Brenton/LXX Jeremiah 34-36 forms a coherent arc of conflict over the word: the yoke laid on the nations and on Zedekiah, the false prophet Hananiah who breaks the wooden yoke and promises quick return of the vessels and the king, and the letter to the exiles commanding them to build houses, plant gardens, take wives, seek the peace of the land where they are carried captive, and beware false prophets. In many English Bibles the same material appears as Jeremiah 27-29. This guide follows the embedded Brenton/LXX source while naming the familiar references.
Source Shape Note
Brenton/LXX Jeremiah 34-36 carries the yoke to the nations and Zedekiah, the conflict with false prophet Hananiah, and the letter to the exiles. In standard Bibles the same material appears as Jeremiah 27-29. This guide uses the LXX sequence (yoke/false prophecy/letter after the temple trial).
The yokes are sent to the kings whose messengers have come to Jerusalem: Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon. The word is spoken to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. Hananiah speaks in the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people. The letter travels from Jerusalem to the elders of the captivity, the priests, and the false prophets in Babylon, carried by the hand of messengers sent by Zedekiah to the king of Babylon. The geography moves from the nations gathered at Jerusalem, through the temple court, to the exiles settled in Babylon. The command to the exiles is to build, plant, and seek peace in the land of their captivity rather than in the land from which they were taken.
Jeremiah 34 LXX: The yoke to the nations and to Zedekiah
2. Thus said the Lord; Make to thyself bonds and yokes, and put them about thy neck, 3. and thou shalt send them to the king of Idumea, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hands of their messengers that come to meet them at Jerusalem to Sedekias king of Juda. 4. And thou shalt commission them to say to their lords, Thus said the Lord God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to your lords; 5. I have made the earth by my great power, and with my high arm, and I will give it to whomsoever it shall seem good in mine eyes. 6. I gave the earth to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to serve him, and the wild beasts of the field to labour for him. 8. And the nation and kingdom, all that shall not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword and famine will I visit them, saith the Lord, until they are consumed by his hand. 9. And hearken ye not to your false prophets, nor to them that divine to you, nor to them that foretel events by dreams to you, nor to your auguries, nor your sorcerers, that say, Ye shall by no means work for the king of Babylon: 10. for they prophesy lies to you, to remove you far from your land. 11. But the nation which shall put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, I will even leave it upon its land, and it shall serve him, and dwell in it. 12. I spoke also to Sedekias king of Juda according to all these words, saying, Put your neck into the yoke, 14. and serve the king of Babylon. For they prophesy unrighteous words to you, 15. for I sent them not, saith the Lord; and they prophesy in my name unjustly, that I might destroy you, and ye should perish, and your prophets, who unrighteously prophesy lies to you. 16. I spoke to you, and to all this people, and to the priests, saying, Thus said the Lord; Hearken not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house shall return from Babylon: for they prophesy to you unrighteous words. I sent them not. 18. If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is in them, let them meet me, for thus has the Lord said. 19. And as for the remaining vessels, 20. which the king of Babylon took not, when he carried Jechonias prisoner out of Jerusalem, 22. they shall go into Babylon, saith the Lord.
The sign is physical and public: bonds and yokes placed about the prophet’s own neck and sent to the kings whose messengers are in Jerusalem. The word is the same to all: the earth belongs to the Lord; He gives it to Nebuchadnezzar to serve him. The nation that will not put its neck under the yoke will be visited with sword and famine until consumed. The nation that puts its neck under the yoke and serves him will be left upon its land.
The false prophets are named as the danger: they prophesy lies to remove the people far from their land. They promise the return of the vessels. Jeremiah counters that the remaining vessels shall go into Babylon. The test is simple: if they are prophets, let them meet the Lord and cause the vessels to return now. They do not.
The yoke is not presented as a permanent political arrangement but as the Lord’s present decree. To resist it is to resist the Lord who made the earth by great power and high arm. To submit to it is to live. The hard text is the direct identification of the Babylonian yoke with the Lord’s will for the present time.
Jeremiah 35 LXX: Hananiah breaks the yoke
1. And it came to pass in the fourth year of Sedekias king of Juda, in the fifth month, that Ananias the false prophet, the son of Azor, from Gabaon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, 2. Thus saith the Lord; I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3. Yet two full years, and I will return into this place the vessels of the house of the Lord, 4. and Jechonias, and the captivity of Juda: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 5. Then Jeremias spoke to Ananias in the sight of all the people, and in the sight of the priests that stood in the house of the Lord, 6. and Jeremias said, May the Lord indeed do thus; may he confirm thy word which thou dost prophesy, to return the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the captivity, out of Babylon to this place. 7. Nevertheless hear ye the word of the Lord which I speak in your ears, and in the ears of all the people. 8. The prophets that were before me and before you of old, also prophesied over much country, and against great kingdoms, concerning war. 9. As for the prophet that has prophesied for peace, when the word has come to pass, they shall know the prophet whom the Lord has sent them in truth. 10. Then Ananias took the yokes from the neck of Jeremias in the sight of all the people, and broke them to pieces. 11. And Ananias spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus said the Lord; Thus will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon from the necks of all the nations. And Jeremias went his way. 12. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, after that Ananias had broken the yokes off his neck, saying, 13. Go and speak to Ananias, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but I will make instead of them yokes of iron. 14. For thus said the Lord, I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all the nations, that they may serve the king of Babylon. 15. And Jeremias said to Ananias, The Lord has not sent thee; and thou hast caused this people to trust in unrighteousness. 16. Therefore thus said the Lord: Behold, I will cast thee off from the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die. 17. So he died in the seventh month.
