So the king of Israel brought 400 prophets together. He asked them,“ Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”“ Go,” they answered.“ God will hand it over to you.”

于是以色列王招聚先知四百人，问他们说：“我们上去攻取基列的拉末可以不可以？”他们说：“可以上去，因为神必将那城交在王的手里。”

于是以色列王召集先知四百人，问他们说：“我可以上去攻打基列的拉末吗？还是不要上去呢？”他们说：“可以上去，因为上帝必将那城交在王的手里。”

于是以色列王召集先知四百人，问他们说：“我可以上去攻打基列的拉末吗？还是不要上去呢？”他们说：“可以上去，因为神必将那城交在王的手里。”

于是，以色列王召来四百名先知，问他们：“我可以去攻打基列的拉末吗？”他们说：“可以去，上帝必把那城交在王手中。”

于是以色列王召集了四百位先知，问他们：“我们可以到基列的拉末去作战吗？还是不要去呢？”他们回答：“你可以上去，神必把那城交在王的手里。”

於是以色列王招聚先知四百人，問他們說：「我們上去攻取基列的拉末可以不可以？」他們說：「可以上去，因為神必將那城交在王的手裏。」

於是以色列王召集先知四百人，問他們說：「我可以上去攻打基列的拉末嗎？還是不要上去呢？」他們說：「可以上去，因為上帝必將那城交在王的手裏。」

於是以色列王召集先知四百人，問他們說：「我可以上去攻打基列的拉末嗎？還是不要上去呢？」他們說：「可以上去，因為神必將那城交在王的手裏。」

於是，以色列王召來四百名先知，問他們：「我可以去攻打基列的拉末嗎？」他們說：「可以去，上帝必把那城交在王手中。」

於是以色列王召集了四百位先知，問他們：“我們可以到基列的拉末去作戰嗎？還是不要去呢？”他們回答：“你可以上去，神必把那城交在王的手裡。”

於是以色列王集合了神言人四百位，問他們說：『我到基列的拉末去交戰可以麼？還是忍着不去呢？』他們說：『你可以上去；上帝一定將那地交在王手裏。』

以色列王乃集先知四百人、謂之曰、我往基列拉末以戰、可否、曰、往哉、上帝必付之於王手、

以色列王乃集先知、約四百人、告之曰我欲往基列之喇末一戰、行止若何、曰、往哉、上帝將使王克敵。

以色列王乃集先知四百人、謂之曰、我欲往基列之拉末以戰、可否、曰、可往、往原文作上天主必付之於王手、

So the king of Israel brought together the prophets— four hundred men— and asked them,“ Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”“ Go,” they answered,“ for God will give it into the king’s hand.”

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them,“ Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said,“ Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.”

So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, 400 of them, and asked them,“ Should we go to war against Ramoth gilead, or should I hold back?” They all replied,“ Yes, go right ahead! God will give the king victory.”

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them,“ Should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?” They replied,“ March up, and God will hand it over to the king.”

So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them,“ Should we go to battle against Ramoth gilead, or should I refrain?” And they said,“ Go up, for God will hand it over to the king.”

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them,“ Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?” So they said,“ Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth- gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king.

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, 400 men, and asked them,“ Should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?” They replied,“ March up, and God will hand it over to the king.”

Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver[ it] into the king’s hand.

So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them,“ Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” They said,“ Attack! God will hand it over to the king.”

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them,“ Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?” They said,“ Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

They keep speaking to those who hate me. They say,‘ The Lord says you will have peace.’ They speak to all those who do what their stubborn hearts want them to do. They tell them,‘ No harm will come to you.’

The time will come when people won’t put up with true teaching. Instead, they will try to satisfy their own desires. They will gather a large number of teachers around them. The teachers will say what the people want to hear.

I have also seen something horrible among Jerusalem’s prophets. They are not faithful to me. They are not living by the truth. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil. So not one of them turns from their sinful ways. All of them are like the people of Sodom to me. They are just like the people of Gomorrah.”

