and I'll make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. I'll make them a curse, an object of horror, and scorn, and a desolation in all the nations to which I've driven them,

For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,' says the Lord. 'And you exiles have not paid any attention to them either,' says the Lord.

So pay attention to what I, the Lord, have said, all you exiles whom I have sent to Babylon from Jerusalem.'

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes,

And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;

Because they have done shame in Israel, and have taken their neighbours' wives, and in my name have said false words, which I did not give them orders to say; and I myself am the witness, says the Lord.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, saying, Because that thou hast sent in thy name letters unto all the people who are in Jerusalem, and unto Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and unto all the priests, saying,

And Zephaniah the priest made clear to Jeremiah the prophet what was said in the letter, reading it to him.

Send unto all the removal, saying, Thus said Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I -- I have not sent him, and he doth cause you to trust on falsehood,

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.

The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, Put down in a book all the words which I have said to you.

For, lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and I have turned back to the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, said Jehovah, and I have caused them to turn back unto the land that I gave to their fathers, and they do possess it.'

And these are the words which the Lord said about Israel and about Judah.

Surely thus said Jehovah: A voice of trembling we have heard, Fear -- and there is no peace.

Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

For thus said Jehovah: Incurable is thy breach, grievous thy stroke,

Indeed, I'll bring you healing, and I'll heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD, "because they have called you an outcast and have said, "It is Zion, no one cares for her!"'"

Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I turn back to the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And his dwelling places I pity, And the city hath been built on its heap, And the palace according to its ordinance remaineth.

Their children shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall continue in my sight. And all those that vex them, will I visit.

Behold, on the other side shall the wrath of the LORD break out as a stormy water, as a mighty whirlwind: and shall fall upon the heads of the ungodly.

Thus said Jehovah: Found grace in the wilderness Hath a people remaining from the sword Going to cause it to rest -- Israel.

The LORD appeared to Israel from far away and said, "I've loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I've drawn you with gracious love.

For thus said Jehovah: Sing, O ye to Jacob, with joy, And cry aloud at the head of the nations, Sound ye, praise ye, and say, Save, O Jehovah, thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Thus said Jehovah, A voice in Ramah is heard, wailing, weeping most bitter, Rachel is weeping for her sons, She hath refused to be comforted for her sons, because they are not.

Thus said Jehovah: Withhold thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, For there is a reward for thy work, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they have turned back from the land of the enemy.

"I've certainly heard Ephraim shuddering with grief as they said, "You have disciplined me, and I'm disciplined like an untrained calf. Restore me, and let me return, for you are the LORD my God.

Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Still they say this word in the land of Judah, And in its cities, In My turning back to their captivity, Jehovah doth bless thee, habitation of righteousness, Mountain of holiness.

Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Thus said Jehovah, Who is giving the sun for a light by day, The statutes of moon and stars for a light by night, Quieting the sea when its billows roar, Jehovah of Hosts is His name:

If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

and the whole valley of the dead carcasses, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron: and from thence unto the corner of the horse gate toward the East, whereas the Sanctuary of the LORD also shall be set. And when it is now builded, and set up of this fashion it shall never be broken, nor cast down anymore."

Where Zedekiah king of Judah hath shut him up, saying, 'Wherefore art thou prophesying, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he hath captured it;

He will take Zedekiah to Babylon where he will stay until I attend to him’—this is the Lord’s declaration. ‘You will fight the Chaldeans, but you will not succeed’?”

And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

And I signed on the letter and sealed [it], and I called witnesses as witness, and I weighed out the money on a set of scales.

And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

“I instructed Baruch in their sight,

'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Take these books, this purchase-book, both the sealed one and the open one, and thou hast put them in an earthen vessel, that they may remain many days;

For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Again are houses and fields and vineyards bought in this land.'

Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;

See, they have made earthworks against the town to take it; and the town is given into the hands of the Chaldaeans who are fighting against it, because of the sword and need of food and disease: and what you have said has taken place, and truly you see it.

And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

'Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath captured it;

And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.

"For this city has been for me [a cause] of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even until this day, [so I will] remove it from my {sight},

But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

'And now, therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning this city, of which ye are saying, It hath been given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence,

And I will set up an everlasting covenant with them; Namely: that I will never cease to do them good, and that I will put my fear in their hearts, so that they shall not run away from me.

'For thus said Jehovah: As I brought in unto this people all this great evil, so I am bringing in on them all the good that I am speaking concerning them;

Thus said Jehovah its maker, Jehovah its former, at establishing it, Jehovah is His name:

For thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, that are broken down for the mounts, and for the tool;

And I will return the captivity of Judah and Israel: and will set them up again as they were afore.

Thus said Jehovah: Again heard in this place of which ye are saying, Waste it is, without man and without beast, In cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem, That are desolated, without man, And without inhabitant, and without beast,

Is a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, The voice of those saying, Thank Jehovah of Hosts, for Jehovah is good, For His kindness is to the age, Who are bringing in thanksgiving to the house of Jehovah, For I turn back the captivity of the land, As at the first, said Jehovah.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Again there is in this place -- that is waste, Without man and beast, And in all its cities -- a habitation of shepherds, Causing the flock to lie down.

In the cities of the hill-country, In the cities of the low country, And in the cities of the south, And in the land of Benjamin, And in the suburbs of Jerusalem, And in the cities of Judah, Again doth the flock pass by under the hands of the numberer, said Jehovah.

See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will give effect to the good word which I have said about the people of Israel and the people of Judah.

For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

'Thus said Jehovah: If ye do break My covenant of the day, And My covenant of the night, So that they are not daily and nightly in their season,

Then my agreement with my servant David may be broken, so that he no longer has a son to take his place on the seat of the kingdom; and my agreement with the Levites, the priests, my servants.

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

“Have you not noticed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families [Israel the northern kingdom, and Judah the southern kingdom] which the Lord chose, He has rejected’? Thus they despise My [chosen] people, no longer are they [considered] as a nation in their sight.

Thus said Jehovah: If My covenant is not daily and nightly, The statutes of heaven and earth I have not appointed --

Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.

'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel: Go, and thou hast spoken unto Zedekiah king of Judah, and hast said unto him, Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he hath burned it with fire,

'Only, hear a word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus said Jehovah unto thee: Thou dost not die by sword,

You will come to your end in peace; and such burnings as they made for your fathers, the earlier kings before you, will be made for you; and they will be weeping for you and saying, Ah lord! for I have said the word, says the Lord.

Then Jeremiah the prophet said all these things to Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Jerusalem,

Each person was to set free his male and female slaves who were Hebrews, so that no Jewish person would enslave his brother.

All the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that each would set his male and female slaves free so that they would not enslave them any longer. They obeyed and they released them.

But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves that they had set free, and they forced them to become male and female slaves.

Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I -- I made a covenant with your fathers in the day of My bringing them forth from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants, saying,

"At the end of seven years, each of you is to set free your fellow Hebrew who has sold himself to you and has served you for six years. You are to send him out from you with no further obligation." But your ancestors didn't obey me or pay attention.

And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened unto Me to proclaim freedom, each to his brother, and each to his neighbour; lo, I am proclaiming to you liberty -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- unto the sword, unto the pestilence, and unto the famine, and I have given you for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth.

"Go to the Rechabite community. Invite them to come into one of the side rooms of the Lord's temple and offer them some wine to drink."

And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.

But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:

Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying: 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel:

Go, and thou hast said to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Do ye not receive instruction? -- to hearken unto My words -- an affirmation of Jehovah.