Jeremiah Wears an Ox Yoke

27 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Zedekiah^[a] son of Josiah, king of Judah.

Jeremiah Condemns Hananiah

28 One day in late summer^[a] of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said,

¹⁹ “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken about the pillars in front of the Temple, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the water carts, and all the other ceremonial articles. ²⁰ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin^[a] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

¹² Then I repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. “If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people.

³ Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors who have come to see King Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

Zedekiah Rules in Judah

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.

Jeremiah’s Escape from Death

26 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,^[a] king of Judah.