The problem facing the people in Yirmiyahu’s time was not only that they refused to listen to the prophets, but that they failed to heed the right prophets. We have seen that while Yirmiyahu called upon the people to repent and submit to the king of Babylon, opposing prophets arose with soothing prophecies of redemption and consolation. In our chapter, we discover that it was not only the people who struggled to distinguish between a true prophet and a false one — even Yirmiyahu himself was unable to tell.

For a long period, Yirmiyahu had proclaimed that the Babylonian Empire would rule the region for seventy years and that God’s decree was submission to its dominion. Those who resisted would face death and horrific destruction. Suddenly, Chananya son of Azur appeared and declared that within two years, the Babylon kingdom would fall, the vessels of God’s Temple would be returned, and King Yehoyakhin would be restored to rule over an independent Jewish kingdom.

Yirmiyahu’s response is hesitant. Why does he not resist?

The answer lies in an inherent tension within the nature of prophecy: a prophecy of calamity, by its very definition, is meant to be averted. God’s mercy is great, and if a prophecy succeeds in its purpose, people will repent, and the decree can be reversed. Yirmiyahu knew that Babylon’s rule was destined to last seventy years, but who could say whether God had chosen to show compassion?

This is the hesitant response that Yirmiyahu gives: "The prophets who were before me and before you long ago - they prophesied war, catastrophe, and pestilence to many lands and to great kingdoms. The prophet who shall prophesy peace, when his word comes true, that prophet shall be acknowledged as one whom the Lord has truly sent" (28:8–9). Yirmiyahu is unsettled by Chananya’s prophecy, caught in complete uncertainty: Has God revoked the decree? Is Chananya a false prophet? He cannot know. It is unclear whether Yirmiyahu’s response is a warning to Chananya that he may be caught in a false prophecy, or merely an attempt to absolve himself of blame by asserting I prophesied calamity — even if it does not come to pass, I am still a true prophet.

The first confrontation between Yirmiyahu and Chananya ends in a absolute victory for Chananya. He breaks the wooden bar that Yirmieyahu wears upon his neck, and the message seared into the people’s minds is clear: one prophet speaks with confidence, proclaiming peace and restoration, while the other hesitates, wavers, and tries to say that an era of subjugation is approaching.

Only after this encounter does God reveal the truth to Yirmiyahu explicitly. Only then can he return and declare: "Listen well Chananya. The Lord did not sent you, and you have assured this people of a lie. Therefore, this is what the Lord has said: I am to send you away from the earth. This year you shall die, for you have preached insubordination against the Lord" (28:15–16). God’s word is fulfilled, and the chapter concludes with the realization of Yirmiyahu’s prophecy, and Chananya dies that very year. Yet, as in modern reality, people remember the sensational false headline more than the quiet apology that follows a year later. And if even Yirmiyahu himself struggled to identify a false prophet — what hope is there for the common people?

In the next chapter, we will explore possible answers to this troubling dilemma.