Bible Strands
Jeremiah 28:13
“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.’
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through Jeremiah to the prophet Hananiah immediately after Hananiah publicly breaks the wooden yoke from Jeremiah’s neck.
The words — The Hebrew הָלוֹךְ (ha.loKh) commands “go,” and אָמַרְתָּ (a.mar.Ta) commands “you will say,” structuring the verse as a direct transmission of divine speech.
The thread — The iron yoke imagery continues in Jeremiah 28:14, where Yahweh declares He has placed an iron yoke on all nations to serve Nebuchadnezzar, and parallels the binding motif in Psalms 149:8.
Why it lands — The text states that replacing a wooden symbol of submission with self-made iron provokes a heavier divine judgment, demanding the reader acknowledge that human defiance cannot override God’s decree.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 149:8 to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with shackles of iron,
- Jeremiah 27:15 For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
- Lamentations 2:14 The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.