Jeremiah 27

1 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word has been to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying,

2 This is what the Lord told me: Make for yourself a harness and a yoke and strap it on your neck

“Thus said YHWH to me: Make bands and yokes for yourself,

3 Send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah.

and you have put them on your neck, and have sent them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of messengers who are coming to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah king of Judah;

4 Give them this order from the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, to convey to their masters:

and you have commanded them for their lords, saying, Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel:

5 It was by my strength and creative power that I made the earth and the human beings and animals that live there, and I give it to those who are right in my sight.

Thus you say to your lords, I have made the earth with man, and the livestock that [are] on the face of the earth, by My great power, and by My outstretched arm, and I have given it to whom it has been right in My eyes.

6 Now I have placed my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in charge of all these countries. I have even given him control over the wild animals.

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

7 All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time that his own land comes under the control of other nations and powerful kings.

and all the nations have served him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the coming in of the time of his land, also it; and many nations and great kings have made him serve them.

8 Any nation or kingdom that doesn't serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and doesn't submit to him I will punish that nation by war and famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I let Nebuchadnezzar destroy it completely.

And it has come to pass, the nation and the kingdom that does not serve him—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon—and that which does not put 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—a declaration of YHWH—until I consume them by his hand.

9 Don't you listen to your prophets, your fortune-tellers, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your magicians when they tell you, “You won't serve the king of Babylon.”

And you, you do not listen to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your observers of clouds, and to your sorcerers who are speaking to you, saying, You do not serve the king of Babylon—

10 They're prophesying a lie to you that will lead to your removal from your country. I will expel you and you will die.

For they are prophesying falsehood to you, so as to remove you far from your ground, and I have driven you out, and you have perished.

11 But a nation that submits to the king of Babylon and serves him, I will leave in its own land, to cultivate it and live in it, declares the Lord.

And the nation that causes its neck to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and has served him—I have left it on its ground—a declaration of YHWH—and it has tilled it, and dwelt in it.”

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah: Submit to the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!

And I have spoken to Zedekiah king of Judah 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 war and famine and plague, as the Lord has said he would bring against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?

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

14 Don't listen to messages from prophets who say, “You won't serve the king of Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.

And you do not listen to the words of the prophets who are speaking to you, saying, You do not serve the king of Babylon—for they are prophesying falsehood to you.

15 I didn't send them, declares the Lord, and yet they are giving false prophecies in my name. So I will expel you and you will die—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.

For I have not sent them—a declaration of YHWH—and they are prophesying falsely in My Name, so as to drive you out, and you have perished, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16 Then I told the priests and all the people, This is what the Lord says: Don't listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Look! The objects from the Lord's Temple will shortly be returned from Babylon.” They are prophesying a lie to you.

And to the priests, and to all this people, I have spoken, saying, “Thus said YHWH: You do not listen to the words of your prophets, who are prophesying to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the house of YHWH are now brought back from Babylon in haste, for they are prophesying falsehood to you.

17 Don't listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city be destroyed?

You do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live! Why is this city a ruin?

18 If they are truly prophets and really have the word of the Lord with them, they should be pleading now with the Lord Almighty that what's left in the Lord's Temple, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, isn't taken to Babylon.

And if they are prophets, and if a word of YHWH is with them, let them now intercede with YHWH of Hosts, so that the vessels that are left in the house of YHWH, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, have not gone into Babylon.

19 This what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze sea, the bases, and the rest of the objects that are left in Jerusalem:

For thus said YHWH 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 everything Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take when he took Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, together with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has not taken, in his removing Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem,

21 Again, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the objects left in the Lord's Temple, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:

surely thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left of the house of YHWH, and of the house of the king of Judah, and [in] Jerusalem:

22 They will be taken away to Babylon and will stay there until the time I see to them again, declares the Lord. Only then will I bring them back so they will be in Jerusalem again.

They are brought to Babylon, and there they are until the day of My inspecting them—a declaration of YHWH; then I have brought them up, and have brought them back to this place.”