TRV
Translation
King James Version
¶ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.
Complete Jewish Bible
At this point Hananyah the prophet took the crossbar off the prophet Yirmeyahu's neck and broke it.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
American Standard Version
Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it.
World English Bible Messianic
Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Then Hananiah the Prophet tooke the yoke from the Prophet Ieremiahs necke, and brake it.
Young's Literal Translation
And Hananiah the prophet taketh the yoke from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, and breaketh it,
See on the biblical-era map
In the KJVVerse 19,629 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Jeremiah 28 verses 10–17
10 ¶ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.
11 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.
12 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,
13 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.
14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.
15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
We have here an instance,
I. Of the insolence of the false prophet. To complete the affront he designed Jeremiah, he took the yoke from off his neck which he carried as a memorial of what he had prophesied concerning the enslaving of the nations to Nebuchadnezzar, and he broke it, that he might give a sign of the accomplishment of this prophecy, as Jeremiah had given of his, and might seem to have conquered him, and to have defeated the intention of his prophecy. See how the lying spirit, in the mouth of this false prophet, mimics the language of the Spirit of truth: Thus saith the Lord, So will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon, not only from the neck of this nation, but from the neck of all nations, within two full years. Whether by the force of a heated imagination Hananiah had persuaded himself to believe this, or whether he knew it to be false, and only persuaded them to believe it, does not appear; but it is plain that he speaks with abundance of assurance. It is no new thing for lies to be fathered upon the God of truth.
II. Of the patience of the true prophet. Jeremiah quietly went his way, and when he was reviled he reviled not again, and would not contend with one that was in the height of his fury and in the midst of the priests and people that were violently set against him. The reason why he went his way was not because he had nothing to answer, but because he was willing to stay till God was pleased to furnish him with a direct and immediate answer, which as yet he had not received. He expected that God would send a special message to Hananiah, and he would say nothing till he had received that. I, as a deaf man, heard not, for thou wilt hear, and thou shalt answer, Lord, for me. It may sometimes be our wisdom rather to retreat than to contend. Currenti cede furori - Give place unto wrath.
III. Of the justice of God in giving judgment between Jeremiah and his adversary. Jeremiah went his way, as a man in whose mouth there was no rebuke, but God soon put a word into his mouth; for he will appear for those who silently commit their cause to him. 1. The word of God, in the mouth of Jeremiah, is ratified and confirmed. Let not Jeremiah himself distrust the truth of what he had delivered in God's name because it met with such a daring opposition and contradiction. If what we have spoken be the truth of God, we must not unsay it because men gainsay it; for great is the truth and will prevail. It will stand, therefore let us stand to it, and not fear that men's unbelief or blasphemy will make it of no effect. Hananiah has broken the yokes of wood, but Jeremiah must make for them yokes of iron, which cannot be broken (Jer 28:13), for (says God) "I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, which shall lie heavier, and bind harder, upon them (Jer 28:14), that they may serve the king of Babylon, and not be able to shake off the yoke however they may struggle, for they shall serve him whether they will or no;" and who is he that can contend with God's counsel? What was said before is repeated again: I have given him the beasts of the field also, as if there were something significant in that. Men had by their wickedness made themselves like the beasts that perish, and therefore deserved to be ruled by an arbitrary power, as beasts are ruled, and such a power Nebuchadnezzar ruled with; for whom he would he slew and whom he would he kept alive. 2. Hananiah is sentenced to die for contradicting it, and Jeremiah, when he has received commission from God, boldly tells him so to his face, though before he received that commission he went away and said nothing. (1.) The crimes of which Hananiah stands convicted are cheating the people and affronting God: Thou makest this people to trust in a lie, encouraging them to hope that they shall have peace, which will make their destruction the more terrible to them when it comes; yet this was not the worst: Thou hast taught rebellion against the Lord; thou hast taught them to despise all the good counsel given them in God's name by the true prophets, and hast rendered it ineffectual. Those have a great deal to answer for who, by telling sinners that they shall have peace though they go on, harden their hearts in a contempt of the reproofs and admonitions of the word, and the means and methods God takes to bring them to repentance. (2.) The judgment given against him is, "I will cast thee off from the face of the earth, as unworthy to live upon it; thou shalt be buried in it. This year thou shalt die, and die as a rebel against the Lord, to whom death will come with a sting and a curse." This sentence was executed, Jer 28:17. Hananiah died the same year, within two months; for his prophecy is dated the fifth month (Jer 28:1) and his death the seventh. Good men may perhaps be suddenly taken off by death in the midst of their days, and in mercy to them, as Josiah was; but this being foretold as the punishment of his sin, and coming to pass accordingly, it may safely be construed as a testimony from Heaven against him and a confirmation of Jeremiah's mission. And, if the people's hearts had not been wretchedly hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, it would have prevented their being further hardened by the deceitfulness of their prophets.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 10–17. Public domain.
