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:28.3 two…: Heb. two years of days 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.28.4 captives: Heb. captivity
5¶ Then 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.
10¶ Then 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.
12¶ Then 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.
15¶ Then 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.28.16 rebellion: Heb. revolt 17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
The False Prophet Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah
1The false prophet Hananiah spoke to me, Jeremiah, in the Lord’s house. Hananiah was from Gibeon. He was the son of Azzur. It was shortly after Zedekiah became king of Judah. It was in the fifth month of his fourth year. In front of the priests and all the people Hananiah spoke to me. He said, 2“The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, removed all the objects that belong to my house. He took them to Babylon. Before two years are over, I will bring them back to this place. 4I will also bring King Jehoiachin back. He is the son of Jehoiakim. And I will bring back all the others who were taken from Judah to Babylon,’ announces the Lord. ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”
5Then Jeremiah the prophet replied to the false prophet Hananiah. Jeremiah spoke to him in front of the priests and all the people. They were standing in the Lord’s house. 6Jeremiah said, “Amen, Hananiah! May the Lord do those things! May he make the words you have prophesied come true. May he bring back from Babylon the objects that belong to the Lord’s house. May he bring back to this place all the people who were taken away. 7But listen to what I have to say. I want you and all the people to hear it. 8There have been prophets long before you and I were ever born. They have prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms. They have spoken about war, trouble and plague. 9But what if a prophet says peace will come? And suppose peace really does come? Only then will he be recognized as a prophet truly sent by the Lord.”
10The false prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet. Then Hananiah broke the yoke. 11In front of all the people he said, “The Lord says, ‘In the same way, I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Before two years are over, I will remove it from the necks of all the nations.’ ” When Jeremiah the prophet heard this, he went on his way.
12A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was after the false prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck. The message said, 13“Go. Tell Hananiah, ‘The Lord says, “You have broken a wooden yoke. But in its place you will get an iron yoke.” 14The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations. I will make them serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. So they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.” ’ ”
15Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the false prophet Hananiah. Jeremiah said, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord hasn’t sent you. But you have tricked these people. Now they trust in lies. 16So the Lord says, ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. Before this year is over, you will die. You have taught the people to turn against me.’ ”
17In the seventh month of that very year, the false prophet Hananiah died.
