Jeremiah 28:9

9 So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We'll wait and see. If it happens, it happens - and then we'll know that God sent him."

Jeremiah 28:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 28:9

The prophet which prophesieth of peace
Of prosperity, of good things, as Hananiah did, and which are always acceptable to men; and such a prophet is agreeable to them: when the word of the Lord shall come to pass;
when the prophecy of good things, which he delivers in the name of the Lord, shall be filled: [then] shall the prophet be known that the Lord hath truly sent him;
and not till then; it is the event that must make it manifest: in the other case it may be in a good measure known before it comes to pass, and, whether it comes to pass or not, that a prophet is a true prophet; because his prophecies are agreeable to the word and the declared will of God; contain evils threatened on account of sin, and in order to bring men to repentance, which must needs be right; and besides, they have no interest of their own to serve, but run contrary to the stream of the people, and are exposed to their rage and censure: whereas, a man that prophesies of peace, he is more to be suspected of flattering the people, and of prophesying out of his own heart; and nothing but the event can show him a true prophet; which if he delivers with a proviso, that the people do not do that which is evil in the sight of God, to provoke him to deny them the promised good, is always certainly fulfilled; and if it is not, then he appears manifestly a false prophet.

Jeremiah 28:9 In-Context

7 But listen to me, listen closely. Listen to what I tell both you and all the people here today:

8 The old prophets, the ones before our time, preached judgment against many countries and kingdoms, warning of war and disaster and plague.

9 So any prophet who preaches that everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about stands out like a sore thumb. We'll wait and see. If it happens, it happens - and then we'll know that God sent him."

10 At that, Hananiah grabbed the yoke from Jeremiah's shoulders and smashed it.

11 And then he addressed the people: "This is God's Message: In just this way I will smash the yoke of the king of Babylon and get him off the neck of all the nations - and within two years." Jeremiah walked out.