Jeremiah 28:3

28 Even because he hath sent to us in Babylon, saying, — "Long is the time, build ye houses and inhabit them; 29 Plant gardens and eat the fruit of them." (Now Zephaniah had read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet:) 30 Therefore the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, -- 31 Send to the whole captivity, saying, — Thus saith Jehovah of Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, When I had not sent him, And has made you to trust in falsehood; 32 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Lo I will visit Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his seed; There shall not be to him a man To dwell in the midst of this people; And he shall not see the good, Which I shall do to my people, saith Jehovah; Because he has spoken rebellion against Jehovah. Index of Scripture Commentary Jeremiah [642]20 [660]21 [675]22 [705]23 [746]24 [756]25 [794]26 [819]27 [840]28 [857]29 Index of Hebrew Words and Phrases * 'sr ntty lphnyhm: [952]1 Index of Latin Words and Phrases * Yr hwn y daeth gair yr Arglwydd atto: [1242]1 * y rhai yr arogldarthasant ar eu pennau: [1253]1

3 And it happened the day after, that Pashur brought out Jeremiah from prison; and Jeremiah said to him, — Not Pashur has Jehovah called thy name, But terror on every side: 4 For thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will make thee a terror To thyself and to all thy friends; And fall shall they by the sword of thine enemies, While thine eyes are looking on; And all Judah will I deliver Into the hand of the king of Babylon; And he shall carry them into Babylon, And shall smite them with the sword: 5 And I will give up all the strength of this city, And all its labor and its every precious thing; And all the treasures of the kings of Judah Will I give up into the hands of their enemies; And they shall spoil them and take them away, And they shall lead them into Babylon. 6 And thou, Pashur, and all the inhabitants of thy house, Go shall ye into captivity; Thou shalt come to Babylon, and there die, And there shalt thou be buried and thy friends, To whom thou hast falsely prophesied.

28:1-9 Hananiah spoke a false prophecy. Here is not a word of good counsel urging the Jews to repent and return to God. He promises temporal mercies, in God's name, but makes no mention of the spiritual mercies which God always promised with earthly blessings. This was not the first time Jeremiah had prayed for the people, though he prophesied against them. He appeals to the event, to prove Hananiah's falsehood. The prophet who spake only of peace and prosperity, without adding that they must not by wilful sin stop God's favours, will be proved a false prophet. Those who do not declare the alarming as well as the encouraging parts of God's word, and call men to repentance, and faith, and holiness, tread in the steps of the false prophets. The gospel of Christ encourages men to do works meet for repentance, but gives no encouragement to continue in sin.

Within two full years,.... Or, "within two years of days" (o); when they are up to a day. The Targum is, "at the end of two years;'' what the false prophets before had said would be done in a very little time; this fixes the precise time of doing it; a very short time, in comparison of the seventy years that Jeremiah had spoken of, Jeremiah 25:11; will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place; the temple, where he now was; namely, all such vessels as before this time had been taken by him, both in Jehoiakim's reign, and at the captivity of Jeconiah: and carried them to Babylon; where they still remained, and according to Jeremiah still would; and were so far from being brought back in a short time, that what were left would be carried thither also, Jeremiah 27:19. (o) "in adhuc duobis anois dierum", Montanus; "intra adhuc biennium dierum", Schmidt; "intra biennum dierum", Cocceius.

(3) Within two full years. —Literally, two years of days. Hananiah, not deterred by the previous warnings of Jeremiah, becomes bolder in the definiteness of his prediction. The conspiracy of Judah and the neighbouring states against Nebuchadnezzar was clearly ripening, and he looked on its success as certain. Prediction stood against prediction, and, as there were no signs or wonders wrought, men had to judge from what they knew of the lives of the men who uttered them which of them was most worthy of credit. The contest between the two prophets reminds us of Deuteronomy 18:20-22 .

It appeareth by what we met with Jeremiah 27:16 , that this was the constant song of the city prophets at that time, but we read not of any but this Hananiah, who was so confident as to limit a time; nor doth he mention any long time, he saith within two full years; but he spake falsely, for it appeareth, from Jeremiah 52:31 , that Jeconiah was there thirty-seven years.

Against the False Prophet Hananiah. - Jeremiah 28:1-4 . This man's prophecy. At the same time, namely in the fourth year of Zedekiah (cf. rem. on Jeremiah 27:1 . The Chet. בּשׁנת is supported by Jeremiah 46:2 and Jeremiah 51:59 ; the Keri בּשּׁנה is an unnecessary alteration), in the fifth month, spake Hananiah the son of Azur, - a prophet not otherwise known, belonging to Gibeon, a city of the priests ( Joshua 21:17 ; now Jib, a large village two hours north-west of Jerusalem; see on Joshua 9:3 ), possibly therefore himself a priest - in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and people assembled there, saying: Jeremiah 28:2 . "Thus hath Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel, said: I break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Jeremiah 28:3 . Within two years I bring again into this place the vessels of the house of Jahveh, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took away from this place and carried them to Babylon. Jeremiah 28:4 .

And Jechoniah, the son of Jehoiakim the king of Judah, and all the captives of Judah that went into Babylon, bring I again to this place, saith Jahveh; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." - The false prophet endeavours to stamp on his prediction the impress of a true, God-inspired prophecy, by copying the title of God, so often used by Jeremiah, "Jahveh of hosts, the God of Israel," and by giving the utmost definiteness to his promise: "within two years" (in contrast to Jeremiah's seventy years). "Two years" is made as definite as possible by the addition of ימים: two years in days, i.e., in two full years.See on Genesis 41:1 ; 2 Samuel 13:23 .