I will give their wives to other men. I will give their fields to new owners. Everyone wants to get richer and richer. Everyone is greedy, from the least important to the most important. Prophets and priests alike try to fool everyone they can.They bandage the wounds of my people as if they were not very deep.‘ Peace, peace,’ they say. But there isn’t any peace.

But the beast and the false prophet were captured. The false prophet had done signs for the beast. In this way the false prophet had tricked some people. Those people had received the mark of the beast and had worshiped its statue. The beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire. The lake of fire burns with sulfur.

The Lord and King says,“ How terrible it will be for you foolish prophets! You say what your own minds tell you to. Your visions do not come from me.Israel, your prophets are like wild dogs that live among broken- down buildings.You have not repaired the cracks in the city wall for the people of Israel. So it will not stand firm in the battle on the day I judge you.The visions of those prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say,‘ The Lord announces.’ But I have not sent them. In spite of that, they expect him to make their words come true.You prophets have seen false visions. You have used magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But your magic tricks are lies. So you lied when you said,‘ The Lord announces.’ I did not even speak to you at all.”“‘ The Lord and King says,“ I am against you prophets. Your messages are false. Your visions do not come true,” announces the Lord and King.“ Israel, my power will be against the prophets who see false visions. Their magic tricks are lies. They will not be among the leaders of my people. They will not be listed in the records of Israel. In fact, they will not even enter the land. Then you will know that I am the Lord and King.“‘ “They lead my people away from me. They say,‘ Peace.’ But there isn’t any peace. They are like people who build a weak wall. They try to cover up the weakness by painting the wall white.Tell those who do this that their wall is going to fall. Heavy rains will come. I will send hailstones crashing down. Powerful winds will blow.The wall will fall down. Then people will ask them,‘ Now where is the paint you covered it with?’ ”“‘ So the Lord and King speaks. He says,“ When I am very angry, I will send a powerful wind. Hailstones and heavy rains will come. They will fall with great force.I will tear down the wall you prophets painted over. I will knock it down. The only thing left will be its foundation. When it falls, you will be destroyed along with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.So I will pour out all my great anger on the wall. I will also send it against you prophets who painted it. I will say to you,‘ The wall is gone. You who painted it will be gone too.You prophets of Israel prophesied to Jerusalem. You saw visions of peace for its people. But there wasn’t any peace,’ announces the Lord and King.” ’

I had not made godly people sad. But when you told them lies, you made them lose all hope. You advised sinful people not to turn from their evil ways. You did not want them to save their lives.

Elisha said to the king of Israel,“ Why do you want to come to me? Go to your father’s prophets. Go to your mother’s prophets.”“ No,” the king of Israel answered.“ The Lord called us three kings together. He did it to hand us over to Moab.”

All of them said to Jeremiah the prophet,“ Please listen to our appeal. Pray to the Lord your God. Pray for all of us who are left here. Once there were many of us. But as you can see, only a few of us are left now.So pray to the Lord your God. Pray that he’ll tell us where we should go. Pray that he’ll tell us what we should do.”

Now send for people from all over Israel. Tell them to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of the god named Baal. Also bring the 400 prophets of the female god named Asherah. All of them eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Finally, a spirit came forward and stood in front of the Lord. The spirit said,‘ I’ll get Ahab to do it.’“‘ How?’ the Lord asked.“ The spirit said,‘ I’ll go and put lies in the mouths of all his prophets.’“‘ You will have success in getting Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead,’ said the Lord.‘ Go and do it.’

Your judges take money from people who want special favors. Your priests teach only if they get paid for it. Your prophets won’t tell fortunes unless they receive money. But you still look for the Lord’ s help. You say,“ The Lord is with us. No trouble will come on us.”