Hananiah speaks in the house of the Lord in the fifth month of the fourth year of Zedekiah. He takes the wooden yokes from Jeremiah’s neck and breaks them before the people, declaring that the Lord will break the yoke of Babylon within two full years and return the vessels, Jeconiah, and the captivity. Jeremiah’s first response is striking: “May the Lord indeed do thus; may he confirm thy word.” He does not immediately denounce. He waits for the word to prove itself.
Then he speaks the test that has always stood: the prophets of old prophesied war; the prophet who prophesies peace is known when the word comes to pass. Hananiah’s act of breaking the wood is answered by the word: “Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but I will make instead of them yokes of iron.” The iron yoke is placed on the neck of all the nations that they may serve the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah names the sin: “The Lord has not sent thee; and thou hast caused this people to trust in unrighteousness.” The sentence is swift: this year thou shalt die. And he died in the seventh month.
The hard-text guardrail is the mechanics of false prophecy. It promises quick relief, breaks the visible sign of the Lord’s current word, and causes the people to trust in something the Lord has not sent. The wooden yoke can be broken by a man; the iron yoke cannot. The false word dies with the false prophet.
Jeremiah 36 LXX: The letter to the exiles
1. And these are the words of the book which Jeremias sent from Jerusalem to the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the false prophets, even an epistle to Babylon for the captivity, and to all the people; 2. (after the departure of Jechonias the king and the queen, and the eunuchs, and every freeman, and bondman, and artificer, out of Jerusalem;) 3. by the hand of Eleasan son of Saphan, and Gamarias son of Chelcias, (whom Sedekias king of Juda sent to the king of Babylon to Babylon) saying, 4. Thus said the Lord God of Israel concerning the captivity which I caused to be carried away from Jerusalem; 5. Build ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof; 6. and take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, and be multiplied, and be not diminished. 7. And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and ye shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace ye shall have peace. 8. For thus saith the Lord; Let not the false prophets that are among you persuade you, and let not your diviners persuade you, and hearken not to your dreams which ye dream. 9. For they prophesy to you unrighteous words in my name; and I sent them not. 10. For thus said the Lord; When seventy years shall be on the point of being accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and will confirm my words to you, to bring back your people to this place. 11. And I will devise for you a device of peace, and not evil, to bestow upon you these good things. 12. And do ye pray to me, and I will hearken to you: and do ye earnestly seek me, and ye shall find me; 13. for ye shall seek me with your whole heart. 14. And I will appear to you: 15. whereas ye said, The Lord has appointed for us prophets in Babylon: 21. Thus saith the Lord concerning Achiab, and concerning Sedekias; Behold, I will deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon; and he shall smite them in your sight. 22. And they shall make of them a curse in all the captivity of Juda in Babylon, saying, The Lord do to thee as he did to Sedekias, and as he did to Achiab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire; 23. because of the iniquity which they wrought in Israel, and because they committed adultery with the wives of their fellow-citizens, and spoke a word in my name, which I did not command them to speak, and I am witness, saith the Lord. 24. And to Samæas the Ælamite thou shalt say, 25. I sent thee not in my name: and to Sophonias the priest the son of Maasæas say thou, 26. The Lord has made thee priest in the place of Jodae the priest, to be ruler in the house of the Lord over every prophet, and to every madman, and thou shalt put them in prison, and into the dungeon. 27. And now wherefore have ye reviled together Jeremias of Anathoth, who prophesied to you? 28. Did he not send for this purpose? for in the course of this month he sent to you to Babylon, saying, It is far off: build ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29. And Sophonias read the book in the ears of Jeremias. 30. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying, 31. Send to the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Samæas the Ælamite, Since Samæas has prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he has made you to trust in iniquity, 32. therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will visit Samæas, and his family: and there shall not be a man of them in the midst of you to see the good which I will do to you: they shall not see it.
The letter is sent after the departure of Jeconiah, the queen, the eunuchs, the freemen, bondmen, and artificers. It commands the exiles to settle: build houses and inhabit them, plant gardens and eat the fruit, take wives and beget children, multiply and not diminish. They are to seek the peace of the land into which they have been carried captive and pray to the Lord for it, “for in its peace ye shall have peace.”
The false prophets among them are to be ignored. They prophesy unrighteous words in the Lord’s name; He did not send them. The seventy years are fixed: when they are on the point of being accomplished, the Lord will visit them and bring them back. He has devised for them a device of peace, not evil. They are to seek Him with the whole heart and He will be found.
