Jeremiah 28:13-15

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 28:13 tn Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord….” The translation uses an indirect quotation here used to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.
2. Jeremiah 28:13 tn The Greek version has “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.
3. Jeremiah 28:13 tn Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.”sn This whole incident (and the preceding one in Jer 28) is symbolic. Jeremiah’s wearing of the yoke was symbolic of the Lord’s message to submit to Babylonian authority. Hananiah’s breaking of the yoke was a prediction that that authority would not last beyond two years. By breaking the yoke he was encouraging rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar’s (and hence the Lord’s) authority (cf. 27:9, 14). However, rebelling would only result in further, harsher, more irresistible measures by Nebuchadnezzar to control such rebellion.
4. Jeremiah 28:14 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.
5. Jeremiah 28:14 tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”
6. Jeremiah 28:14 sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.
7. Jeremiah 28:15 tn Or “You are giving these people false assurances.”