False prophecy

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JEREMIAH.

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of Hananiah. A. M. 3408. AND it came to pass the same || the Prophet Hananiah in the pre- A. M. 3408. year, in the beginning of the sence of the priests, and in the prereign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth sence of all the people that stood in the house year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah of the LORD, the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests, and of all the people, saying,

d

6 Even the Prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.

7 Nevertheless, hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;

8 The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

9 The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.

10 ¶ Then Hananiah the prophet took the 1 Heb. two years of days.- - Heb. captivity.—d 1 Kings i. 36. e Deut. xviii. 22.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XXVIII. had threatened them by his ministry; for such an Verses 1-4. And it came to pass the same year- || affection had he for them, and so truly desirous was Namely, the same in which the preceding prophecy he of their welfare, that he would have been content was delivered; for the words manifestly refer to the to lie under the imputation of being a false prophet time specified at the beginning of the foregoing so that their ruin might have been prevented. Nechapter, and confirm the conjecture there made, that|| vertheless, hear thou now this word-As if he had Jehoiakim is put there, by a mistake in the copies, said, The word which I am about to speak concerns for Zedekiah: see note on chap. xxvi. 1, where the thee, and not thee alone, but all the people, therefore fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign is termed the be- || do thou mark it well, and let them observe it also. ginning of it. Hananiah the son of Azur the pro- The prophets that have been before me and before phet-That is, a pretended prophet. Being of Gibeon, || thee-Namely, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaa city belonging to the priests, it is probable he was niah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and others; prophesied a priest as well as Jeremiah; spake unto me in the both against many countries and great kingdoms, house of the Lord-Delivered publicly, and solemn- &c.-" Jeremiah offers two reasons in defence of his ly, and in the name of the Lord, what he wished to own prophecies, and against those of Hananiah. be considered as a true prediction; in the presence 1st, That many other prophets agreed with him in of the priests and of the people-Who probably prophesying evil against the Jews, and other neighwere expecting to have some message from Heaven. bouring countries; whereas Hananiah, being single In delivering this feigned prophecy, Hananiah de- in his predictions, nothing but the perfect answering signed to confront and contradict Jeremiah. His of the event to them could give him the authority prediction is, that the king of Babylon's power, at of a true prophet. 2d, That, considering the geneleast over Judah and Jerusalem, should be speedily ||ral corruption of the people's manners, it was highly broken; that within two full years the vessels of the || probable that God would punish their iniquities. temple should be brought back, and Jeconiah, and all the captives that were carried away with him, should return; whereas Jeremiah had foretold that the yoke of the king of Babylon should be bound on yet faster, and that the vessels and the captives should not return for seventy years.

Verses 5-9. The Prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the Lord do so!-Thereby expressing his hearty concern for the good of his nation, and wishing that God would repent him of the evil wherewith he

To this the Jews add a third explication of the words, namely, that when any prophet foretold peace and prosperity, (namely, unconditionally and absolutely, as Hananiah here did,) his prophecy must certainly be fulfilled to prove him to be a true prophet; whereas, when a prophet foretold evil, which was Jeremiah's case, the event might be suspended by the repentance of the persons concerned."—Lowth.

Verses 10-14. Then Hananiah took the yoke from off Jeremiah's neck-Thus it appears that Jeremiah

Jeremiah predicts

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neck, and brake it.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

h

Hananiah's death.

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A. M. 3408. f yoke from off the Prophet Jeremiah's || God of Israel; I have put a yoke A. M. 3408 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.

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
f Chap. xxvii. 2.- Chap. xxvi. 7.-

Deuteron. xxviii. 48;
Chap. xxvii. 4, 7.-i Chap. xxvii. 6.

than they otherwise would have had, by persuading them not to submit to Nebuchadnezzar.

wore this yoke, agreeably to the command given him by God, as a symbol of that subjection to the king of Babylon to which he admonished the Jews Verses 15-17. Then said Jeremiah, Hear now, and other neighbouring nations to submit, in order || Hananiah-Jeremiah, being a second time confirmthat they might prevent the extreme evil which || ed in the truth of what he had foretold, and having would otherwise fall upon them: and this yoke Ha- || likewise a special revelation relating to this false naniah took off the prophet's neck, and broke it, by prophet, comes and calls him by his name, and tells way of a symbolical sign that the Jews, and these him his doom, that he should die within a year, beother nations, should be freed from the Babylonian cause he had taught rebellion against the Lordyoke within two years. And the Prophet Jeremiah Had taught people to believe and trust to what was went his way-Quietly and patiently, knowing that || false, contradicting God's will revealed by Jeremiah, it would answer no good end to contend with one and encouraging and exciting the people to hold out whose mind was heated, and in the midst of the against Nebuchadnezzar, and not quietly to yield to priests and people that were violently set against this dispensation of God. "Thus, as Hananiah had him. Doubtless he expected that God would soon limited the accomplishment of his prophecy to the send a special message to Hananiah, and he would space of two years, to gain credit with the people say nothing till he received it. It is often our wisdom by such a punctual prediction, so Jeremiah confines and duty to yield to violence, to bear revilings with the trial of his veracity to a much shorter time, and patience, and to retreat rather than contend. Then the event, exactly answering to the prediction, evithe word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah-To rati- dently showed the falsehood of Hananiah's prefy and confirm the prophecy he had lately uttered; tences."-Lowth. So Hananiah died the same year saying, Go and tell Hananiah, Thou hast broken || in the seventh month-Two months after he had the yokes of wood, &c.-Which were light and easy;|| uttered this false prophecy, as appeareth from verse but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron-Such 1. So dangerous a thing it is for those who speak as no human strength can break; that is, thou shalt in the name of God to teach people contrary to his bring a heavier and more grievous yoke upon them revealed will!