The letter names specific false prophets in Babylon: Achiab and Zedekiah, who will be delivered to the king of Babylon and made a curse; Shemaiah the Nehelamite, who has made the people trust in iniquity and whose family will not see the good the Lord will do.
The contrast is sharp. The false word promises quick return and the restoration of the old life. The true word commands faithful exile: settle, multiply, seek the peace of the place of judgment, pray for the city of captivity, wait the seventy years, seek the Lord with the whole heart. The iron yoke remains until the appointed time. The wooden yoke of false peace has already been broken in the temple court.
The Church’s Voice in Worship ⛪
No specific Coptic Orthodox lectionary reading for Jeremiah 34-36 is attested in the sources consulted. The command to seek the peace of the city of exile and to wait the appointed time resonates with the Church’s life in the present age: faithful presence, prayer for the peace of the place where the people are scattered, refusal of false promises of immediate restoration, and whole-hearted seeking of the Lord until He appears.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
The fruit is faithful exile rather than false peace. The yoke of wood can be broken by a false prophet in the temple; the yoke of iron cannot. Hananiah breaks the wooden yokes in the house of the Lord and promises return within two years: “Thus will I break the yoke of the king of Babylon from the necks of all the nations.” The Lord answers: “Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but I will make instead of them yokes of iron.” The false prophet dies in the seventh month. The true word commands the exiles: “Build ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof; and take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters… and seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive… for in its peace ye shall have peace.” When seventy years are accomplished, the Lord will visit.
In parish life this calls the Church to examine whether she is waiting for a quick return to an old life that the Lord has closed, or whether she is willing to settle, multiply, and seek the peace of the place of her present “captivity.” The wooden yoke of false peace has already been broken in the temple court. The iron yoke remains until the appointed time. The letter names specific false prophets (Achiab, Sedekias, Samæas) who will not see the good the Lord will do.
Ascetically, the text invites the reader to ask whether he is listening to dreams that promise immediate relief or to the word that commands faithful presence and whole-hearted seeking: “do ye earnestly seek me, and ye shall find me; for ye shall seek me with your whole heart.” Ecclesially, the Church is in exile until the Lord returns; we are to build, plant, take wives, seek the peace of the city, pray for it, refuse false prophets, and seek the Lord with the whole heart until the seventy years are accomplished. The same Lord who sends into exile devises a device of peace and will be found by those who seek Him with the whole heart.
Teaching Notes
People and nations at a glance
- Jeremiah, commanded to make yokes and send them to the nations, to speak the word to Zedekiah, to confront Hananiah in the temple, and to send the letter to the exiles.
- Zedekiah, king of Judah, warned to put his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon or face sword and famine.
- The kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, who receive the yokes as a sign that they must serve Nebuchadnezzar or be consumed.
- Hananiah the false prophet, son of Azor from Gibeon, who breaks the wooden yoke in the house of the Lord and prophesies the return of the vessels and Jeconiah within two years; he is told he will die that year and does.
- The exiles in Babylon, commanded to build houses, plant gardens, take wives, beget sons and daughters, seek the peace of the land into which they have been carried, pray for it, and not listen to the false prophets among them.
- Achiab and Zedekiah, false prophets in Babylon who are delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon and made a curse.
- Shemaiah the Nehelamite, who writes letters reviling Jeremiah and is told that none of his seed will see the good the Lord will do to the exiles.
Jeremiah 34 LXX: The yoke to the nations and to Zedekiah
- Ask: What is the difference between the wooden yoke Jeremiah wears and the iron yoke the Lord places on the nations?
- Emphasize: The wooden yoke can be broken by a man in the temple; the iron yoke is the Lord’s present decree and cannot be broken by false words.
- Watch for: Preferring the comfortable wooden yoke of false promises over the iron yoke of the Lord’s actual word for the present time.
- Connect: Christ took the yoke of our judgment upon Himself; His yoke is easy and His burden light for those who come to Him.
- Show: Note the public act in the temple: the breaking of the wood is visible religion that changes nothing.
Jeremiah 35 LXX: Hananiah breaks the yoke
- Ask: Why does the Lord command the exiles to settle and seek the peace of the land of their captivity rather than to pray only for immediate return?
- Emphasize: The seventy years are fixed. The peace of the place of judgment is the place where the Lord’s peace is to be sought and prayed for.
- Watch for: Treating the present place of life as only temporary and therefore refusing to invest, multiply, or seek its peace.
- Connect: The Church is in exile until the Lord returns; we are to seek the peace of the city and pray for it while we wait.
- Show: The letter is sent by messengers who are themselves going to Babylon on royal business; the word travels with the ordinary movements of the time.
Jeremiah 36 LXX: The letter to the exiles
- Ask: How does Jeremiah distinguish the true word from the false in the temple and in the letter?
- Emphasize: The prophet of peace is known when the word comes to pass. The one who causes the people to trust in unrighteousness is not sent.
- Watch for: Judging prophecy only by its emotional comfort or by the status of the speaker.
- Connect: The Church tests the spirits; the word that contradicts the Lord’s known decree is not from Him.
- Show: Hananiah dies in the seventh month; the letter names the specific false prophets who will not see the good.
Sources
Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX).