JER 28

Jeremiah 28:13

WEB

“Go, and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “You have broken the bars of wood, but you have made in their place bars of iron.”

BSB

“Go and tell Hananiah that this is what the LORD says: ‘You have broken a yoke of wood, but in its place you have fashioned a yoke of iron.’

KJV

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.

Matthew Henry

Verses 10–17

Jeremiah 28:10–17

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.

Cross-references: Jer 28:13 · Jer 28:14 · Jer 28:17 · Jer 28:1

Hebrew interlinear

H1980

הָלַךְhâlak/haw-lak'/

v — walk

Derivation: akin to 3212; a primitive root;

to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)

KJV: (all) along, apace, behave (self), come, (on) continually, be conversant, depart, be eased, enter, exercise (self), follow, forth, forward, get, go (about, abroad, along, away, forward, on, out, up and down), greater, grow, be wont to haunt, lead, march, × more and more, move (self), needs, on, pass (away), be at the point, quite, run (along), send, speedily, spread, still, surely, tale-bearer, travel(-ler), walk (abroad, on, to and fro, up and down, to places), wander, wax, (way-) faring man, × be weak, whirl.

הָלַךְ

vb — go

הָלַךְ 1546 vb. go, come, walk

Qal Impf. usually (629 t.) as if from ילך

I. lit.

1. of persons

2. Also of animals, in similar meanings and combinations

3. in like manner of inanimate things

4. The inf. abs. is often used

a. as in other vbs., quite independently

b. to intensify meaning of finite form

c. most noteworthy is the joining of the Inf. abs.

(1). with a following Inf. abs. denoting a simutaneous action or process, and so emphasizing duration or continuance

(2). with a foll. vb. fin. c. ו consec. (rare)

(3). in cases where vb. fin. is foll. by Inf. abs. adj. denoting progress, advance

(4). twice, where vb. fin. is not הלך, but another vb. denoting motion

(5). quite by itself

(6). 13 t. the Inf. abs. = Imv. & is followed by Pf. consec.

d. akin to the use of Inf. abs. are some instances of Pt.

5. In combination with other verbal forms

II. Fig.; the most common uses follow; in most the origin in a literal meaning is evident:

1. pass away, die

2. live (‘walk’), in general

3. of moral and religious life

4. other fig. uses

Pi. (chiefly poet. and late)

1. walk in or with a throng

2. also of walking about = living

3. depart, go entirely away

4. fig. of mode of life, action, etc.

Hithp. walk, walk about, move to and fro

Hiph.

1. lead, bring

2. lead away

3. carry, bring

4. fig. of influence on character

5.

a. cause to walk, go

b. cause to flow, run

c. cause to depart, retire, go back

H559

אָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/

v — say

Derivation: a primitive root;

to say (used with great latitude)

KJV: answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.

אָמַר

vb — utter

אָמַר 5287 vb. utter, say

Qal

1. Say

2. Say in the heart (= think)

3. Promise

4. Command (esp. late)

Niph. be said, told

Hiph. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)

Hithp. act proudly, boast

H413

אֵלʼêl/ale/

prep — near, with, among, to

Derivation: (but only used in the shortened constructive form אֶל ); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e.

near, with or among; often in general, to

KJV: about, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, × hath, in(-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).

אֶל

prep — motion to

אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph), prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).

1. of motion to or unto a person or place

2. Where the limit is actually entered, into

3. Of direction towards anything

4. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against

5. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to

6. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of

7. Of rule or standard according to (rare)

8. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion

9. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to

H2608

חֲנַנְיָהChănanyâh/khan-an-yaw'/

n-pr-m — Chananjah

Derivation: or חֲנַנְיָהוּ; from 2603 and 3050; Jah has favored;

Chananjah, the name of thirteen Israelites

KJV: Hananiah.

חֲנַנְיָ֫הוּ

n.pr.m — Hananiah

חֲנַנְיָ֫הוּ, חֲנַנְיָה n.pr.m. (י׳ hath been gracious)

1. father of a prince under Jehoiakim

2. captain of Uzziah's army

3. chief of one of the divisions of musicians of David

4. a false prophet of Jeremiah's time

5. one of the three companions of Daniel

6. grandfather of an officer of the guard in Jeremiah's time

7. a son of Zerubbabel

8. a Benjamite

9. various postexilic persons

חֲנַנְיָה

n.pr.m — Hananiah

חֲנַנְיָה n.pr.m. (= BH id. [h.dz.ao] 5);—Dn 2:17.

