Jeremiah

eally did send me to you. The message you
heard really is from the Lord.”
16Then the rulers and all the people spoke.
They said to the priests and the prophets,
“Jeremiah must not be killed. What he told us
comes from the Lord our God.”
17Then some of the elders* stood up and
spoke to all the people. 18They
JEREMIAH 26:16
said, “Micah
the prophet was from the city of Moresheth.
He was a prophet during the time that Hezekiah
was king of Judah. Micah said this to all
the people of Judah:
‘ This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
Zion* will be destroyed.
It will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks.
Temple Mount will be an empty hilla overgrown with bushes.’ Micah 3:12
19“King Hezekiah of Judah and the people
of Judah did not kill Micah. You know that
Hezekiah respected the Lord and wanted to
please him. So the Lord changed his mind
and didn’t do the bad things to Judah that he
said he would do. If we hurt Jeremiah, we
will bring many troubles on ourselves. And
those troubles will be our own fault.”
20In the past there was another man who
spoke the Lord’s message. His name was
Uriah son of Shemaiah from the city of Kiriath
Jearim. Uriah said the same things against this
city and this land that Jeremiah did. 21King
Jehoiakim, his army officers, and the leaders
of Judah heard Uriah and became angry. King
Jehoiakim wanted to kill Uriah, but Uriah
heard about it. Uriah was afraid, so he escaped
to the land of Egypt. 22But King Jehoiakim
sent Elnathan son of Acbor and some other
men to Egypt. 23They brought Uriah from
Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim
ordered Uriah to be killed with a sword.
Uriah’s body was thrown into the burial place
where the poor are buried.
24There was an important man named Ahikam
son of Shaphan who supported Jeremiah.
He kept Jeremiah from being killed by the
priests and prophets.
The Lord Made Nebuchadnezzar Ruler
27 1A message from the Lord came to
Jeremiah. It came during the fourth
year that Zedekiahb son of Josiah was king
of Judah.* 2This is what the Lord said to
me: “Jeremiah, make a yoke* out of straps
and poles. Put that yoke on the back of your
neck. 3Then send a message to the kings of
a 26:18 empty hill Or “high place,” a term usually
used for local shrines (places for worship) where
people often worshiped idols.
b 27:1 the fourth year … Zedekiah The standard
Hebrew text has “At the beginning of the kingship
of Jehoiakim.” This is probably a scribal error. Verse 3
talks about Zedekiah, and 28:1 says “that same year”
was the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign (594‑593 b.c.).
626
Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send
the message with the messengers of these
kings who have come to Jerusalem to see
King Zedekiah of Judah. 4Tell them to give
the message to their masters. Tell them that
this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God
of Israel, says: ‘Tell your masters that 5I made
the earth and all the people on it. I made all
the animals on the earth. I did this with my
great power and my strong arm. I can give the
earth to anyone I want. 6Now I have given
all your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon. He is my servant. I will make even
the wild animals obey him. 7All nations will
serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son and his
grandson. Then the time will come for Babylon
to be defeated. Many nations and great
kings will make Babylon their servant.
8“‘But if some nations or kingdoms refuse
to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
and refuse to be put under his control, I will
punish them, says the Lord. I will destroy
them with war, hunger, and disease. I will
use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy any nation
that fights against him. 9So don’t listen to
your prophets. Don’t listen to those who use
magic to tell what will happen in the future.
Don’t listen to those who say they can interpret
dreams. Don’t listen to those who talk
to the dead or to people who practice magic.
All of them tell you, “You will not be slaves
to the king of Babylon.” 10But they are telling
you lies. They will only cause you to be taken
far from your homeland. I will force you to
leave your homes, and you will die in another
land.
11“‘But the nations that put their necks
under the yoke of the king of Babylon and
obey him will live. I will let them stay in their
own country and serve the king of Babylon,’
says the Lord. ‘The people from those nations
will live in their own land and farm it.’”
12I gave the same message to King Zedekiah
of Judah. I said, “Zedekiah, you must place
your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon
and obey him. If you serve the king of
Babylon and his people, you will live. 13If you
don’t agree to serve the king of Babylon, you
and your people will die from war, hunger,
and disease. This is what the Lord said would
happen. 14But the false prophets* are saying,
‘You will never be slaves to the king of
Babylon.’
“Don’t listen to those prophets, because
they are telling you lies. 15‘I didn’t send
them,’ says the Lord. ‘They are telling lies
and saying that the message is from me. So I
will send you people of Judah away. You will
die, and the prophets who spoke to you will
die also.’”
16Then I told the priests and all the people
that this is what the Lord says: “Those false
prophets are saying, ‘The Babylonians took
many things from the Lord’s Temple.* These
things will be brought back soon.’ Don’t