Jeremiah 28:12–17, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 28:12–17
Iron Replaces Wood and Hananiah Dies
Wood is replaced by iron, and Hananiah is charged with teaching rebellion
After Hananiah had broken the yoke, the word comes: Go, tell Hananiah, Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar, and they shall serve him; the beasts are given to him also.
Jeremiah tells Hananiah, The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. The issue is unauthorized national hope that will get people killed.
Hananiah dies the same year; death is not a method for later disputes
So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month. The narrative records the death as the announced sign.
Death after a dispute does not authorize threats, vigilantism, or treating an opponent's illness or death as proof of one's own authority. Readers must not hunt false teachers. The iron yoke still does not make Babylon righteous.
How this should shape us
Do not celebrate an opponent's death, and do not use this scene to curse people. Correct public lies that endanger a community, then leave vengeance alone.
Teach it back
Explain Jeremiah 28:12–17 in your own words. Name its place in Jeremiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: Death after a dispute does not authorize threats, vigilantism, or treating an opponent's illness or death as proof of one's authority.
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Jeremiah 28:12–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 28:12–17
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and passage studies: kings, prophets, nations, yokes, Hananiah, and exile letter; applied to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Supports: Controls prophetic-conflict claims, especially Jeremiah 28, while keeping outcome, tradition, conduct, and interpretation in conversation.
Scolnic, 'Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy,' Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2 (2022), pp. 113-118; applied to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 28:12–17, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 28:12–17
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World
Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and passage studies: kings, prophets, nations, yokes, Hananiah, and exile letter; applied to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗peer reviewed open access article
Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy
Benjamin Scolnic
Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2, 2022
Supports: Controls prophetic-conflict claims, especially Jeremiah 28, while keeping outcome, tradition, conduct, and interpretation in conversation.
Exact location: Scolnic, 'Jeremiah and Hananiah: A Study of True and False Prophecy,' Jewish Bible Quarterly 50.2 (2022), pp. 113-118; applied to Jeremiah 28:12–17
Open Scolnic on Jeremiah and Hananiah ↗