H3541

כֹּהkôh/ko/

prt — like this, thus, so, here, hither, now

Derivation: from the prefix k and 1931;

properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now

KJV: also, here, hitherto, like, on the other side, so (and much), such, on that manner, (on) this (manner, side, way, way and that way), mean while, yonder.

כֹּה

demonstr.adv — thus

כֹּה demonstr.adv. thus, here

1. of manner, thus

2. of place, here

3. of time, hitherto

H3068

יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/

n-pr — Existent, Jeho-vah

Derivation: from 1961;

(the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God

KJV: Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

יהוה

n.pr.dei — God

יהוה c. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהֹוָה 6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהֹוִה 305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים) 2. Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver)

I. יהוה is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb

II.

1. יהוה is used with אלהים and suffixes, especially in D

2. the phrase † אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy

3. יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh

H4133

מוֹטָהmôwṭâh/mo-taw'/

n-f — pole, bow, yoke

Derivation: feminine of 4132;

a pole; by implication, an ox-bow; hence, a yoke (either literal or figurative)

KJV: bands, heavy, staves, yoke.

מוֹטָה

n.f — pole

מוֹטָה n.f. pole, bar of yoke, mostly late

H6086

עֵץʻêts/ates/

n-m — tree, wood

Derivation: from 6095;

a tree (from its firmness); hence, wood (plural sticks)

KJV: carpenter, gallows, helve, pine, plank, staff, stalk, stick, stock, timber, tree, wood.

עֵץ

n.m — tree

עֵץ 329 n.m. tree, trees, wood

1. (c. 150 t.)

a. a standing tree

b. coll. trees

2. (c. 175 t.; c. 120 t. pl., to denote pieces [or articles] of wood)

H7665

שָׁבַרshâbar/shaw-bar'/

v — burst

Derivation: a primitive root;

to burst (literally or figuratively)

KJV: break (down, off, in pieces, up), broken (-hearted), bring to the birth, crush, destroy, hurt, quench, × quite, tear, view (by mistake for 7663).

שָׁבַר

vb — break

שָׁבַר 148 vb. break, break in pieces

Qal 53 break, lit.

Niph. 57 be broken

Pi. 26 shatter, break

Hiph. cause to break out, i.e. bring to the birth

Hoph. be broken, shattered (in heart)

H6213

עָשָׂהʻâsâh/aw-saw'/

v — do, make

Derivation: a primitive root;

to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application

KJV: accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, × certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, feast, (fight-) ing man, finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, hinder, hold (a feast), × indeed, be industrious, journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, × sacrifice, serve, set, shew, × sin, spend, × surely, take, × thoroughly, trim, × very, vex, be (warr-) ior, work(-man), yield, use.

עָשָׂה

vb — do

עָשָׂה 2622 vb. do, make

Qal 2524

I.

1. do (1560 t.)

2. deal with

3. oft. in phr. do kindness with

4. abs. act, act with effect

II.

1. make (670 t.)

2. produce, yield

3. prepare, esp. of dressing and cooking food

4. make offering

5. attend to, put in order

6. observe, celebrate, religious festival

7. acquire property of various kinds

8. appoint priests

9. bring about of י׳’s effecting a deliverance

10. use

11. spend, pass, days of life

Niph. 97

1. be done

2.

a. be made, of concr. things

b. be produced from vine

c. be prepared, of food

d. be offered

e. be observed, passover

f. be used

Pu. I was made

עָשָׂה

vb — press

[עָשָׂה] vb. Pi. press, squeeze

H8478

תַּחַתtachath/takh'-ath/

n-m — bottom, below, in lieu of

Derivation: from the same as 8430;

the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc.

KJV: as, beneath, × flat, in(-stead), (same) place (where...is), room, for...sake, stead of, under, × unto, × when...was mine, whereas, (where-) fore, with.

תַּחַת

n.[m.] — the under part

תַּחַת n.[m.] the under part, hence as adv. accus. and prep. underneath, below, instead of

H1270

בַּרְזֶלbarzel/bar-zel'/

n-m — iron, iron implement

Derivation: perhaps from the root of 1269;

iron (as cutting); by extension, an iron implement

KJV: (ax) head, iron.

בַּרְזֶל

n.m — iron

בַּרְזֶל n.m. iron

1. iron, lit.

2. tool of iron

3. iron in fig. of unwatered earth

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