Jer 28 | EE | STEP | The prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, spoke to me. He spoke to me in the house of the LORD that same year. It was the 5th month of the 4th year, soon after Zedekiah had become king of Judah. Hananiah came from Gibeon. He spoke to me in front of the priests and all the people.

Jeremiah 28

The false prophet Hananiah

1 The prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, spoke to me. He spoke to me in the house of the LORD that same year. It was the 5th month of the 4th year, soon after Zedekiah had become king of Judah. Hananiah came from Gibeon. He spoke to me in front of the priests and all the people. 2 ‘The great and powerful LORD, the God of Israel says this’, he said. ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took many things from the LORD‘s house. He took them to Babylon. In less than two years, I will bring them back to this place. 4 I will also bring back Jeconiah, king of Judah, and many other people. I will bring back all the people that Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon. I will break his yoke’, says the LORD. ^{▼▼28:4 People made yokes from wood. And they put them on the shoulders of men or animals. They could tie heavy things to a yoke. Then the men could carry the things, or animals could pull them. Nebuchadnezzar was causing the men in Israel to do his work.}

5 Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and in front of all the people. They were all standing in the house of the LORD. 6 ‘Amen!’ he said. ‘I want the LORD to do that! I want him to bring back all the things to the LORD‘s house. I want him to bring back all the people that Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon. I want him to do as you have prophesied. 7 But hear what I say to you and to all the people here. 8 Many prophets have prophesied for many years before us. They said that war and illness would happen. They said that people would not have any food. Those things would happen in many countries and kingdoms, they said. 9 Other prophets say that peace will happen. That peace may happen. Only then can we know that their words are true. And we will know that the LORD has sent them.’

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and he broke it. 11 He said in front of all the people, ‘The LORD says, “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon like that. In less than two years I will break his yoke from the neck of all the countries.”’ After that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.

12 A short time after Hananiah had broken the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck, the LORD spoke to Jeremiah. 13 ‘Go. And tell my words to Hananiah’, he said. ‘Tell him that the LORD says, “You have broken a yoke of wood, but I will give to you a yoke of iron in its place.” 14 The great and powerful LORD says this: The God of Israel says, “I will put an iron yoke on the neck of all those countries to make them slaves. They will serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I will even give to him power over the wild animals.”’

15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, ‘Listen! The LORD has not sent you, Hananiah. But you have spoken things that are not true to the people in this country. And they believed that they were the LORD‘s words. 16 So the LORD says, “I will cause you to die this year because you have taught people not to obey the LORD.”’

17 In that same year, in the 7th month, Hananiah the prophet died.