Jeremiah 28:2

28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.

Jeremiah 27:12

27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, “Submit to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.


tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for the explanation of this title.

sn See the study note on 27:2 for this figure. Hananiah is given the same title “the prophet” as Jeremiah throughout the chapter and claims to speak with the same authority (compare v. 2a with 27:21a). He even speaks like the true prophet; the verb form “I will break” is in the “prophetic perfect” emphasizing certitude. His message here is a contradiction of Jeremiah’s message recorded in the preceding chapter (compare especially v. 3 with 27:16, 19-22 and v. 4 with 22:24-28). The people and the priests are thus confronted with a choice of whom to believe. Who is the “true” prophet and who is the “false” one? Only fulfillment of their prophecies will prove which is which (see Deut 18:21-22).

tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”

sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).

tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.