¹⁷ They keep on saying to those who have no respect for the word of the Lord, You will have peace; and to everyone who goes on his way in the pride of his heart, they say, No evil will come to you.

¹¹ Its heads take rewards for judging, and the priests take payment for teaching, and the prophets get silver for reading the future: but still, supporting themselves on the Lord, they say, Is not the Lord among us? no evil will overtake us.

¹⁰ These evil people who say they will not give ear to my words, who go on in the pride of their hearts and have become servants and worshippers of other gods, will become like this band which is of no use for anything.

¹⁰ All those sinners among my people will be put to the sword who say, Evil will not overtake us or come face to face with us.

¹¹ And they have made little of the wounds of the daughter of Zion, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

¹⁷ At that time Jerusalem will be named the seat of the Lord's kingdom; and all the nations will come together to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: and no longer will their steps be guided by the purposes of their evil hearts.

¹² They would have nothing to do with the Lord, saying, He will do nothing, and no evil will come to us; we will not see the sword or be short of food:

¹⁴ And they have made little of the wounds of my people, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

¹⁴ But they have been walking in the pride of their hearts, going after the Baals, as their fathers gave them teaching.

¹⁸ Then they said, Come, let us make a design against Jeremiah; for teaching will never be cut off from the priest, or wisdom from the wise, or the word from the prophet. Come, let us make use of his words for an attack on him, and let us give attention with care to what he says.

¹⁰ Because, even because they have been guiding my people into error, saying, Peace; when there is no peace; and in the building of a division wall they put whitewash on it:

²² Because with your false words you have given pain to the heart of the upright man when I had not made him sad; in order to make strong the hands of the evil-doer so that he may not be turned from his evil way and get life:

⁵ This is what the Lord has said about the prophets by whom my people have been turned from the right way; who, biting with their teeth, say, Peace; and if anyone puts nothing in their mouths they make ready for war against him.

² For the images have said what is not true, and the readers of signs have seen deceit; they have given accounts of false dreams, they give comfort to no purpose: so they go out of the way like sheep, they are troubled because they have no keeper.

¹⁹ If such a man, hearing the words of this oath, takes comfort in the thought that he will have peace even if he goes on in the pride of his heart, taking whatever chance may give him:

²⁰ But every day for a month, till you are tired of it, turning from it in disgust: because you have gone against the Lord who is with you, and have been weeping before him saying, Why did we come out of Egypt?

⁸ Whoever, then, goes against this word, goes against not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

³⁰ For this reason the Lord God of Israel has said, Truly I did say that your family and your father's people would have their place before me for ever: but now the Lord says, Let it not be so; I will give honour to those by whom I am honoured, and those who have no respect for me will be of small value in my eyes.

¹⁰ So now the sword will never be turned away from your family; because you have had no respect for me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

¹⁰ Happy is the upright man! for he will have joy of the fruit of his ways.

¹¹ Unhappy is the sinner! for the reward of his evil doings will come on him.

²¹ There is no peace, says my God, for the evil-doers.

¹⁰ Then said I, Ah, Lord God! your words were not true when you said to this people and to Jerusalem, You will have peace; when the sword has come even to the soul.

²⁴ But they took no note and did not give ear, but were guided by the thoughts and the pride of their evil hearts, going back and not forward.

¹³ Then I said, Ah, Lord God! see, the prophets say to them, You will not see the sword or be short of food; but I will give you certain peace in this place.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, The prophets say false words in my name, and I gave them no orders, and I said nothing to them: what they say to you is a false vision and wonder-working words without substance, the deceit of their hearts.

³ In the space of two years I will send back into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon:

⁴ And I will let Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, come back to this place, with all the prisoners of Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord: for I will have the yoke of the king of Babylon broken.

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, before the priests and all the people who had come into the house of the Lord,

⁶ The prophet Jeremiah said, So be it: may the Lord do so: may the Lord give effect to the words which you have said, and let the vessels of the Lord's house, and all the people who have been taken away, come back from Babylon to this place.

⁷ But still, give ear to this word which I am saying to you and to all the people:

⁸ The prophets, who were before me and before you, from early times gave word to a number of countries and great kingdoms about war and destruction and disease.

⁹ The prophet whose words are of peace, when his words come true, will be seen to be a prophet whom the Lord has sent.

¹⁴ The visions which your prophets have seen for you are false and foolish; they have not made clear to you your sin so that your fate might be changed: but they have seen for you false words, driving you away.

¹⁵ So I will let loose my passion on the wall in full measure, and on those who put whitewash on it; and I will say to you, Where is the wall, and where are those who put whitewash on it?

¹⁶ Even the prophets of Israel who say words to Jerusalem, who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord.

⁶ A son gives honour to his father, and a servant has fear of his master: if then I am a father, where is my honour? and if I am a master, where is the fear of me? says the Lord of armies to you, O priests, who give no value to my name. And you say, How have we not given value to your name?

¹⁶ Whoever gives ear to you, gives ear to me; and whoever is against you, is against me; and whoever is against me, is against him who sent me.

¹² And it will come about at that time, that I will go searching through Jerusalem with lights; and I will send punishment on the men who have become like wine stored over-long, who say to themselves, The Lord will not do good and will not do evil.