CHAPTER XXIX.

In the preceding chapter we had Jeremiah's contest with a false prophet, face to face; here is another, carried on by letters. In the letter which Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon, 1-3, (1,) He directs them how to make their captivity as easy as they could, 4–7. (2,) He cautions them to give no credit to their false prophets, who promised them a speedy relief, 8, 9. (3,) He assures them that, after seventy years, the Lord would mercifully restore them to their own land, 10–14. (4,) He foretels that those Jews who remained in Canaan should, after manifold grievous disasters, be brought captives to Babylon, 15–19. (5,) He foretels the ruin of two false prophets at Babylon, who, by their bad example and flattering seductions, encouraged them to wickedness, 20–23. In resentment, Shemaiah, a false prophet at Babylon, wrote to the priests at Jerusalem, to persecute Jeremiah as a villain or madman, 22–29 : and thereby drew upon himself and family a prediction of ruin by Jeremiah, 30–32.

The prophet's instructions

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JEREMIAH.

NOW these are the words of the let

ter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the 1 eunuchs, the princes of Judah || and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem ;)

to the captives in Babylon.

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4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the A. M. 3406. God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 b Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan,|| 7 And seek the peace of the city whither I and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom have caused you to be carried away captivés, Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,) saying, peace thereof shall ye have peace.

a 2 Kings xxiv. 12, &c.; Chapter xxxii. 26; xviii. 4.

NOTES ON CHAPTER XXIX.

the scribes or doctors of the law; while others again think that Ezekiel, (carried away with Jeconiah,) Daniel, and other prophets of the captivity, may be meant.

Verses 2, 3. After that Jeconiah and the queen, &c.-By the queen is meant Jeconiah's mother: see 2 Kings xxiv. 12-15, where an account is given of this captivity. And the eunuchs-Or court-officers, as Dr. Waterland renders it; and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem-Men of authority and influence among the people. By the hand of Elasah, &c.-Zedekiah having some occasion to send two messengers to Babylon, Jeremiah, knowing that as there were false prophets at Jerusalem who fed the people with hopes of a speedy return, so there were some with them in Babylon, writes and sends the following prophecy by these two messengers, to quiet the people's minds, disturbed by these false prophets, and excited to vain hopes, for which there was no ground at all.

1 Or, chamberlains.- b Verse 28. Ezra vi. 10; 1 Tim. ii. 2. of prophets, here the LXX. read yevdoπpoonras, false Verse 1. Now these are the words of the letter-prophets: but the Chaldee understands by the word Hebrew, 157, the words of the book, or writing, as both the LXX. and the Vulgate translate it. Although this title announces but one, Blaney gives it as his opinion that this chapter undeniably contains the substance of two writings sent at different times, which, he says, "is evident from comparing verse 28 with verses 4, 5, and that the distinction between them is at the end of verse 20. For in the first the prophet exhorts the captives to accommodate themselves to their present circum- || stances, under an assurance that their captivity would last to the end of seventy years; after which period, and not before, God would visit and restore them. And to prevent their listening to any false suggestions that might flatter them with hopes of a speedier return, he informs them of what would happen to their brethren that were left behind at Jerusalem, for whom a harder fate was reserved than for those that had been carried away. After this, finding, as it should seem, upon the return of the messengers, the little credit the first message had Verses 4-7. Thus saith the Lord, Build ye houses, met with, he sends a second to the same persons, and plant gardens, &c.—It appears by the advice denouncing the divine judgments against three of which the prophet here gives, that many of the captheir false prophets, by whose influence chiefly the tive Jews neglected to cultivate and plant the places people had been prevented from hearkening to his allotted to them about Babylon; because they were good advice." The time when one or both of these || not willing to bestow cost and pains for the advanwritten declarations of the divine will was sent to tage of others; since they flattered themselves that Babylon is not known, but it is thought to have been they were soon to return into Judea: and therefors at the beginning of Zedekiah's reign. By the resi- || Jeremiah here admonishes them that their continudue of the elders, Lowth thinks that the remnant of ance in their captivity would be long enough for them the members of the Sanhedrim is intended, who their sons and their grandsons, to enjoy the fruit of were carried away captive in the third year of Je- their labours there; and that, therefore, if they rehoiakim's reign, (Dan. i. 3,) or in Jeconiah's cap-garded their own ease and accommodation, they should tivity, (see 2 Kings xxiv. 14,) many of whom might set about making the places of their captivity as condie by the hardships they suffered in their transport-venient and agreeable to them as they could. And ation. These, being persons of authority, were seek the peace of the city, &c.--Pray and desire, and more likely to influence the rest of the people, and do all that lies in your power, that Babylon may eninduce them to hearken to the prophet's advice. || joy peace, and remain in safety, because you yourHoubigant, however, not content with this interpret-selves must be partakers of its prosperity or adversity, ation, renders it, Unto the principal elders. Instead as it is appointed by God for you to remain there

8 For thus saith the LORD of || and not of evil, to give you 3 an hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your pected end.. prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, d deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

seventy years. The word peace here, as elsewhere, signifies safety and plenty of all things. Observe here, reader, it is the duty of all private persons to sub-farther metaphor drawn from hence, seems to mit to the government that protects them, and to pray for the prosperity of it: see Ezra vi. 10; 1 Tim. ii. 1, 2. And if the governing powers are persecutors or enemies to the truth, it must be left to God to execute upon them the judgments he has denounced against tyrants and oppressors; which judgments the Jews expected that God would execute upon Babylon in due time, Psa. cxxxvii. 8, 9.

JEREMIAH.

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will deliver them to be removed to A. M. 3406. all the kingdoms of the earth, to be Pa curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:

19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.

20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:

21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of