New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 One day in late summer of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said,
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Later that same year (it was in the fifth month of King Zedekiah's fourth year) Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, confronted Jeremiah in the Temple of God in front of the priests and all the people who were there.
2 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks.
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Hananiah said:
3 Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon.
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Before two years are out I'll have all the furnishings of God's Temple back here, all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon plundered and hauled off to Babylon.
4 And I will bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”
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I'll also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the exiles who were taken off to Babylon.' God's Decree. 'Yes, I will break the king of Babylon's yoke. You'll no longer be in harness to him.'"
5 Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple.
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Prophet Jeremiah stood up to Prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were in God's Temple that day.
6 He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the LORD does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives.
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Prophet Jeremiah said, "Wonderful! Would that it were true - that God would validate your preaching by bringing the Temple furnishings and all the exiles back from Babylon.
7 But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people.
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But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today:
8 The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease.
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The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague.
9 So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the LORD .”
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So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We'll wait and see. If it happens, it happens - and then we'll know that God sent him."
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces.
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At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah's shoulders and smashed it.
11 And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.
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And then he addressed the people: "This is God's Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations - and within two years." Jeremiah walked out.
12 Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah:
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Later, sometime after Hananiah had smashed the yoke from off his shoulders, Jeremiah received this Message from God:
13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron.
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"Go back to Hananiah and tell him, 'This is God's Message: You smashed the wooden yoke-bars; now you've got iron yoke-bars.
14 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.’”
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This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel's own God: I've put an iron yoke on all these nations. They're harnessed to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They'll do just what he tells them. Why, I'm even putting him in charge of the wild animals.'"
15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, but the people believe your lies.
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So prophet Jeremiah told prophet Hananiah, "Hold it, Hananiah! God never sent you. You've talked the whole country into believing a pack of lies!
16 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the LORD .’”
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And so God says, 'You claim to be sent? I'll send you all right - right off the face of the earth! Before the year is out, you'll be dead because you fomented sedition against God.'"
17 Two months later the prophet Hananiah died.
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Prophet Hananiah died that very year, in the seventh month.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.