^28:10The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. ^28:11Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon¹¹ before two years are over.’ ” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way.¹²

^28:12But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. ^28:13“Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says,¹³ ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have¹⁴ only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one!¹⁵

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Footnotes

11 Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”
12 Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”
13 Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord.…” The translation uses an indirect quotation here used to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.
14 The Greek version reads “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.
15 Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.” This whole incident (and the preceding one in Jer 28) is symbolic. Jeremiah’s wearing of the yoke was symbolic of the Lord’s message to submit to Babylonian authority. Hananiah’s breaking of the yoke was a prediction that that authority would not last beyond two years. By breaking the yoke he was encouraging rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar’s (and hence the Lord’s) authority (cf. 27:9, 14). However, rebelling would only result in further, harsher, more irresistible measures by Nebuchadnezzar to control such rebellion.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’ ” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it. In the presence of all the people Hananiah proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In this way, within two years I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’ ” The prophet Jeremiah then went on his way.

After the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke bar from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Go say to Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You broke a wooden yoke bar, but in its place you will make an iron yoke bar.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’ ” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.

Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. Then Hananiah said before the eyes of all the people, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘This is how I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, within two years, from the neck of all the nations.’ ” And Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.

And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet broke the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Go, and you must say to Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You have broken yoke bars of wood, but you have made in place of them yoke bars of iron.”

KJV 1900King James Version

Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it. And 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.

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, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.

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