Jeremiah 28
Good News Translation
Jeremiah and the Prophet Hananiah
28 (A)That same year,[a] in the fifth month of the fourth year that Zedekiah was king, Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from the town of Gibeon, spoke to me in the Temple. In the presence of the priests and of the people he told me 2 that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said: “I have broken the power of the king of Babylonia. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylonia. 4 I will also bring back the king of Judah, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, along with all of the people of Judah who went into exile in Babylonia. Yes, I will break the power of the king of Babylonia. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
5 Then in the presence of the priests and of all the people who were standing in the Temple, I said to Hananiah, 6 “Wonderful! I hope the Lord will do this! I certainly hope he will make your prophecy come true and will bring back from Babylonia all the Temple treasures and all the people who were taken away as prisoners. 7 But listen to what I say to you and to the people. 8 The prophets who spoke long ago, before my time and yours, predicted that war, starvation, and disease would come to many nations and powerful kingdoms. 9 But a prophet who predicts peace can only be recognized as a prophet whom the Lord has truly sent when that prophet's predictions come true.”
10 Then Hananiah took the yoke off my neck, broke it in pieces, 11 and said in the presence of all the people, “The Lord has said that this is how he will break the yoke that King Nebuchadnezzar has put on the neck of all the nations; and he will do this within two years.” Then I left.
12 Some time after this the Lord told me 13 to go and tell Hananiah: “The Lord has said that you may be able to break a wooden yoke, but he[b] will replace it with an iron yoke. 14 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has said that he will put an iron yoke on all these nations and that they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. The Lord has said that he will make even the wild animals serve Nebuchadnezzar.”
15 Then I told Hananiah this, and added, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you, and you are making these people believe a lie. 16 And so the Lord himself says that he is going to get rid of you. Before this year is over you will die because you have told the people to rebel against the Lord.”
17 And Hananiah died in the seventh month of that same year.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 28:1 One ancient translation That same year; Hebrew That same year at the beginning of his reign.
- Jeremiah 28:13 One ancient translation he; Hebrew you.
Jeremiah 28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies
28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,(A) 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.(B) 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.(C) 4 I will also bring back to this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”(D)
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles.(E) 7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.(F) 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.(G) 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”(H)
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.(I) 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: This is how I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went his way.(J)
12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:(K) 13 Go, tell Hananiah, Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars only to forge iron bars in place of them!(L) 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations so that they may serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they shall indeed serve him; I have even given him the wild animals.(M) 15 And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you made this people trust in a lie.(N) 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to send you off the face of the earth. Within this year you will be dead, for you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.”(O)
17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
Jeremiah 28
Complete Jewish Bible
28 That same year, at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananyah the son of ‘Azur the prophet, from Giv‘on, spoke to me in Adonai’s house in front of the cohanim and all the people, saying, 2 “This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Bavel. 3 Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles from Adonai’s house that N’vukhadnetzar king of Bavel removed from this place and carried to Bavel. 4 Also I will bring back here Y’khanyah the son of Y’hoyakim, king of Y’hudah, along with all those from Y’hudah who were taken captive to Bavel,’ says Adonai, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Bavel.’”
5 Then the prophet Yirmeyahu said to the prophet Hananyah in front of the cohanim and all the people standing in Adonai’s house — 6 the prophet Yirmeyahu said, “Amen! May Adonai do it! May Adonai fulfill the words you have prophesied and bring back from Bavel to this place the articles from Adonai’s house and all the people who were carried away captive! 7 Nevertheless, listen now to this word that I am speaking for you to hear and for all the people to hear. 8 The prophets who were here before me and before you prophesied in times past against many countries and against great kingdoms about war, disaster and plagues. 9 As for a prophet who prophesies peace — when the word of that prophet is fulfilled, it will be evident concerning that prophet that Adonai indeed did send him.”
10 At this point Hananyah the prophet took the crossbar off the prophet Yirmeyahu’s neck and broke it. 11 Then Hananyah, in front of all the people, said, “Thus says Adonai: ‘In just this way will I break off the yoke of N’vukhadnetzar king of Bavel from the necks of all the nations within two years.’”
The prophet Yirmeyahu left them; 12 but then this word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu, after Hananyah the prophet had broken off the crossbar from the neck of the prophet Yirmeyahu: 13 “Go and tell Hananyah that Adonai:says, ‘You have broken the crossbars of wood, but you will make in their place crossbars of iron. 14 For here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, so that they can serve N’vukhadnetzar king of Bavel; and they will serve him; and I have given him the wild animals too.”’”
15 Then the prophet Yirmeyahu said to Hananyah the prophet, “Listen here, Hananyah! Adonai has not sent you! You are making these people trust in a lie! 16 Therefore, here is what Adonai says: ‘I am about to send you away from the face of the earth — this year you will die, because you have preached rebellion against Adonai.’” 17 Hananyah the prophet died that same year, in the seventh month.
Jeremiah 28
The Message
From a Wooden to an Iron Yoke
28 1-2 Later that same year (it was in the fifth month of King Zedekiah’s fourth year) Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, confronted Jeremiah in the Temple of God in front of the priests and all the people who were there. Hananiah said:
2-4 “This Message is straight from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘I will most certainly break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Before two years are out I’ll have all the furnishings of God’s Temple back here, all the things that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon plundered and hauled off to Babylon. I’ll also bring back Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the exiles who were taken off to Babylon.’ God’s Decree. ‘Yes, I will break the king of Babylon’s yoke. You’ll no longer be in harness to him.’”
5-9 Prophet Jeremiah stood up to prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people who were in God’s Temple that day. Prophet Jeremiah said, “Wonderful! Would that it were true—that God would validate your preaching by bringing the Temple furnishings and all the exiles back from Babylon. But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today: The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague. So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there’s nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We’ll wait and see. If it happens, it happens—and then we’ll know that God sent him.”
10-11 At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah’s shoulders and smashed it. And then he addressed the people: “This is God’s Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations—and within two years.”
Jeremiah walked out.
12-14 Later, sometime after Hananiah had smashed the yoke from off his shoulders, Jeremiah received this Message from God: “Go back to Hananiah and tell him, ‘This is God’s Message: You smashed the wooden yoke-bars; now you’ve got iron yoke-bars. This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s own God: I’ve put an iron yoke on all these nations. They’re harnessed to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They’ll do just what he tells them. Why, I’m even putting him in charge of the wild animals.’”
15-16 So prophet Jeremiah told prophet Hananiah, “Hold it, Hananiah! God never sent you. You’ve talked the whole country into believing a pack of lies! And so God says, ‘You claim to be sent? I’ll send you all right—right off the face of the earth! Before the year is out, you’ll be dead because you instigated sedition against God.’”
17 Prophet Hananiah died that very year, in the seventh month.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson