Dual PanelJeremiah opposes false prophets
1AT the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2These are the words of the LORD to me: Take the cords and crossbars of a yoke and put them on your neck.
3Then send to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon by their envoys who have come to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem,
4and give them the following message for their masters: These are the words of the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Say to your masters:
5It was I who by my great power and outstretched arm made the earth, along with mankind and the animals all over the earth, and I give it to whom I see fit.
6Now I have handed over all these lands to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and I have given him even the creatures of the wild to serve him.
7All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson, until the destined hour of his own land comes; mighty nations and great kings will be subject to him.
8If any nation or kingdom will not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon or submit to his yoke, I shall punish them with sword, famine, and pestilence, says the LORD, until I have ensured their destruction at his hand.
9Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your women dreamers, your soothsayers, and your sorcerers who keep on saying to you that you will not become subject to the king of Babylon.
10Their prophecy to you is a lie; you will be carried away far from your native soil, and I shall banish you and you will perish.
11But the nation which submits to the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him I shall leave on their own soil, says the LORD; they will cultivate it and live there.
12My message to King Zedekiah of Judah is no different: If you will submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, then you will save your lives.
13Why should you and your people die by sword, famine, and pestilence, the fate with which the LORD has threatened any nation which does not serve the king of Babylon?
14Do not listen to the prophets who say to you that you will not become subject to the king of Babylon. Their prophecy to you is a lie.
15I have not sent them, says the LORD; they are prophesying falsely in my name; I shall banish you and you will perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.
16I said to the priests and all this people: These are the words of the LORD: Do not listen to your prophets who tell you that very shortly the vessels of the LORD's house will be brought back from Babylon. Their prophecy to you is a lie.
17Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and save your lives. Why should this city become a ruin?
18If they are really prophets and have the word of the LORD, let them intercede with the LORD of Hosts to grant that the things still left in the LORD's house, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem, may not be carried off to Babylon.
19For these are the words of the LORD of Hosts about the pillars, the Sea, the trolleys, and all the other furnishings still left in this city,
20which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take when he deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, together with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.
21These are the words of the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel about everything still left in the LORD's house, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem:
22They will be carried off to Babylon and remain there until I recall them, says the LORD; then I shall bring them back and restore them to this place.