Jeremiah 28:2

“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude ²  to the king of Babylon.

"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

"The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks.

Hananiah said: "This Message is straight from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: 'I will most certainly break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

These are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: By me the yoke of the king of Babylon has been broken.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

"Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude ²  to the king of Babylon.

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).