Jeremiah 27

1 At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.

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

2 This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.

Thus said the Lord to me, Make for thyself bands and yoke-bars, and put them around thy neck,

3 Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

And send such 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 means of the messengers who come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah the king of Judah;

4 Give them a message from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to relay to their masters:

And thou shalt charge them unto their masters, saying, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say unto your masters,

5 By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.

It is I who have made the earth, the men, and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and I have given it unto the one who seemeth proper in my eyes.

6 So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.

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

7 All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.

And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his land is also come in its turn: when many nations and great kings shall make it serve.

8 As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation by sword and famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I have destroyed it by his hand.

And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon, —even that nation will I punish with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, saith the Lord, until I have made an end of them by his hand.

9 But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your sorcerers who declare, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’

But do ye not hearken to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your enchanters, and to your sorcerers, who speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;

10 For they prophesy to you a lie that will serve to remove you from your land; I will banish you and you will perish.

For falsehood do they prophesy unto you, in order to remove you far from your land; and that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish.

11 But the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave in its own land, to cultivate it and reside in it, declares the LORD.”

But the nation that will bring its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, —that one will I then let remain quietly in its own land, saith the Lord: and it shall till it, and dwell therein.

12 And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!

And unto Zedekiah the king of Judah did I speak in accordance with all these words, saying, Bring your neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, that ye may live.

13 Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the LORD has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?

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

14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie.

And do ye not hearken unto the words of the prophets that say unto you, as followeth, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for a falsehood do they prophesy unto you.

15 For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy in my name falsely: in order that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

16 Then I said to the priests and to all this people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Look, very soon now the articles from the house of the LORD will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying to you a lie.

And unto the priests and unto all this people did I speak, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Do not hearken to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the house of the Lord shall be brought again from Babylon now speedily; for a falsehood do they prophesy unto you.

17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, that ye may live: wherefore should this city become a ruin?

18 If they are indeed prophets and the word of the LORD is with them, let them now plead with the LORD of Hosts that the articles remaining in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, not be taken to Babylon.

And if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession with 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, may not be carried to Babylon.

19 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the bases, and the rest of the articles that remain in this city,

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

20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

Which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did not take away, when he carried away into exile Jechonyah the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

21 Yes, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about the articles that remain in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:

[Yea] for thus hath said 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 in Jerusalem,

22 ‘They will be carried to Babylon and will remain there until the day I attend to them again,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”

Unto Babylon shall they be carried, and there shall they remain until the day that I think of them, saith the Lord, when I will bring them up, and restore them to this place.