²⁴You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that ²⁵this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah: ²⁶‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet — you must put him in stocks and neck irons. ²⁷So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’” ²⁹(Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.) ³⁰Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you— though I did not send him— and has made you trust in a lie, ³²this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”