The false prophet Hananiah spoke to me, Jeremiah, in the Lord’ s house. Hananiah was from Gibeon. He was the son of Azzur. It was shortly after Zedekiah became king of Judah. It was in the fifth month of his fourth year. In front of the priests and all the people Hananiah spoke to me. He said,“ The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,‘ I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, removed all the objects that belong to my house. He took them to Babylon. Before two years are over, I will bring them back to this place.I will also bring King Jehoiachin back. He is the son of Jehoiakim. And I will bring back all the others who were taken from Judah to Babylon,’ announces the Lord.‘ I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”Then Jeremiah the prophet replied to the false prophet Hananiah. Jeremiah spoke to him in front of the priests and all the people. They were standing in the Lord’ s house.Jeremiah said,“ Amen, Hananiah! May the Lord do those things! May he make the words you have prophesied come true. May he bring back from Babylon the objects that belong to the Lord’ s house. May he bring back to this place all the people who were taken away.But listen to what I have to say. I want you and all the people to hear it.There have been prophets long before you and I were ever born. They have prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms. They have spoken about war, trouble and plague.But what if a prophet says peace will come? And suppose peace really does come? Only then will he be recognized as a prophet truly sent by the Lord.”The false prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet. Then Hananiah broke the yoke.In front of all the people he said,“ The Lord says,‘ In the same way, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Before two years are over, I will remove it from the necks of all the nations.’ ” When Jeremiah the prophet heard this, he went on his way.A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was after the false prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck. The message said,“ Go. Tell Hananiah,‘ The Lord says,“ You have broken a wooden yoke. But in its place you will get an iron yoke.”The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,“ I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations. I will make them serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. So they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.” ’ ”Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the false prophet Hananiah. Jeremiah said,“ Listen, Hananiah! The Lord hasn’t sent you. But you have tricked these people. Now they trust in lies.So the Lord says,‘ I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. Before this year is over, you will die. You have taught the people to turn against me.’ ”In the seventh month of that very year, the false prophet Hananiah died.

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet. The king had him brought to the third entrance to the Lord’ s temple.“ I want to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah.“ Don’t hide anything from me.”Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,“ Suppose I give you an answer. You will kill me, won’t you? Suppose I give you good advice. You won’t listen to me, will you?”But King Zedekiah promised Jeremiah secretly,“ I won’t kill you. And I won’t hand you over to those who want to kill you. That’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. He’s the one who has given us breath.”So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,“ The Lord God who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,‘ Give yourself up to the officers of the king of Babylon. Then your life will be spared. And this city will not be burned down. You and your family will remain alive.But what if you do not give yourself up to them? Then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down. And you yourself will not escape from them.’ ”King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“ I’m afraid of some of the Jews. They are the ones who have gone over to the side of the Babylonians. The Babylonians might hand me over to them. And those Jews will treat me badly.”“ They won’t hand you over to them,” Jeremiah replied.“ Obey the Lord. Do what I tell you to do. Then things will go well with you. Your life will be spared.Don’t refuse to give yourself up. The Lord has shown me what will happen if you do.All the women who are left in your palace will be brought out. They’ll be given to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you,“‘ Your trusted friends have tricked you. They have gotten the best of you. Your feet are sunk down in the mud. Your friends have deserted you.’“ All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself won’t escape from them. You will be captured by the king of Babylon. And this city will be burned down.”Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“ Don’t let anyone know about the talk we’ve had. If you do, you might die.Suppose the officials find out that I’ve talked with you. And suppose they come to you and say,‘ Tell us what you said to the king. Tell us what the king said to you. Don’t hide it from us. If you do, we’ll kill you.’Then tell them,‘ I was begging the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house. I don’t want to die there.’ ”All the officials came to Jeremiah. And they questioned him. He told them everything the king had ordered him to say. None of them had heard what he told the king. So they didn’t say anything else to him.Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. He stayed there until the day Jerusalem was captured. Here is how Jerusalem was captured.

Suppose a prophet goes around telling lies. And he prophesies that you will have plenty of wine and beer. Then that kind of prophet would be just right for this nation!

You made a big mistake when you asked me to pray to the Lord your God. You said,‘ Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us everything he says. We’ll do it.’

When Micaiah arrived, the king spoke to him. He asked,“ Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”“ Attack,” he answered.“ You will win. The people of Ramoth Gilead will be handed over to you.”