Jeremiah 27

¹When Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, first became king this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

²This is what the Lord has said to me: Make for yourself bands and yokes and put them on your neck;

³And send them to the king of Edom, 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 Zidon, by their servants who come to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah, king of Judah;

⁴And give them orders to say to their masters, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Say to your masters,

⁵I have made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I will give it to anyone at my pleasure.

⁶And now I have given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given the beasts of the field to him for his use.

⁷And all the nations will be servants to him and to his son and to his son's son, till the time comes for his land to be overcome: and then a number of nations and great kings will take it for their use.

⁸And it will come about, that if any nation does not become a servant to this same Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will send punishment on that nation, says the Lord, by the sword and need of food and by disease, till I have given them into his hands.

⁹And you are not to give attention to your prophets or your readers of signs or your dreamers or those who see into the future or those who make use of secret arts, who say to you, You will not become servants of the king of Babylon:

¹⁰For they say false words to you, so that you may be sent away far from your land, and so that you may be forced out by me and come to destruction.

¹¹But as for that nation which puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and becomes his servant, I will let that nation keep on in its land, farming it and living in it, says the Lord.

¹²And I said all this to Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying, Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and become his servants and his people, so that you may keep your lives.

¹³Why are you desiring death, you and your people, by the sword, and because food is gone, and by disease, as the Lord has said of the nation which does not become the servant of the king of Babylon?

¹⁴And you are not to give ear to the prophets who say to you, You will not become servants of the king of Babylon: for what they say is not true.

¹⁵For I have not sent them, says the Lord, but they are saying what is false in my name, so that I might send you out by force, causing destruction to come on you and on your prophets.

¹⁶And I said to the priests and to all the people, This is what the Lord has said: Give no attention to the words of your prophets who say to you, See, in a very little time now the vessels of the Lord's house will come back again from Babylon: for what they say to you is false.

¹⁷Give no attention to them; become servants of the king of Babylon and keep yourselves from death: why let this town become a waste?

¹⁸But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make request to the Lord of armies that the vessels which are still in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and at Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon.

¹⁹For this is what the Lord has said about the rest of the vessels which are still in this town,

²⁰Which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take away, when he took Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, a prisoner from Jerusalem to Babylon, with all the great men of Judah and Jerusalem;

²¹For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said about the rest of the vessels in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and at Jerusalem:

²²They will be taken away to Babylon, and there they will be till the day when I send their punishment on them, says the Lord. Then I will take them up and put them back in their place.

Jeremiah 27

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord to me: Make bonds and bars, and put them on your neck;

³and send them to the king of Edom, 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 hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah;

⁴and give them a command to their masters, saying, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, You shall tell your masters:

⁵"I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me.

⁶Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him.

⁷All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant.

⁸It shall happen, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, says the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

⁹But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon':

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

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

¹²I spoke 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.

¹³Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁴Do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon'; for they prophesy a lie to you.

¹⁵'For I have not sent them,' says the Lord, 'but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you.'"

¹⁶Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.

¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: why should this city become a desolation?'

¹⁸But 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, do not go to Babylon.

¹⁹For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,

²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, 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;

²¹yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:

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