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 Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, hath this word been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, 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 Jehovah unto me, Make to thee bands and yokes,

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 thou hast put them on thy neck, and hast sent them unto the king of Edom, and unto the king of Moab, and unto the king of the sons of Ammon, and unto the king of Tyre, and unto the king of Zidon, by the hand of messengers who are coming in to Jerusalem, unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

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

And thou hast commanded them for their lords, saying, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel,

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.

Thus do ye say unto your lords, I — I have made the earth with man, and the cattle that [are] on the face of the earth, by My great power, and by My stretched-out arm, and I have given it to whom it hath been right in Mine 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, I — I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and also the beast of the field I have given to 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 served him have all the nations, and his son, and his son's son, till the coming in of the time of his land, also it; and done service for him have many nations and great kings.

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 hath come to pass, the nation and the kingdom that do not serve him — Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon — and that which putteth not its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, I lay a charge on that nation — an affirmation of Jehovah — till I consume 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.’

'And ye, ye do not hearken unto your prophets, and unto your diviners, and unto your dreamers, and unto your observers of clouds, and unto your sorcerers who are speaking unto you, saying, Ye do 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 they are prophesying to you, so as to remove you far from off your ground, and I have driven you out, and ye have perished.

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.”

And the nation that causeth its neck to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and hath served him — I have left it on its ground — an affirmation of Jehovah — and it hath tilled it, and dwelt in it.'

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 king of Judah I have spoken according to all these words, saying, 'Cause your necks to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and 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 do ye die, thou and thy people, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that doth 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 ye do not hearken unto the words of the prophets who are speaking unto you, saying, Ye do not serve the king of Babylon, — for falsehood they are prophesying to 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 — an affirmation of Jehovah — and they are prophesying in My name falsely, so as to drive you out, and ye have perished, ye, and the prophets who are prophesying to 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, I have spoken, saying, 'Thus said Jehovah, Ye do not hearken unto the words of your prophets, who are prophesying to you, saying, Lo, the vessels of the house of Jehovah are brought back from Babylon now in haste, for falsehood they are prophesying to you.

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

Ye do not hearken unto them, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why is this city a waste?

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 a word of Jehovah be with them, let them intercede, I pray you, with Jehovah of Hosts, so that the vessels that are left in the house of Jehovah, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, have not gone into 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 said Jehovah of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the rest 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.

That Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath not taken, in his removing Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon with all the freemen 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:

Surely thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left of the house of Jehovah, and of 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.’”

To Babylon they are brought, and there they are till the day of My inspecting them — an affirmation of Jehovah; then I have brought them up, and have brought them back unto this place.'