Jeremiah 28

That same year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year of his reign, in the fifth month, the prophet Hananiah son of Azur, who came from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the LORD's temple, in front of the priests and all the people. He said:

1And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,

NoteThe dating is precise: Zedekiah was installed as king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC, so his fourth year falls in 594-593 BC. The fifth month of the Hebrew year (which began in spring) corresponds roughly to July-August. "Early in the reign" and "the fourth year" sit awkwardly together in the Hebrew as well; the wording is preserved rather than smoothed out. "That same year" links this scene to the events of the previous chapter. Gibeon was a town about six miles northwest of Jerusalem, one of the settlements assigned to priests, so Hananiah likely came from a priestly family. Both men are called "the prophet" throughout the chapter: the title says only that each spoke publicly in the LORD's name, not that either was believed.

2"This is what the LORD who commands armies, the God of Israel, says: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

2Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

Note"The LORD who commands armies" translates the Hebrew title "LORD of hosts"; the "hosts" may be heavenly armies, the stars, or Israel's own fighting men, and the phrase was probably heard as all of these at once. A yoke is the wooden collar or crossbar strapped over the neck of an ox to harness it to a plow or cart; across the ancient Near East it was the standard image for one nation's subjection to another. The image is not abstract here: as the previous chapter describes, Jeremiah had been walking around Jerusalem wearing an actual yoke on his own neck, as a visible sign that Judah and its neighbors must submit to Babylon.

3Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the objects from the LORD's temple that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from here and carried off to Babylon.

3Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:

NoteThe "objects" are the gold and silver vessels and furnishings used in the temple's worship. Nebuchadnezzar had carried off a portion of them in 597 BC, when Jerusalem surrendered to him after a short siege. Their return would have signaled that the humiliation was over.

4And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, along with all the people of Judah who were taken away to Babylon, says the LORD. For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon."

4And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

NoteJeconiah, also called Jehoiachin, was king of Judah for only three months before surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. He was deported to Babylon with the royal household, the leading citizens and thousands of others, and was still alive there. Zedekiah, his uncle, was placed on the throne in his stead by the Babylonians, so many in Judah regarded Jeconiah as the rightful king and his return as the reversal of the whole disaster.

5Then the prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were standing in the LORD's temple.

5Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD,

6The prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the LORD do it. May the LORD make your words come true and bring the objects from the LORD's temple, and all the people taken away as prisoners, back from Babylon to this place.

6Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD’s house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.

Note"Amen" is a Hebrew word meaning roughly "so be it" or "that is sure." It was the formal way of endorsing someone else's words, as at the swearing of an oath.

7But listen now to what I am about to say, so that you hear it and all the people hear it too.

7Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;

8The prophets who came long before you and me spoke against many countries and great kingdoms, warning of war, disaster, and deadly disease.

8The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

NoteWhere the King James has "evil," the word in 1611 English meant harm, calamity or disaster, not wickedness. War, disaster and epidemic disease form a standard trio in Jeremiah for the destruction that comes with invasion: the sword, the collapse of food supplies under siege, and the sickness that follows.

9But as for a prophet who says there will be peace, only when his words come true is he shown to be a prophet the LORD really sent."

9The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.

NoteJeremiah is appealing to a recognized test: a prophet's message was judged by whether it came true (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). His point turns on the fact that the older prophets typically announced disaster, so a message of disaster carried a certain weight of tradition behind it, while a message of peace had nothing to authenticate it in advance except the event itself.

10Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.

10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it.

NoteBreaking the yoke was not merely an outburst. Prophets in Israel regularly acted their messages out physically, and a rival prophet destroying Jeremiah's sign was itself a counter-prophecy, canceling the message in public view.

11And Hananiah said in front of all the people, "This is what the LORD says: In just this way, within two full years, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations." Then the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

11And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

12Some time after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. He said:

12Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

13"Go and tell Hananiah, This is what the LORD says: You have broken a yoke of wood, but in its place you have made a yoke of iron.

13Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.

14For this is what the LORD who commands armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, so that they will serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And they will serve him. I have even given him control of the wild animals."

14For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.

NoteGiving a king even the wild animals is a formula for total dominion, used of Nebuchadnezzar earlier in Jeremiah as well: his authority is said to extend past the settled human world to the creatures outside it.

15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, "Listen, Hananiah! The LORD did not send you, but you have made these people trust in a lie.

15Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

16So this is what the LORD says: I am going to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because you have told people to rebel against the LORD."

16Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.

NoteThere is a play on words in the Hebrew: the verb rendered "remove" or "send away" is the same verb used in the previous verse for the LORD not having "sent" Hananiah. He was not sent out as a prophet; he will be sent off the earth. "Rebellion" here means incitement to revolt against a ruler; Jeremiah's charge is that urging Judah to throw off Babylon was, in the circumstances, urging revolt against the LORD who had handed Judah over.

17And the prophet Hananiah died that same year, in the seventh month.

17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

NoteTwo months after the confrontation of verse 1, and so still within the year in which Jeremiah said he would die. The Hebrew year began in spring, so the seventh month (roughly September-October) falls later in the same year, not in the next one.