20. Therefore, listen to this message from the lord, all you captives there in Babylon.
21. This is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about your prophets—Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah—who are telling you lies in my name: “I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar for execution before your eyes.
22. Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that the Judean exiles will curse someone by saying, ‘May the lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!’
23. For these men have done terrible things among my people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have lied in my name, saying things I did not command. I am a witness to this. I, the lord, have spoken.”
24. The lord sent this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Babylon:
25. “This is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You wrote to Zephaniah,
26. “The lord has appointed you to replace Jehoiada as the priest in charge of the house of the lord. You are responsible to put into stocks and neck irons any crazy man who claims to be a prophet.
27. So why have you done nothing to stop Jeremiah from Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you?
28. Jeremiah sent a letter here to Babylon, predicting that our captivity will be a long one. He said, ‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.’”
29. But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him.
30. Then the lord gave this message to Jeremiah: