³¹ “Send word to ^(A)all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning ^(B)Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has ^(C)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(D)made you trust in a lie,” ³² therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to ^(E)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[a]descendants; he will ^(F)not have anyone living among this people, ^(G)and he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has ^(H)spoken falsely against the Lord.”’”

⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, ^(A)I am against you,” declares the Lord God. ⁹ “So My hand will be against the ^(B)prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will ^[a]have no place in the council of My people, ^(C)nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, ^[b]so that you may know that I am the Lord God.

Abandonment of Faith

4 But ^(A)the Spirit explicitly says that ^(B)in later times some will ^[a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to ^(C)deceitful spirits and ^(D)teachings of demons, ² by means of the hypocrisy of liars ^(E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,