Episode 194: God kills Hananiah

Jeremiah 27-31

Jeremiah's yoke

27 ¹ In the beginning of King Zedekiah's reign, the word of God came to Jeremiah and said,

² Make a yoke and put it on your neck.

³ Go meet with the messengers from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyrus, and Zidon, who are in Jerusalem visiting King Zedekiah. ⁴ Tell them to say this to their kings:

⁶ I've given your land and everything on earth to my servant Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Your animals must serve him too.

⁷ All the nations on earth will serve him, and his son, and his son's son.

⁸ I’ll punish any nation who refuses to serve him (by putting his yoke on their neck) with war, famine, and disease until I've killed everyone in that nation.

⁹ So don't listen to anyone (prophet, diviner, dreamer, enchanter, or sorcerer) who tells you that you won't serve the king of Babylon.

¹⁰ They're lying to you. If you believe them, I'll kill you.

¹¹ If you put the yoke of the king of Babylon on your neck and serve him, I'll let you and your people live.

¹² I gave the same message to Zedekiah.

¹⁶ And I told the priests and people that God said,

Don't listen to anything that the prophets say. All their prophecies are lies.

Hananiah, the good news prophet

28 ¹ In the same year, Hananiah spoke to Jeremiah, saying,

² This is what God says:

I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

³ Within two years, I will return all the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple.

⁴ Jeconiah and all the captives will also return.

⁵ Jeremiah said to Hananiah,

Amen. I hope God does that. I hope God returns the vessels to his house and the people from Babylon.

Hananiah breaks Jeremiah's yoke

¹⁰ Then Hananiah removed the yoke from Jeremiah's neck and broke it.

¹¹ Hananiah said to the people,

This is what God says,

As Hananiah broke Jeremiah's yoke, I'll break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar within two years.

¹² Then the word of God came to Jeremiah and said,

¹³ Go say this to Hananiah:

You have broken a wooden yoke, but it will be replaced with one made of iron.

¹⁴ I put an iron yoke on all nations, to force them to serve Nebuchadnezzar. And I've given him the beasts, as well.

God kills Hananiah

¹⁵ Jeremiah said to Hananiah,

¹⁶ This is what God says,

You'll die this year because you have taught people to rebel against me.

¹⁷ So Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year.

Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon

29 ¹ Jeremiah sent a letter to people who Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon, which said,

⁴ This is what God says:

¹⁰ After seventy years, I'll visit you and let you return to Jerusalem.

¹¹ Because I know what I'm thinking about you. I'm thinking nice thoughts, not evil ones.

¹⁴ I will gather you from where I have driven you and bring you back home again.

¹⁶ But I’ll punish the people who stayed in Jerusalem and weren't taken captive to Babylon.

¹⁷ I'll send the sword, famine, and pestilence. I'll make them like vile figs that are so evil they can't be eaten.

²¹ I'll give Ahab and Zedekiah, who prophesied lies in my name to Nebuchadnezzar. He'll kill them while you watch.

²² People will use it as a curse and say, "Let God do to you like he did to Zedekiah and Ahab, who the king of Babylon roasted in a fire."

Write all the words that I've spoken to you in a book

30 ¹ The word of God came to Jeremiah, saying,

² Write every word that I've said to you in a book.

⁶ You ask:

Is a man pregnant?

Why does every man have his hands on his loins?

And why is everyone's face so pale?

²⁴ I'll be angry until I've done what my heart wants to do.

You'll understand better in the latter days.

Some more words to write down

31 ¹ At the same time, God said,

⁴ Oh virgin, Israel, you'll play your tambourines and dance with joy.

¹⁴ The soul of priests will be satiated with fat.

¹⁵ A voice will be heard in Ramah. Rachel will be weeping for her dead children.

²⁹ In those days, they'll no longer say, “The father eats a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge,” but everyone will die for their own iniquity.

⁴⁰ And the valley of the dead bodies will be holy to me.