Jeremiah 28
English Standard Version
Hananiah the False Prophet
28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of (A)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of (B)Azzur, the prophet from (C)Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (D)I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 (E)Within (F)two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place (G)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, (H)for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet 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, (I)“Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 (J)The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 (K)As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the (L)yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, (M)“Thus says the Lord: (N)Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of (O)all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.
12 Sometime after the prophet (P)Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations (Q)an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, (R)and they shall serve him, (S)for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, (T)the Lord has not sent you, (U)and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, (V)because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”
17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
Jeremiah 28
The Voice
28 One day in the fifth month of the same year (this was early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the fourth year), a prophet from Gibeon named Hananiah (son of Azzur) contradicted me in front of the priests and all the people who had come to worship in the temple of the Eternal.
Hananiah: 2 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, says: “I will break the yoke Babylon’s king has placed upon you. 3 Within two years, I will bring back the items King Nebuchadnezzar took from My temple and carried away to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back Jeconiah (son of Jehoiakim), king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah taken with him to Babylon. This is what I, the Eternal One, declare: ‘I will break the yoke that Babylon’s king has placed upon you!’”
5 Then Jeremiah the prophet addressed Hananiah the prophet in front of the priests and all the people who had come to worship in the temple of the Eternal.
Jeremiah: 6 May it be so! May the Eternal do just as you said. May He confirm that your prophecy is true by bringing back the items stolen from the temple. Better yet, may He bring all of the exiles home from Babylon.
7 But now hear what I have to say to you and to all these people listening to us: 8 Long before either of us was here, in the days of old, there were prophets who spoke strong words against many nations and kingdoms. They, too, predicted war, famine, and disease; and they have been proven right. 9 Now, as for the prophet who prophecies peace, how are we to know whether he is a true prophet sent by the Eternal? Only when that prediction comes true.
10 At this point, the prophet Hananiah grabbed the yoke from around Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 He then turned to the people and said:
Hananiah: This is what the Eternal says: “This is how I will break the yoke King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon forced you and all the nations to wear. I will remove it from your neck within two years.”
And with that, the prophet Jeremiah walked away.
12 Not long after Hananiah had broken the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck, the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 13 Go to Hananiah and tell him, “This is what the Eternal says: ‘You may have broken a wooden yoke, but now you will get a yoke of iron that you could never break.’ 14 For this is what the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, declares: ‘I have put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations, and they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Even the wild animals of the field will obey Him.’”
Jeremiah (to Hananiah): 15 Listen, Hananiah! The Eternal has not sent you, but still the people of this nation have believed your lies. 16 So the Eternal now says this to you: “Pay attention. I am about to wipe you from the face of the earth. Because you have stirred up rebellion against Me with your words, you will die this year.”
17 Later that year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.
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.
Jeremiah 28
New Living Translation
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, 2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. 3 Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back Jehoiachin[b] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”
5 Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. 6 He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives. 7 But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. 8 The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease. 9 So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. 11 And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.
12 Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 13 “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron. 14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.’”
15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”
17 Two months later[c] the prophet Hananiah died.
Footnotes
- 28:1 Hebrew In the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. The fifth month in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign occurred within the months of August and September 593 B.c. Also see note on 1:3.
- 28:4 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin.
- 28:17 Hebrew In the seventh month of that same year. See 28:1 and the note there.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
