6. He said, “Amen! Let the Lord really do that! May the Lord make the message you prophesy come true. May he bring back here everything from the Lord’s Temple and all the people who were taken as captives to Babylon.
7. “But listen to what I am going to say to you and all the people.
8. There were prophets long before we became prophets, Hananiah. They prophesied that war, hunger, and terrible diseases would come to many countries and great kingdoms.
9. But if a prophet prophesies that we will have peace and that message comes true, he can be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord.”
10. Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.
11. Hananiah said in front of all the people, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He put that yoke on all the nations of the world, but I will break it before two years are over.’ ” After Hananiah had said that, Jeremiah left the Temple.
12. The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off of the prophet Jeremiah’s neck.
13. The Lord said, “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but I will make a yoke of iron in its place!
14. The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will be slaves to him. I will even give Nebuchadnezzar control over the wild animals.’ ”