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Judah Will Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was shortly after Zedekiah became king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. The Lord said, “Make a yoke out of ropes and wooden boards. Put it on your neck. Then write down a message for the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Give it to their messengers who have come to Jerusalem. They have come to see Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Give them a message for the kings who sent them. It should say, ‘The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Here is what I want you to tell your masters. I reached out my great and powerful arm. I made the earth. I made its people and animals. And I can give the earth to anyone I please. Now I will hand over all your countries to my servant Nebuchadnezzar. He is the king of Babylon. I will put even the wild animals under his control. All the nations will serve him and his son and grandson. After that, I will judge his land. Then many nations and great kings will make him serve them.

“ ‘ “But suppose any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And suppose it refuses to put its neck under his yoke. Then I will punish that nation with war, hunger and plague,” announces the Lord. “I will punish it until his powerful hand destroys it. So do not listen to your prophets. Do not listen to those who claim to have secret knowledge. Do not listen to those who try to explain your dreams. Do not listen to those who get messages from people who have died. Do not listen to those who practice evil magic. All of them will tell you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 But they prophesy lies to you. If you listen to them, you will be removed far away from your lands. I will drive you away from them. And you will die. 11 But suppose any nation will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. And suppose it serves him. Then I will let that nation remain in its own land. I will let its people plow the land and live there,” ’ ” announces the Lord.

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. I said, “Put your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Obey him. Serve his people. Then you will live. 13 Why should you and your people die? Why should you die of war, hunger and plague? That’s what the Lord said would happen to any nation that won’t serve the king of Babylon. 14 Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You won’t serve the king of Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 15 ‘I have not sent them,’ announces the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. So I will drive you away from your land. And you will die. So will the prophets who prophesy to you.’ ”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and all these people. I said, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to the prophets who speak to you. They say, “Very soon the objects from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.” Those prophets are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon. Then you will live. Why should this city be destroyed? 18 If they are prophets and have received a message from me, let them pray to me. I am the Lord who rules over all. Those prophets should pray that what is still in Jerusalem will remain here. They should pray that the objects in my house and the king’s palace will not be taken to Babylon. 19 I am the Lord who rules over all. Do you know what these objects are? They include the two pillars in front of the temple. They include the huge bronze bowl. They include the bronze stands that can be moved around. And they include the other things left in this city. 20 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, did not take these things away at first. That was when he took King Jehoiachin from Jerusalem to Babylon. Jehoiachin is the son of Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar also took all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem along with Jehoiachin. 21 I am the Lord who rules over all. I am the God of Israel. Here is what will happen to the things that are left in my house, the king’s palace and Jerusalem. 22 They will be taken to Babylon. They will remain there until the day I come for them,’ announces the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back. I will return them to this place.’ ”

Judah to Serve Nebuchadnezzar

27 Early in the reign of Zedekiah[a](A) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke(B) out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. Then send(C) word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon,(D) Tyre and Sidon(E) through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters: With my great power and outstretched arm(F) I made(G) the earth and its people and the animals(H) that are on it, and I give(I) it to anyone I please. Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant(J) Nebuchadnezzar(K) king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.(L) All nations will serve(M) him and his son and his grandson until the time(N) for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate(O) him.

“‘“If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish(P) that nation with the sword,(Q) famine(R) and plague,(S) declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets,(T) your diviners,(U) your interpreters of dreams,(V) your mediums(W) or your sorcerers(X) who tell you, ‘You will not serve(Y) the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies(Z) to you that will only serve to remove(AA) you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke(AB) of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live(AC) there, declares the Lord.”’”

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke(AD) of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.(AE) 13 Why will you and your people die(AF) by the sword, famine and plague(AG) with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen(AH) to the words of the prophets(AI) who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies(AJ) to you. 15 ‘I have not sent(AK) them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name.(AL) Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish,(AM) both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the Lord says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles(AN) from the Lord’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Do not listen(AO) to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live.(AP) Why should this city become a ruin? 18 If they are prophets and have the word of the Lord, let them plead(AQ) with the Lord Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon. 19 For this is what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea,(AR) the movable stands and the other articles(AS) that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried(AT) Jehoiachin[b](AU) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the Lord and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 ‘They will be taken(AV) to Babylon and there they will remain until the day(AW) I come for them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will bring(AX) them back and restore them to this place.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 27:1 A few Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also 27:3,12 and 28:1); most Hebrew manuscripts Jehoiakim (Most Septuagint manuscripts do not have this verse.)
  2. Jeremiah 27:20 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin

27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Thus saith the Lord to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.

And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

12 I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

15 For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.

19 For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city.

20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

21 Yea, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;

22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the Lord; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.