Jeremiah — Chapter 28
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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,
2Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of 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:
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.
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,
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.
7Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;
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.
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.
10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it.
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.
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,
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 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.
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.
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.
17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
1And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of Jehovah, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,
2Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Jehovah`s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to 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 to Babylon, saith Jehovah; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
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 Jehovah,
6even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: Jehovah do so; Jehovah perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Jehovah`s house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon unto this place.
7Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people:
8The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
9The prophet that prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that Jehovah hath truly sent him.
10Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah`s neck, and brake it.
11And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12Then the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
13Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou hast broken the bars of wood; but thou hast made in their stead bars of iron.
14For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may served Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
15Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah: Jehovah hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
16Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will send thee away from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken rebellion against Jehovah.
17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
1The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people:
2“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.
3Before two years are over, I will bring back to this place everything that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from it and carried away to Babylon.
4I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and all the exiles who were taken to Babylon.’ Indeed, the Lord affirms, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.’”
5Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple.
6The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do all this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true! May he bring back to this place from Babylon all the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple and the people who were carried into exile.
7But listen to what I say to you and to all these people.
8From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.
9So if a prophet prophesied peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”
10The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.
11Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way.
12But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord’s message came to Jeremiah.
13“Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one!
14For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’”
15Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie.
16So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”
17In the seventh month of that very same year the prophet Hananiah died.
1That same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in Yahweh’s house, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,
2“Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Yahweh’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon.
4I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, who went to Babylon,’ says Yahweh; ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
5Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people who stood in Yahweh’s house,
6even the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May Yahweh do so. May Yahweh perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Yahweh’s house, and all those who are captives, from Babylon to this place.
7Nevertheless listen now to this word that I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people:
8The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, of evil, and of pestilence.
9The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet happens, then the prophet will be known, that Yahweh has truly sent him.”
10Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it.
11Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Yahweh says: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from off the neck of all the nations within two full years.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
13“Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “You have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.”
14For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. I have also given him the animals of the field.”’”
15Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! Yahweh has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.
16Therefore Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will send you away from off the surface of the earth. This year you will die, because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh.’”
17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Summary
The showdown with Hananiah — a false prophet who breaks Jeremiah's yoke off his neck and declares: "Within two years God will bring back the temple vessels and Jehoiachin." Jeremiah initially walks away, but God sends him back with a harder message: the wooden yoke becomes an IRON yoke, and Hananiah will die within the year — he does, within two months.
Authorship & Background
- Hananiah's False Prophecy: Two Years! (vv.1-4)
- Jeremiah's Initial Response: "Amen — But..." (vv.5-9)
- Hananiah Breaks the Yoke (v.10-11)
- God's Response: Iron Replaces Wood (vv.12-14)
- Sentence on Hananiah: Death This Year (vv.15-17)
Map & Geography
- Babylon (v.2, v.3, v.4): Capital of the Babylonian empire; place of Judah's exile (modern Iraq).
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Charles Spurgeon: "Hananiah broke the wooden yoke and got an iron one. This is always the result of resisting God's lighter discipline: you don't escape — you get something heavier. Accept the wood before God sends the iron."
Reflection
- 1. Breaking the wooden yoke brings iron (v.13). When you resist God's lighter discipline, you don't escape — you get something HEAVIER. Accept the wooden yoke (early correction) before God sends iron (severe consequence).
- 2. The test of a peace-prophet (v.9). Anyone can promise good things. The TEST: does it come TRUE? Don't follow voices that tell you what you want to hear without checking if their predictions actually materialize.
- 3. Hananiah's name meant "God is gracious" (v.1). Having a spiritual-sounding name (or title, or platform) doesn't validate your message. Check the CONTENT against God's revealed word, not the messenger's credentials.
- 4. Jeremiah waited for God's word (v.12). He didn't react immediately to Hananiah — he walked away and waited until God spoke. Not every provocation requires instant response. Sometimes the wisest thing is: wait, pray, then return with God's actual word.
- 5. Two months vs. two years (vv.3,17). Hananiah predicted two years until restoration; he didn't even LIVE two more months. False confidence about the future is dangerous — you may not have the time you assume.