From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably<n id="1" /> prophesied war, disaster,<n id="2" /> and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.

<p class="bodytext">Now at that time,<n id="1" /> the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem.<n id="2" /> The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse<n id="3" /> attached to the royal palace of Judah.

<p class="bodytext">So Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what the prophet Jeremiah had told him to do. He read what the <sc>Lordsc> had said from the scroll in the temple of the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="1" />

Neither he nor the officials who served him nor the people of Judah paid any attention to what the <sc>Lordsc> said through the prophet Jeremiah.<n id="1" />p>

Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that<n id="1" /> the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over<n id="1" /> again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate.<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt.<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah<n id="1" /> about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Early in the reign<n id="1" /> of King Zedekiah of Judah, the <sc>Lordsc> spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Your priests<n id="1" /> did not ask, &#8216;Where is the <sc>Lordsc>?&#8217;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Those responsible for teaching my law<n id="3" /> did not really know me.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Your rulers rebelled against me.p> <p class="poetry">Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal.<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">They all worshiped idols that could not help them.<n id="6" />p>

From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now,<n id="1" /> I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again,<n id="2" /> day after day.<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8220;When that time comes,<n id="1" /> the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves.

<n id="1" /><p class="poetry">So I will give their wives to other menp> <p class="poetry">and their fields to new owners.p> <p class="poetry">For from the least important to the most important of them,p> <p class="poetry">all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.p> <p class="poetry">Prophets and priests alike,p> <p class="poetry">all practice deceit.p>

Then<n id="1" /> tell them, &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc> says, &#8220;I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor.<n id="2" /> I will also fill the kings from David&#8217;s dynasty,<n id="3" /> the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor.<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">Then I said, &#8220;Oh, Lord <sc>Godsc>,<n id="1" /> look!<n id="2" /> The prophets are telling them that you said,<n id="3" /> &#8216;You will not experience war or suffer famine.<n id="4" /> I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="5" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Then the <sc>Lordsc> said to me, &#8220;Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority!<n id="1" /> I did not send them. I did not commission them.<n id="2" /> I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions,<n id="3" /> and the delusions of their own mind.

<p class="poetry">If I go out into the countryside,p> <p class="poetry">I see those who have been killed in battle.p> <p class="poetry">If I go into the city,p> <p class="poetry">I see those who are sick because of starvation.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">For both prophet and priest go about their own businessp> <p class="poetry">in the land without having any real understanding.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then some people<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah!<n id="2" /> There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God&#8217;s word.<n id="3" /> Come on! Let&#8217;s bring charges against him and get rid of him!<n id="4" /> Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.&#8221;p>

<p class="poetry">But I see the prophets of Jerusalem<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">doing something just as shocking.p> <p class="poetry">They are unfaithful to mep> <p class="poetry">and continually prophesy lies.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil,p> <p class="poetry">with the result that they do not stop their evildoing.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom,p> <p class="poetry">and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all<n id="1" /> says to the people of Jerusalem:<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Do not listen to whatp> <p class="poetry">those prophets are saying to you.p> <p class="poetry">They are filling you with false hopes.p> <p class="poetry">They are reporting visions of their own imaginations,p> <p class="poetry">not something the <sc>Lordsc> has given them to say.<n id="3" />p>