Jeremiah 28:10-14

28:10 The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 28:11 Then 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 Babylon ¹  before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way. ² 

28:12 But 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, ³  ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have ⁴  only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one! ⁵  28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁶  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ⁷  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ⁸ 

[28:11]  ¹ tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”

[28:11]  ² tn Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”

[28:13]  ¹ tn Heb “Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord….” The translation uses an indirect quotation here used to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.

[28:13]  ² tn The Greek version reads “I have made/put” rather than “you have made/put.” This is the easier reading and is therefore rejected.

[28:13]  ³ tn Heb “the yoke bars of wood you have broken, but you have made in its stead yoke bars of iron.”

[28:14]  ¹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.

[28:14]  ² tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”

[28:14]  ³ sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.