Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 Now in the same year, ^(A)in the beginning of the reign of ^(B)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, ^(C)Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from ^(D)Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “^(E)This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³ Within two years I am going to bring back to this place ^(F)all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. ⁴ I am ^(G)also going to bring back to this place ^(H)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the ^(I)exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the ^(J)yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the ^(K)house of the Lord, ⁶ and Jeremiah the prophet said, “^(L)Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. ⁷ Yet ^(M)hear now this word which I am going to speak ^[a]so that you and all the people can hear it! ⁸ The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also ^(N)prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, ^(O)when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(P)yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. ¹¹ Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “^(Q)This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹² Then the ^(R)word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ¹³ “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made ^(S)yokes of iron.” ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a ^(T)yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall ^(U)serve him. And ^(V)I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” ¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and ^(W)you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^(X)Behold, I am going to ^[b]remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to ^(Y)die, because you ^(Z)spoke falsely against the Lord.’”

¹⁷ So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.