Jeremiah 27

1 In the beginning of the reign of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, this word came to Jeremias from the Lord, saying:

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 Thus saith the Lord to me: Make thee bands, and chains: and thou shalt put them on thy neck.

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

3 And thou shalt send them to the 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 that are come to Jerusalem to Sedecias the king of Juda.

and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the people 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;

4 And thou shalt command them to speak to their masters: Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Thus shall you say to your masters:

and 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 made the earth, and the men, and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power, and by my stretched out arm: and I have given it to whom it seemed good in my eyes.

"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.

6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon my servant: moreover also the beasts of the field I have given him to serve him.

Now 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.

7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son: till the time come for his land and himself: and many nations and great kings shall serve him.

All 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.

8 But the nation and kingdom that will not serve Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and whosoever will not bend his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon: I will visit upon that nation with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, saith the Lord: till I consume them by his hand.

It 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.

9 Therefore hearken not to your prophets, and diviners, and dreamers, and soothsayers, and sorcerers, that say to you: You shall not serve the king Babylon.

But 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':

10 For they prophesy lies to you: to remove you far from your country, and east you out, and to make you perish.

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

11 But the nation that shall bend down their neck under the yoke of the king Babylon, and shall serve him: Will let them remain in their own land, saith the Lord: and they shall till it, and dwell in it.

But 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 in it."'"

12 And I spoke to Sedecias the king of Juda according to all these words, saying: Bend down your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, and his people, and you shall live.

I 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.

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

Why 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?

14 Hearken not to the words of the prophets that say to you: You shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they tell you a lie.

Do 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, saith the Lord: and they prophesy in my name falsely: to drive you out, and that you may perish, both you, and the prophets that prophesy to you.

'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.'"

16 I spoke also to the priests, and to this people, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Hearken not to the words of your prophets, that prophesy to you, saying: Behold the vessels of the Lord shall now in a short time be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.

Also 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, Look, the vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.

17 Therefore hearken not to them, but serve the king of Babylon, that you may live. Why should this city be given up to desolation?

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

18 But if they be prophets, and the word of the Lord be in them: let them interpose themselves before the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which were left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Juda, and in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon.

But if they are prophets and if the word of the LORD is 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 go to Babylon.

19 For thus saith the Lord of hosts to the pillars, and to the sea, and to the bases, and to the rest of the vessels that remain in this city:

For thus says the LORD 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 Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away Jechonias the son of Joakim the king of Juda, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the great men of Juda and Jerusalem.

which 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;

21 For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, to the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Juda and Jerusalem:

yes, 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 they shall be until the day of their visitation, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to be brought, and to be restored in this place.

'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.'"