Jeremiah 27

1 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,

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

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

This is what Yahweh said to me, “Make fetters and a yoke for yourself. Place them on your neck.

3 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;

Then send them out to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the people of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon. Send them by the hand of those kings' ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

4 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,

Give commands to them for their masters and say, 'Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: This is what you must say to your masters,

5 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.

“I myself made the earth by my great strength and my raised arm. I also made the people and animals on the earth, and I give it to anyone who is right in my eyes.

6 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.

So now, I myself am giving all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant. Also, I am giving the living things in the fields to him to serve him.

7 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.

For all the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his land comes. Then many nations and great kings will subdue him.

8 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.

So the nation and the kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon—I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with the plague—this is Yahweh's declaration—until I have destroyed it by his hand.

9 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;

So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your seers, your soothsayers, and sorcerers, who have been speaking to you and saying, 'Do not serve the king of Babylon.'

10 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.

For they are prophesying deceit to you in order to send you far away from your lands, for I will drive you away, and you will die.

11 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.

But the nation that places its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will allow it to rest in its land—this is Yahweh's declaration—and they will cultivate it and make their homes in it.”'”

12 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.

So I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah and gave him this message, “Place your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and you will live.

13 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?

Why will you die—you and your people—by the sword, famine, and plague, just as I have declared about the nation that refuses to serve the king of Babylon?

14 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.

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you and say, 'Do not serve the king of Babylon,' for they are prophesying lies to you.

15 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.

'For I have not sent them out—this is Yahweh's declaration—for they are prophesying deceit in my name so that I will drive you out and you will perish, both you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.'”

16 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.

I proclaimed this to the priests and all the people and said, “Yahweh says this: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you and say, 'Look! The objects belonging to Yahweh's house are being returned from Babylon now!' They are prophesying lies to you.

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

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

18 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.

If they are prophets, and if the word of Yahweh has truly come to them, let them beg Yahweh of hosts not to send to Babylon the objects that remain in his house, the house of the king of Judah, and Jerusalem.

19 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,

Yahweh of hosts says this about the pillars, the large basin known as “The Sea” and its base, and the rest of the objects that remain in this city—

20 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;

the objects that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.

21 [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,

Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this about the objects that remain in the house of Yahweh, the house of the king of Judah, and Jerusalem,

22 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.

'They will be brought to Babylon, and they will remain there until the day I have set to come for them—this is Yahweh's declaration—then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.'”