15 If ye say, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, [that] Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Jehovah, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Jehovah's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon; and I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah that went to Babylon, saith Jehovah: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. And the prophet Jeremiah spoke unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of Jehovah. And the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen, may Jehovah do so! may Jehovah perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again from Babylon, into this place, the vessels of Jehovah's house, and all them of the captivity! Nevertheless, hear, I pray thee, this word which I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people: The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, prophesied also concerning many countries and concerning great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet that prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, shall be known as the prophet whom Jehovah hath really sent. And the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broke it. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: So will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, after that the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou hast broken the yokes of wood, and thou hast made in their place yokes of iron. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke 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. And the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah, Hear now, Hananiah: Jehovah hath not sent thee; and thou makest this people to trust in falsehood. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, for thou hast spoken revolt against Jehovah. And the prophet Hananiah died in the same year in the seventh month.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in your midst, nor your diviners deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams, which ye like to dream. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 29
Commentary on Jeremiah 29 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 29
The contest between Jeremiah and the false prophets was carried on before by preaching, here by writing; there we had sermon against sermon, here we have letter against letter, for some of the false prophets are now carried away into captivity in Babylon, while Jeremiah remains in his own country. Now here is,
Such struggles as these have there always been between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
Jer 29:1-7
We are here told,
Jer 29:8-14
To make the people quiet and easy in their captivity,
Jer 29:15-23
Jeremiah, having given great encouragement to those among the captives whom he knew to be serious and well-affected, assuring them that God had very kind and favourable intentions concerning them, here turns to those among them who slighted the counsels and comforts that Jeremiah ministered to them and depended upon what the false prophets flattered them with. When this letter came from Jeremiah they would be ready to say, "Why should he make himself so busy, and take upon him to advise us? The Lord has raised us up prophets in Babylon, v. 15. We are satisfied with those prophets, and can depend upon them, and have no occasion to hear from any prophets in Jerusalem.' See the impudent wickedness of this people; as the prophets, when they prophesied lies, said that they had them from God, so the people, when they invited those prophets thus to flatter them, fathered it upon God, and said that it was the Lord that raised them up those prophets. Whereas we may be sure that those who harden people in their sins, and deceive them with false and groundless hopes of God's mercy, are no prophets of God's raising up. These prophets of their own told them that no more should be carried captive, but that those who were in captivity should shortly return. Now, in answer to this,
Jer 29:24-32
We have perused the contents of Jeremiah's letter to the captives in Babylon, who had reason, with a great deal of thanks to God and him, to acknowledge the receipt of it, and lay it up among their treasures. But we cannot wonder if the false prophets they had among them were enraged at it; for it gave them their true character. Now here we are told concerning one of them,