Copy as
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Verse 5 onwards) And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah: Listen, Hananiah: The Lord did not send you, and yet you have made this people trust in a lie. Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will send (or cast) you away from the face of the earth, you will die this year. And what follows: Because you have spoken against the Lord. And Hananiah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month, which is not mentioned in the Septuagint. For as much as they have set him forth above: He died in the seventh month. And this Ananias is not spoken of in the Septuagint as a prophet, though the Holy Scripture of the Hebrews calls him a prophet, even though Jeremiah accuses him, saying: Hear, Ananias, the Lord has not sent you, yet thou have prophesied. For how could he call him a prophet, whom he denied to be sent by the Lord? But the truth and order of the history is preserved, as we have said, not according to what it was, but according to what it was thought to be at that time. You deceived, he says, the people with a lie, so that they would not submit to the judgments of God. Therefore, you know that you will die this year. When we die, we are released from the prisons of the body, according to that testimony, which heretics interpret wrongly: Bring my soul out of prison (Ps. 141:8): so how is death now imposed as a punishment on false prophets? But in this place it should be noted that Jeremiah, after suffering injury from a false prophet, and before receiving a direct message from the Lord, remains silent; later, however, sent by the Lord, he boldly accuses the liar and announces his impending death. And that he who usually translates the seventh month is said to rest under this number, perhaps they falsely claim that he died in the seventh month so that he may be freed from the evils of the body, according to what they quote from the writing. Death is rest for a man. But we know that the bodies of believers are temples of God, if indeed the Holy Spirit dwells in them (Sirach 22:11).
JeromeAD 420
Against Jovinianus 2.37
About four hundred years have passed since the preaching of Christ burst on the world, and during that time in which his robe has been torn by countless heresies, almost the whole body of error has been derived from the Chaldaean, Syriac and Greek languages. Basilides, the master of licentiousness and the grossest sensuality, after the lapse of so many years and like a second Euphorbus, was changed by transmigration into Jovinian, so that the Latin tongue might have a heresy of its own. Was there no other province in the whole world to receive the gospel of pleasure and into which the serpent might insinuate itself, except that which was founded by the teaching of Peter, on the rock Christ? Idol temples had fallen before the standard of the cross and the severity of the gospel. Now, on the contrary, lust and gluttony endeavor to overthrow the solid structure of the cross. And so God says by Isaiah, “O my people, they which bless you cause you to err, and trouble the paths of your feet.” Also by Jeremiah, “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every one his life,” and do not believe the false prophets who say, “Peace, peace, and there is no peace,” who are always repeating, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” “Your prophets have foreseen false and foolish things for you. They have not exposed your iniquity in order to call you to repentance. They devour God’s people like bread. They have not called on God. Jeremiah announced the captivity and was stoned by the people. Hananiah, the son of Azzur, broke the bars of wood for the present but was preparing bars of iron for the future. False prophets always promise pleasant things and please for a time. Truth is bitter, and those preaching it are filled with bitterness. For with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth the Lord’s Passover is kept, and it is eaten with bitter herbs.
