በምርኮ ላሉት የተላከ ደብዳቤ
1ነቢዩ ኤርምያስ በምርኮ ተወስደው በሕይወት ለቀሩት ሽማግሌዎች፣ ለካህናቱ፣ ለነቢያቱና ናቡከደነፆር ከኢየሩሳሌም ወደ ባቢሎን ማርኮ ለወሰዳቸው ሕዝብ ሁሉ የላከው የደብዳቤ ቃል ይህ ነው፤ 2ይህም የሆነው ንጉሡ ኢኮንያን29፥2 ኢኮንያን የኢዮአኪን ሌላው አቻ ስም ነው እቴጌዪቱ እናቱ፣ የቤተ መንግሥቱ ባለሟሎች፣ የይሁዳና የኢየሩሳሌም መሪዎች፣ ዐናጺዎችና ብረት ቀጥቃጮች ተማርከው ከኢየሩሳሌም ከተወሰዱ በኋላ ነበር። 3ደብዳቤውንም ከይሁዳ ንጉሥ ከሴዴቅያስ ወደ ባቢሎን ንጉሥ ወደ ናቡከደነፆር በተላኩት መልእክተኞች በሳፋን ልጅ በኤልዓሣና በኬልቅያስ ልጅ በገማርያ እጅ ላከው፤ ደብዳቤውም እንዲህ የሚል ነበር፤
4የእስራኤል አምላክ የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር፣ ከኢየሩሳሌም ወደ ባቢሎን ላስማረካቸው ሁሉ እንዲህ ይላል፤ 5“ቤት ሠርታችሁ ተቀመጡ፤ አትክልት ተክላችሁ ፍሬውን ብሉ፤ 6አግብታችሁ ወንዶችና ሴቶች ልጆችን ውለዱ፤ ወንዶች ልጆቻችሁንና ሴቶች ልጆቻችሁን አጋቡ፤ እነርሱም ወንዶችና ሴቶች ልጆችን ይውለዱ፤ ቍጥራችሁም በዚያ ምድር ይብዛ እንጂ አይነስ። 7ተማርካችሁ ለሄዳችሁባት ከተማ ሰላምና ብልጽግናን እሹ፤ ወደ እግዚአብሔርም ጸልዩላት፤ ምክንያቱም እርሷ ብትበለጽግ እናንተም ትበለጽጋላችሁ።” 8የእስራኤል አምላክ የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር በርግጥ እንዲህ ይላልና፤ “በመካከላችሁ ያሉት ነቢያትና ጠንቋዮች አያታልሏችሁ፤ የሚያልሙላችሁንም ሕልም አትስሙ፤ 9በስሜ ሐሰተኛ ትንቢት ይነግሯችኋል እንጂ እኔ አልላክኋቸውም” ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
10እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ “ሰባው ዓመት የባቢሎን ቈይታችሁ በተፈጸመ ጊዜ እጐበኛችኋለሁ፤ ወደዚህም ሥፍራ ልመልሳችሁ የገባሁላችሁን መልካሚቱን ቃሌን እፈጽምላችኋለሁ። 11ለእናንተ ያለኝን ዕቅድ እኔ ዐውቃለሁ” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “ዕቅዱም ፍጻሜው ያማረና ተስፋ የሚሰጥ፣ እናንተንም የሚጠቅም እንጂ የሚጐዳ አይደለም። 12እናንተም ትጠሩኛላችሁ፤ ቀርባችሁ ወደ እኔ ትጸልያላችሁ፤ እኔም እሰማችኋለሁ። 13እናንተ ትፈልጉኛላችሁ፤ በፍጹም ልባችሁም ከፈለጋችሁኝ ታገኙኛላችሁ፤ 14እኔም እገኝላችኋለሁ” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “ከምርኮም29፥14 ወይም ዕድል ፈንታችሁን እመልስላችኋለሁ እመልሳችኋለሁ፤ እናንተንም ከበተንሁበት አገርና ስፍራ ሁሉ እመልሳችኋለሁ” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “በምርኮ ምክንያት ወዳስለቀቅኋችሁም ምድር እመልሳችኋለሁ።”
15እናንተም፣ “እግዚአብሔር በባቢሎን ነቢያት አስነሥቶልናል” ትላላችሁ፤ 16እግዚአብሔር ግን በዳዊት ዙፋን ላይ ስለሚቀመጠው ንጉሥና ከእናንተ ጋር ተማርኮ ስላልሄደው ወገንህ በዚህ ከተማ ስለ ቀረው ሕዝብ ሁሉ እንዲህ ይላል፤ 17የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር በርግጥ እንዲህ ይላል፤ “ሰይፍን፣ ራብንና መቅሠፍትን እሰድድባቸዋለሁ፤ ከመበላሸቱ የተነሣም ሊበላ እንደማይቻል እንደ መጥፎ የበለስ ፍሬ አደርጋቸዋለሁ። 18በሰይፍ፣ በራብና በመቅሠፍት አሳድዳቸዋለሁ፤ በምድር መንግሥታት ሁሉ ፊት የሚያስጸይፉ አደርጋቸዋለሁ፤ በማሳድድባቸውም ሕዝቦች ዘንድ የርግማንና የድንጋጤ፣ የመሣቂያና የመዘባበቻ ምልክት ይሆናሉ፤ 19በአገልጋዮቼ በነቢያት በኩል ደጋግሜ የላክሁላቸውን ቃሌን አልሰሙምና” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “እናንተ ምርኮኞችም አልሰማችሁም” ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
