1
That same year, in the fifth month of the fourth year that Zedekiah was king, Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the Temple. In the presence of the priests and of the people he told me
1
2
that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said: "I have broken the power of the king of Babylonia.
3
Within two years I will bring back to this place all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia.
4
I will also bring back the king of Judah, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, along with all of the people of Judah who went into exile in Babylonia. Yes, I will break the power of the king of Babylonia. I, the Lord, have spoken."
5
Then in the presence of the priests and of all the people who were standing in the Temple, I said to Hananiah,
6
"Wonderful! I hope the Lord will do this! I certainly hope he will make your prophecy come true and will bring back from Babylonia all the Temple treasures and all the people who were taken away as prisoners.
7
But listen to what I say to you and to the people.
8
The prophets who spoke long ago, before my time and yours, predicted that war, starvation, and disease would come to many nations and powerful kingdoms.
9
But a prophet who predicts peace can only be recognized as a prophet whom the Lord has truly sent when that prophet's predictions come true."
10
Then Hananiah took the yoke off my neck, broke it in pieces,
11
and said in the presence of all the people, "The Lord has said that this is how he will break the yoke that King Nebuchadnezzar has put on the neck of all the nations; and he will do this within two years." Then I left.