JeromeAD 420
SIX BOOKS ON JEREMIAH 5:60.2-4
The Septuagint does not translate “two years,” nor does it call Hananiah a “prophet,” lest it appear to name someone a prophet who was in fact no prophet, as if not many persons in sacred Scripture were named in accordance with the opinion of the time in which they lived or according to the truth of the matter. But Joseph is called the father of the Lord. And Mary, who knew that she had conceived by the Holy Spirit (responding to the angel, “How can this be, since I have never known a man?”), asked her son, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Your father and I have been looking for you desperately.” The prudence, humility and patience of Jeremiah must also be considered. When the pseudo-prophet damaged and broke the yoke around Jeremiah’s neck, which he was not able to do with iron, Jeremiah remained silent and concealed his pain. For what he should say was not yet revealed to him by the Lord, so that sacred Scripture would demonstrate tacitly that a prophet never speaks only on his own decision but also by the will of the Lord, most especially regarding future events, which are known to God alone. Jeremiah departed, it says, and went on his way as though he were well, thus fulfilling the prophecy: “I have become like a person who hears nothing and has no rebukes in his mouth.”
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Verse 10, 11) And Ananias the prophet took a chain (or a yoke, which in Hebrew is called Mutoth) from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, and broke it. And Ananias said in the presence of all the people, saying: Thus says the Lord: I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, within two years from the necks of all nations. And Jeremiah went his way (The Vulgate adds prophet). The Seventy did not transfer two years. Moreover, they did not call Ananias a prophet, lest they seem to be calling someone a prophet who was not a prophet. It is as if not many things are said in the holy Scriptures, according to the opinion of that time in which the events are recounted, and not according to what the truth of the matter contained. Finally, even Joseph is called the father of the Lord in the Gospel, and Mary herself, who knew that she had conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she had responded to the angel: 'How will this be, since I do not know a man?' (Luke 1:34). He speaks to the Son: Son, what have you done to us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow. At the same time, the prudence of Jeremiah, and humility, and patience must be considered. The false prophet does wrong things, and crushes the snatched club from his neck, which he certainly could not do with an iron one. He is silent, and disguises his pain: for the Lord had not yet revealed to him what he should speak. As the holy Scripture shows, prophets do not speak by their own will alone, but by the will of the Lord, especially about the future, of which only God has knowledge. He left, he said, and went on his way, as if defeated, and fulfilling that prophecy: I have become like a deaf man, and like a man who does not have reproofs in his mouth.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Jeremiah 28:10 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Jeremiah 28:10 marks the dramatic apex of a prophetic confrontation, where Hananiah, a false prophet, publicly and defiantly removes the symbolic wooden yoke from Jeremiah's neck and shatters it. This audacious act was a performative counter-prophecy, intended to visually negate God's declared judgment of Judah's impending servitude to Babylon and to discredit Jeremiah's authentic message of submission, thereby offering the people a comforting but ultimately deceptive promise of immediate liberation.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 28:10 is rich in Symbolism. The primary symbol is the yoke, which Jeremiah wore as a visual representation of Judah's impending servitude to Babylon and the divine judgment accompanying it. Hananiah's act of breaking this yoke is a counter-symbolic gesture, intended to signify the immediate end of Babylonian oppression and the dawn of a new era of freedom. This creates a dramatic Confrontation or Antithesis between two opposing prophetic messages and their respective proponents: one of submission and judgment (Jeremiah), the other of immediate liberation and false hope (Hananiah). The narrative also employs profound Dramatic Irony, as Hananiah's act, intended to demonstrate freedom, ultimately serves to highlight his own falsehood and the severity of Judah's true predicament. His public display of breaking the wooden yoke, meant to be a sign of relief, tragically foreshadows a heavier, unbreakable yoke of iron that God would later impose upon Judah in response to such defiance (Jeremiah 28:13-14), intensifying the irony of his misguided and ultimately fatal defiance.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 28:10 serves as a powerful theological lesson on the nature of divine truth versus human presumption and the critical importance of discerning true prophecy. Hananiah's act, while comforting and appealing to the people's immediate desires, was a direct rejection of God's revealed word, demonstrating the human tendency to prefer pleasant falsehoods over difficult, unvarnished truths. This narrative underscores that God's plan, even when it involves hardship or judgment, is ultimately righteous and true, designed for purification and ultimate good. The confrontation highlights the serious responsibility of those who claim to speak for God and the severe, often fatal, consequences for those who speak falsely in His name, leading His people astray. It is a stark reminder that God's word, not human desire or popular opinion, is the ultimate standard of truth.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The dramatic scene in Jeremiah 28:10 resonates deeply with the challenges faced by believers today. We live in a world saturated with voices, many of which offer easy solutions, comforting predictions, or popular narratives that may directly contradict the unchanging truth of God's Word. This account compels us to cultivate spiritual discernment, to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) and to anchor our hope not in what is popular or palatable, but in the unvarnished, often challenging, truth of Scripture. It reminds us that God's ways are higher than our ways, and His plans, though sometimes involving periods of difficulty or waiting, are always for our ultimate good and His glory. Embracing God's truth, even when it demands submission or patience, is the path to genuine freedom and peace, unlike the fleeting comfort offered by false promises that ultimately lead to greater bondage. We must be willing to hear and obey God's difficult truths, trusting in His sovereign wisdom even when it contradicts our immediate desires for ease or comfort.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was Jeremiah wearing a yoke in the first place?
