Discovery BoxJeremiah 28:2 
Context28:2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all 1 says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude 2 to the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah 27:12
Context27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, 3 “Submit 4 to the yoke of servitude to 5 the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.
1 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.
2 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).
3 tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”
4 sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).
5 tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.
