The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday October 16, 2017 (NIV)

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 In that same year, early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of his fourth year as king, the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon, spoke to me in the Lord’s temple. He said to me in front of the priests and all the people, ² “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will break the yoke^[a] of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I will bring back all the utensils of the Lord’s temple that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from this place and carried off to Babylon. ⁴ I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakin, son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord. So I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

⁵ The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people standing in the Lord’s temple. ⁶ He said, “Amen! May the Lord do this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true and bring back the utensils of the Lord’s temple and all the captives from Babylon to this place. ⁷ But now listen to this message that I am speaking to you and to all the people: ⁸ Long ago, the prophets who preceded you and me prophesied wars, disasters, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹ But the prophet who prophesied peace was recognized as a prophet that the Lord sent only if the message of the prophet came true.”

¹⁰ Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah said in front of all the people, “This is what the Lord says: In the same way, I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.” Then the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

¹² After the prophet Hananiah broke the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, ¹³ “Tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken the wooden yoke, but I^[b] will replace it with an iron yoke. ¹⁴ This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations so that they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. They will serve him! I will even make wild animals serve him.’”

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Now listen, Hananiah, the Lord hasn’t sent you. You have made these people believe a lie. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord says: I’m going to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have encouraged rebellion against the Lord.”

¹⁷ So the prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year.

Jeremiah Writes to the Captives in Babylon

29 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the rest of the leaders among the captives. He also sent it to the priests, the prophets, and all the people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King Jehoiakin^[c] and his mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and metal workers left Jerusalem.) ³ He sent the letter with Shaphan’s son Elasah and Hilkiah’s son Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The letter said:

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: When Babylon’s 70 years are over, I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place. ¹¹ I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. ¹² Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³ When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, ¹⁴ I will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I’ve scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive.

¹⁵ You’ve said that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylon. ¹⁶ But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and about all the people who live in this city, the people who are your relatives and who weren’t taken away as captives: ¹⁷ The Lord of Armies says: I’m going to send them wars, famines, and plagues. These people are like rotten figs to me, figs that are so bad that they can’t be eaten. ¹⁸ I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them. ¹⁹ They didn’t listen to me, declares the Lord. I sent them my servants the prophets again and again, but they refused to listen, declares the Lord.

²⁰ So listen to the Lord’s word, all you captives who were sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹ This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Kolaiah’s son Ahab and about Maaseiah’s son Zedekiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: I’m going to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will kill them as you watch. ²² Because of them, all the captives from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: May the Lord curse you as he cursed Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned to death. ²³ They have done shameful things in Israel. They committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and spoke lies in my name. I didn’t command them to do this. I know what they have done. I’m a witness, declares the Lord.

²⁴ The Lord says, “Say to Shemaiah from Nehelam, ²⁵ ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. These letters said: ²⁶ The Lord made you priest instead of Jehoiada so that there would be officials for the Lord’s temple. You should put any lunatic who acts like a prophet in prison and in shackles. ²⁷ Now, why haven’t you arrested Jeremiah from Anathoth? After all, he acts like a prophet among you. ²⁸ That’s why Jeremiah sent this message to us in Babylon: You will be captives a long time. Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce.’”

²⁹ The priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah.

³⁰ Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, ³¹ “Send this message to all the captives: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah from Nehelam: Shemaiah prophesied to you, but I didn’t send him. He has made you believe a lie. ³² The Lord says: I will punish Shemaiah from Nehelam. I will also punish his descendants. No one from his family will be left alive. He will not see the blessings that I’m going to send my people, declares the Lord, because he has encouraged rebellion against the Lord.’”

Greeting

1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our confidence.

² To Timothy, a genuine child in faith.

Good will,^[a] mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord are yours!

A Warning about False Teachers

³ When I was going to the province of Macedonia, I encouraged you to stay in the city of Ephesus. That way you could order certain people to stop teaching false doctrine ⁴ and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These myths and genealogies raise a lot of questions rather than promoting God’s plan, which centers in faith.

⁵ My goal in giving you this order is for love to flow from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith. ⁶ Some people have left these qualities behind and have turned to useless discussions. ⁷ They want to be experts in Moses’ Teachings. However, they don’t understand what they’re talking about or the things about which they speak so confidently.

⁸ We know that the laws in Moses’ Teachings are good if they are used as they were intended to be used. ⁹ For example, a person must realize that those laws are not intended for people who have God’s approval. Laws are intended for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for those who think nothing is holy or sacred, for those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or other people. ¹⁰ Laws are intended for people involved in sexual sins, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for those who lie when they take an oath, and for whatever else is against accurate teachings. ¹¹ Moses’ Teachings were intended to be used in agreement with the Good News that contains the glory of the blessed God. I was entrusted with that Good News.

God’s Mercy to Paul

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord that he has trusted me and has appointed me to do his work with the strength he has given me. ¹³ In the past I cursed him, persecuted him, and acted arrogantly toward him. However, I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in my unbelief. ¹⁴ Our Lord was very kind^[b] to me. Through his kindness he brought me to faith and gave me the love that Christ Jesus shows people.

¹⁵ This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the foremost sinner. ¹⁶ However, I was treated with mercy so that Christ Jesus could use me, the foremost sinner, to demonstrate his patience. This patience serves as an example for those who would believe in him and live forever. ¹⁷ Worship and glory belong forever to the eternal king, the immortal, invisible, and only God. Amen.

Guidelines for the Church

¹⁸ Timothy, my child, I’m giving you this order about the prophecies that are still coming to you: Use these prophecies in faith and with a clear conscience to fight this noble war. ¹⁹ Some have refused to let their faith guide their conscience and their faith has been destroyed like a wrecked ship. ^{[c] 20} Among these people are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan in order to teach them not to dishonor God.

Psalm 87

By Korah’s descendants; a psalm; a song.