Answer: Jeremiah was commanded by God to wear a wooden yoke as a powerful visual prophecy, symbolizing Judah's impending servitude to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This act, described in Jeremiah 27:2-7, was a tangible sermon, urging Judah and surrounding nations to submit to Babylon's dominion, as it was God's ordained instrument of judgment. It was a stark call for humble submission to divine will to avoid utter destruction, emphasizing that resistance would only lead to greater suffering.
What was Hananiah's motivation for breaking the yoke?
Answer: Hananiah's motivation was to publicly contradict Jeremiah's message and offer a more palatable, nationalistic prophecy of immediate deliverance. He claimed that God would break the yoke of Babylon within two years, restore the temple vessels, and bring back the exiles (Jeremiah 28:2-4). His act was a dramatic, symbolic gesture to assert his own prophetic authority and instill false hope in the people, appealing to their deep desire for quick liberation rather than God's difficult truth of impending judgment and prolonged exile.
What happened to Hananiah after this confrontation?
Answer: After Hananiah broke the yoke, Jeremiah initially left without immediate retort. However, the Lord later gave Jeremiah a new, decisive message for Hananiah. Jeremiah prophesied that because Hananiah had broken a wooden yoke, God would replace it with an iron yoke, signifying an even harsher, unbreakable servitude for Judah (Jeremiah 28:13-14). Furthermore, Jeremiah declared that Hananiah would die within the year for speaking rebellion against the Lord and misleading the people with a lie (Jeremiah 28:15-16). True to Jeremiah's word, Hananiah died two months later in the seventh month of that same year (Jeremiah 28:17), definitively confirming Jeremiah's status as a true prophet of God and exposing Hananiah's deception.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The dramatic breaking of the yoke in Jeremiah 28:10, intended by Hananiah to signify a false and premature liberation, ultimately points to the true and ultimate "yoke-breaker" in Jesus Christ. Humanity groans under the heavy yoke of sin, the bondage of the Law, and the dominion of death, a burden that no false prophet or human effort can truly shatter. The Old Testament prophets, like Jeremiah, often spoke of the burden of sin and the need for a new covenant, a theme beautifully articulated in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Jesus, however, does not merely prophesy about breaking yokes; He embodies the fulfillment and provides the means for true freedom. He invites all who are weary and burdened by the weight of sin and striving under the Law to come to Him, promising rest and declaring, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). While Hananiah offered a deceptive promise of freedom from an earthly oppressor, Christ offers genuine, eternal liberation from the spiritual bondage of sin and its ultimate consequence, death. His sacrificial death on the cross truly "broke" the power of sin and death (Hebrews 2:14-15), establishing a new covenant where true freedom is found not in rebellion against God's will, but in humble submission to the loving Lordship of the One who bore the ultimate burden for us. He is the true Prophet, whose words are always truth and whose promises of freedom are eternally sure (John 8:36).