Jeremiah 28
New King James Version
Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom
28 And (A)it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the (B)fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of (C)Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken (D)the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 (E)Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (F)took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back to this place [a]Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, (G)“Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. 7 Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. 9 As for (H)the prophet who prophesies of (I)peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the (J)yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (K)from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12 Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (L)“I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. (M)I have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but (N)you make this people trust in a (O)lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall (P)die, because you have taught (Q)rebellion against the Lord.’ ”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 28:4 Jehoiachin, 2 Kin. 24:12
Jeremiah 28
Common English Bible
Prophet against prophet
28 That same year, early in the rule of Judah’s King Zedekiah, in the fifth month of his fourth year, the prophet Hananiah, Azzur’s son from Gibeon, spoke to me in the Lord’s temple before the priests and all the people. 2 He said: “The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 In two years I will restore to this place all of the temple equipment that Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar carted off to Babylon. 4 I will also restore to this place Judah’s King Jeconiah, Jehoiakim’s son, along with all the exiles from Judah who were deported to Babylon, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon, declares the Lord.”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple. 6 The prophet Jeremiah said: “Indeed. May the Lord do just as you have said! May the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back from Babylon the equipment of the Lord’s temple and all the exiles to this place. 7 However, listen closely to what I have to say to you and all the people: 8 The prophets who came before you and me long ago prophesied war, disaster, and disease against many lands and great kingdoms. 9 So the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as one who is actually sent by the Lord only when that prophet’s message is fulfilled.”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took hold of the yoke that was on the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 He said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: Just as this yoke has been broken, I will break the yoke of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the nations within two years.” Then the prophet Jeremiah walked away.
12 Sometime after Hananiah had broken the yoke that was on Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord told him: 13 Go, say to Hananiah, The Lord proclaims: You have broken a wooden yoke,[a] but I[b] will replace it with an iron one. 14 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I will put iron yokes on the necks of all these nations, and they will serve Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar; even the wild animals will be subject to him!
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah: “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord hasn’t sent you. All you are doing is persuading these people to believe a lie. 16 Therefore, the Lord proclaims: I’m going to send you somewhere—right off the face of the earth! Before the year ends, you will die since you have incited rebellion against the Lord.” 17 The prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month[c] of that year.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 28:13 Or yokes
- Jeremiah 28:13 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 28:17 September–October, Tishrei
Jeremiah 28
New Century Version
The False Prophet Hananiah
28 It was in that same year, in the fifth month of Zedekiah’s fourth year as king of Judah, soon after he began to rule. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the Temple of the Lord in front of the priests and all the people. He said: 2 “The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘I have broken the yoke the king of Babylon has put on Judah. 3 Before two years are over, I will bring back everything that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took to Babylon from the Lord’s Temple. 4 I will also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other captives from Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord. ‘So I will break the yoke the king of Babylon put on Judah.’”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Temple of the Lord. 6 He said, “Amen! Let the Lord really do that! May the Lord make the message you prophesy come true. May he bring back here everything from the Lord’s Temple and all the people who were taken as captives to Babylon.
7 “But listen to what I am going to say to you and all the people. 8 There were prophets long before we became prophets, Hananiah. They prophesied that war, hunger, and terrible diseases would come to many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But if a prophet prophesies that we will have peace and that message comes true, he can be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord.”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 Hananiah said in front of all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He put that yoke on all the nations of the world, but I will break it before two years are over.’” After Hananiah had said that, Jeremiah left the Temple.
12 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off of the prophet Jeremiah’s neck. 13 The Lord said, “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but I will make a yoke of iron in its place! 14 The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will be slaves to him. I will even give Nebuchadnezzar control over the wild animals.’”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, and you have made the people of Judah trust in lies. 16 So this is what the Lord says: ‘Soon I will remove you from the earth. You will die this year, because you taught the people to turn against the Lord.’”
17 Hananiah died in the seventh month of that same year.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.