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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
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that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said: "I have broken the power of the king of Babylonia.
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Within two years I will bring back to this place all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia.
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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."
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Then in the presence of the priests and of all the people who were standing in the Temple, I said to Hananiah,
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"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.
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But listen to what I say to you and to the people.
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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.
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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."
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Then Hananiah took the yoke off my neck, broke it in pieces,