20ስለዚህ ከኢየሩሳሌም ወደ ባቢሎን የሰደድኋችሁ ምርኮኞች ሁሉ፣ የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል ስሙ። 21የእስራኤል አምላክ የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር በስሜ የሐሰት ትንቢት ስለሚነግሯችሁ ስለ ቆላያ ልጅ ስለ አክዓብና ስለ መዕሤያ ልጅ ስለ ሴዴቅያስ እንዲህ ይላል፤ “እነዚህን ለባቢሎን ንጉሥ ለናቡከደነፆር አሳልፌ እሰጣቸዋለሁ፤ እርሱም ዐይናችሁ እያየ ይገድላቸዋል። 22በእነርሱ ላይ ከደረሰው የተነሣ በባቢሎን ያሉ የይሁዳ ምርኮኞች ሁሉ፣ ‘እግዚአብሔር፣ የባቢሎን ንጉሥ በእሳት እንደ ጠበሳቸው እንደ ሴዴቅያስና እንደ አክዓብ ያድርግብህ’ ብለው ይራገማሉ፤ 23ከባልንጀሮቻቸው ሚስቶች ጋር በማመንዘርና ያልነገርኋቸውን ቃል በስሜ በሐሰት በመናገር በእስራኤል ዘንድ በደል ፈጽመዋልና። ይህንም እኔ ዐውቃለሁ፤ ምስክር ነኝ” ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
ለሸማያ የተላከ መልእክት
24“ለኔሔላማዊው ለሸማያ እንዲህ ብለህ ንገረው፤ 25‘የእስራኤል አምላክ የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ በኢየሩሳሌም ላለው ሕዝብ ሁሉ፣ ለካህኑ ለመዕሤያ ልጅ ለሶፎንያስና ለሌሎችም ካህናት ሁሉ በገዛ ስምህ ደብዳቤዎችን ልከሃል፤ ለሶፎንያስም እንዲህ ብለሃል፤ 26“በእግዚአብሔር ቤት ኀላፊ ትሆን ዘንድ እግዚአብሔር በካህኑ በዮዳሄ ምትክ ካህን አድርጎ ሾሞሃል፤ ነቢይ ነኝ እያለ ትንቢት የሚናገር ማንኛውም ያበደ ሰው እግሩን በግንድ፣ ዐንገቱን በሰንሰለት መቀፍደድ ይገባሃል።” ’ 27ታዲያ፣ ነቢይ ነኝ ባዩን የዓናቶቱን ኤርምያስን ለምን አልገሠጽኸውም? 28ይህ ሰው፣ ‘የምርኮው ጊዜ ረዥም ስለሆነ፣ ቤት ሠርታችሁ ተቀመጡ፤ አትክልትም ተክላችሁ ፍሬውን ብሉ’ በማለት ወደ ባቢሎን መልእክት ልኮብናል።”
29ካህኑ ሶፎንያስም ደብዳቤውን ለነቢዩ ኤርምያስ አነበበለት። 30የእግዚአብሔርም ቃል ወደ ኤርምያስ እንዲህ ሲል መጣ፤ 31“ይህን መልእክት በምርኮ ላሉት ሁሉ እንዲህ ብለህ ላክ፤ ስለ ኔሔላማዊው ስለ ሸማያ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ ‘እኔ ሳልልከው ሸማያ ትንቢት ተናግሮላችሁ፣ በሐሰት እንድትታመኑ አድርጓችኋልና፣ 32እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ “እነሆ፤ ኔሔላማዊውን ሸማያንና ዘሩን እቀጣለሁ፤ በእኔ ላይ ዐመፅን ተናግሯልና፣ በዚህ ሕዝብ መካከል የሚተርፍ ዘር አይኖረውም” ’ ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ ‘ለሕዝቤ የማደርገውንም መልካም ነገር አያይም።’ ”
1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)29.2 eunuchs: or, chamberlains 3By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, 4Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 7And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
8¶ For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.29.9 falsely: Heb. in a lie
10¶ For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.29.11 expected…: Heb. end and expectation 12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
15¶ Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:29.18 to be a curse: Heb. for a curse 19Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
20¶ Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
24¶ Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,29.24 Nehelamite: or, dreamer 25Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks. 27Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? 28For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
30¶ Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 31Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: 32Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.29.32 rebellion: Heb. revolt
