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, hath this word been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, 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 Jehovah unto me, Make to thee bands and yokes,

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

And thou hast commanded them for their lords, saying, Thus said Jehovah 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 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 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 — 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 that his own land comes under the control of other nations and powerful kings.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah: Submit to 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 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 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 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 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 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 — 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 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 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 Don't listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city be destroyed?

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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.'