Day 296 of 730

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord to me: Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck;

³and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah;

⁴and give them a command to their masters, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, You shall tell your masters:

⁵"I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me.

⁶Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him.

⁷All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant.

⁸It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

⁹But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon':

¹⁰for they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and you should perish.

¹¹But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land, says the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein."'"

¹²I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

¹³Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴Do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon'; for they prophesy a lie to you.

¹⁵'For I have not sent them,' says the Lord, 'but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you.'"

¹⁶Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.

¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city become a desolation?'

¹⁸But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.

¹⁹For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,

²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

²¹yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:

²²'They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them,' says the Lord; 'then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.'"

¹It happened the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,

²"Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon:

⁴and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, who went to Babylon,' says the Lord; 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord,

⁶even the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen: Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord's house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon to this place.

⁷Nevertheless hear you now this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people:

⁸The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

⁹The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall happen, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord has truly sent him."

¹⁰Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broke it.

¹¹Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations.'" The prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

¹³"Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, 'Thus says the Lord: You have broken the bars of wood; but you have made in their place bars of iron.

¹⁴For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also."'"

¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Hear now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie.

¹⁶Therefore thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth: this year you shall die, because you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.'"

¹⁷So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

¹Praise Yah! Praise the Lord, my soul.

²While I live, I will praise the Lord. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.

³Do not put your trust in princes, each a son of man in whom there is no help.

⁴His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.

⁵Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord, his God:

⁶who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever;

⁷who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners.

⁸The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous.

⁹The Lord preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise Yah!

¹Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.

⁴An evildoer heeds wicked lips. A liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.

⁶Children's children are the crown of old men; the glory of children are their parents.

⁷Arrogant speech isn't fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince.

⁸A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends.

¹⁰A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

¹²Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, seeing he has no understanding?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.

²⁰One who has a perverse heart doesn't find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble.

²¹He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.

²²A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴Wisdom is before the face of one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son brings grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also to punish the righteous is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity.

²⁷He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.