Jeremiah 26

1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this message came from the LORD:
2 Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the house of the LORD and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD; whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
3 Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them for their evil deeds.
4 Say to them: Thus says the LORD: If you disobey me, not living according to the law I placed before you
5 and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them,
6 I will treat this house like Shiloh, and make this the city which all the nations of the earth shall refer to when cursing another.
7 Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD.
8 When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people, the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying, You must be put to death!
9 Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD: 'This house shall be like Shiloh,' and 'This city shall be desolate and deserted'? And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10 When the princes of Judah were informed of these things, they came up from the king's palace to the house of the LORD and held court at the New Gate of the house of the LORD.
11 The priests and prophets said to the princes and to all the people, This man deserves death; he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.
12 Jeremiah gave this answer to the princes and all the people: It was the LORD who sent me to prophesy against this house and city all that you have heard.
13 Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the LORD your God, so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you.
14 As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what you think good and right.
15 But mark well: if you put me to death, it is innocent blood you bring on yourselves, on this city and its citizens. For in truth it was the LORD who sent me to you, to speak all these things for you to hear.
16 Thereupon the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, This man does not deserve death; it is in the name of the LORD, our God, that he speaks to us.
17 At this, some of the elders of the land came forward and said to all the people assembled,
18 Micah of Moresheth used to prophesy in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and he told all the people of Judah: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Zion shall become a plowed field, Jerusalem a heap of ruins, and the temple mount a forest ridge.
19 Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah condemn him to death? Did they not rather fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, so that he repented of the evil with which he had threatened them? But we are on the point of committing this great evil to our own undoing.
20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah, son of Shemaiah, from Kiriath-jearim; he prophesied the same things against this city and land as Jeremiah did.
21 When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and princes were informed of his words, the king sought to kill him. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt.
22 Thereupon King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan, son of Achbor, and others with him into Egypt
23 to bring Uriah back to the king, who had him slain by the sword and his corpse cast into the common grave.
24 But Ahikam, son of Shaphan, protected Jeremiah, so that he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

Jeremiah 27

1 (In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah,)... this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 Thus said the LORD to me: Make for yourself bands and yoke bars and put them over your shoulders.
3 Send to the kings of Edom, of Moab, of the Ammonites, of Tyre, and of Sidon, through the ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah,
4 and charge them thus: Tell your masters: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
5 It was I who made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power, with my outstretched arm; and I can give them to whomever I think fit.
6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant; even the beasts of the field I have given him for his use.
7 All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his land, too, shall come. Then it in turn shall serve great nations and mighty kings.
8 Meanwhile, if any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, or will not bend its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with sword, famine, and pestilence, says the LORD, until I give them into his hand.
9 You, however, must not listen to your prophets, to your diviners and dreamers, to your soothsayers and sorcerers, who say to you, You need not serve the king of Babylon.
10 For they prophesy lies to you, in order to drive you far from your land, to make me banish you so that you will perish.
11 The people that submits its neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon to serve him I will leave in peace on its own land, says the LORD, to till it and dwell in it.
12 To Zedekiah, king of Judah, I spoke the same words: Submit your necks to the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, so that you may live.
13 Why should you and your people die by sword, famine, and pestilence, with which the LORD has threatened the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
14 Do not listen to the words of those prophets who say, You need not serve the king of Babylon, for they prophesy lies to you.
15 I did not send them, says the LORD, but they prophesy falsely in my name, with the result that I must banish you, and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.
16 To the priests and to all the people I spoke as follows: Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you: The vessels of the house of the LORD will be brought back from Babylon soon now, for they prophesy lies to you.
17 Do not listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon that you may live; else this city will become a heap of ruins.
18 If they were prophets, if the word of the LORD were with them, they would intercede with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which remain in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem might not be taken to Babylon.
19 For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, the bronze sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that remain in this city,
20 which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take when he exiled Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem--
21 yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:
22 To Babylon they shall be brought, and there they shall remain, until the day I look for them, says the LORD; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.