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King Jehoiakim, his army officers, and the leaders of Judah heard Uriah and became angry. King Jehoiakim wanted to kill Uriah, but Uriah heard about it. Uriah was afraid, so he escaped to the land of Egypt.

But King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor and some other men to Egypt.

"‘But if some nations or kingdoms refuse to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and refuse to be put under his control, I will punish them, says the Lord . I will destroy them with war, hunger, and disease. I will use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy any nation that fights against him.

But they are telling you lies. They will only cause you to be taken far from your homeland. I will force you to leave your homes, and you will die in another land.

"‘But the nations that put their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and obey him will live. I will let them stay in their own country and serve the king of Babylon,' says the Lord . ‘The people from those nations will live in their own land and farm it.'"

But the false prophets are saying, ‘You will never be slaves to the king of Babylon.' "Don't listen to those prophets, because they are telling you lies.

Before two years are over, I will bring back all the things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from the Lord 's Temple. Nebuchadnezzar has carried those things to Babylon. But I will bring them back here to Jerusalem.

"But listen to what I have to say to you and to all the people.

Then Hananiah spoke loudly so that all the people could hear him. He said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way, I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He put that yoke on all the nations of the world, but I will break it before two years are over.'" After Hananiah said that, Jeremiah left the Temple.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, "Go and tell Hananiah that this is what the Lord says: ‘You have broken a wooden yoke, but I will make a yoke of iron in the place of the wooden yoke.

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you. But you have made the people of Judah trust in lies.

They are telling lies, and they are saying that their message is from me. But I didn't send it." This message is from the Lord .

I will let you find me." This message is from the Lord . "And I will bring you back from your captivity. I forced you to leave this place. But I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have sent you," says the Lord , "and I will bring you back to this place."

You people might say, "But the Lord has given us prophets here in Babylon."

But this is what the Lord says about your relatives who were not carried away to Babylon. I am talking about the king who is sitting on David's throne now and all the other people who are still in the city of Jerusalem.

I will make all these things happen because the people of Jerusalem have not listened to my message." This message is from the Lord . "I sent my message to them again and again. I used my servants, the prophets, to give my messages to them, but they didn't listen." This message is from the Lord .

"Jeremiah, send this message to all the captives in Babylon: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah, the man from the Nehelam family: Shemaiah has spoken to you, but I didn't send him. He has made you believe a lie.

"This is a very important time for Jacob. This is a time of great trouble. There will never be another time like this, but Jacob will be saved.

"So Jacob, my servant, don't be afraid!" This message is from the Lord . "Israel, don't be afraid. I will save you from that faraway place. You are captives in that faraway land, but I will save your descendants. I will bring them back from that land. Jacob will have peace again. People will not bother Jacob. There will be no enemy to frighten my people.

People of Israel and Judah, I am with you." This message is from the Lord . "I will save you. I sent you to those nations, but I will completely destroy all of them. It is true; I will destroy those nations, but I will not destroy you. You must be punished for the bad things you did, but I will discipline you fairly."