Jeremiah 27

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

Soon after Zedekiah became the King of Judah, Yahweh gave a message to me.

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

This is what he said to me: “Make a (yoke/set of wooden bars to fasten around the neck of an ox), but fasten it around your own neck with leather straps.

3 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;

[Then] send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, by telling those messages to the ambassadors from those countries who have come to Jerusalem to [talk to] King Zedekiah.

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

Tell them to give this message to their kings: This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people worship, ]:

5 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.

‘With my very great power [MTY, DOU] I created the earth and the people and the animals that are on the earth. And I can give my power to anyone whom I want to.

6 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;

And now I am going to enable King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who does what I want him to do, to control your countries. I am going to enable him to rule everything, even the wild animals.

7 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.

[The people of] all the nations will work for him, and [later] for his son, and [later] for his grandson, until the time for them [to rule] is finished. Then [the armies of] many great kings from many nations will conquer Babylon.’

8 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.

But now I tell you that you must [do what the king of Babylon wants you to do] [MET], [like an ox that has] a yoke on its neck [must do what its master wants it to do]. I will punish any nation that refuses to do that. I will cause those people to experience war and famine and diseases, until [the armies of] Babylon have conquered that nation.

9 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—

So, do not pay attention to your [false] prophets and fortune-tellers and people who predict what will happen by working magic or by talking with spirits of dead people. Those people say that the king of Babylon will not conquer your country.

10 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.

Those people are [all] liars. [If you believe what they say, ] it will result in your being exiled from your land. I will cause you to be taken from your land, and you will die far away.

11 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.”

But the people of any country who do what the King of Babylon wants them to do will remain in their own country and be able to plant their crops [MTY] [as they always have done. That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”

12 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.

[After I gave that message to those ambassadors, ] I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. [I said to him, ] “If you want to remain alive, do what the King of Babylon and his officials want you to do [MET].

13 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?

[It would be foolish for you not to do that, because the result would be that] you and your people would die by [your enemies’] swords or by famine or diseases, which Yahweh will cause any nation to experience that refuses to allow the King of Babylon to rule them.

14 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.

Do not pay attention to those prophets who say to you, ‘The King of Babylon will not conquer your country.’ They are liars.

15 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.”

[This is what] Yahweh says: ‘I have not appointed those prophets. They are saying that I [MTY] gave them messages, but they are lying. So, [if you believe them, ] I will expel you from this land. And you and all those prophets will die [in Babylon]!’”

16 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.

Then I spoke to the priests and the other people, and I said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Do not believe your prophets who tell you that all the gold items [that were taken] from my temple [by soldiers from Babylon] will soon be returned from Babylon, because what they are prophesying is a lie.

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

Do not pay attention to what they say. Surrender to the king of Babylon. If you do that, you will remain alive. [If you do not do that] [RHQ], this entire city will be destroyed.

18 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.

If they are really prophets who speak messages from me, tell them to plead to me, the Commander of the armies of angels, that [the soldiers from Babylon] will not be allowed to take away to Babylon the valuable items that [still] remain in the temple and in the king’s palace and in [the other palaces in] Jerusalem.

19 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,

[I say this] because the [huge] pillars [that are in front of the temple] and the large water tank and the [ten water] carts and all the other items that are used [for offering sacrifices are still in this city].

20 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,

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left those things here when he exiled Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the [other] leaders of Jerusalem and [the leaders of other places in] Judah.

21 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:

[I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people worship], say this about all those valuable things that are still outside the temple and in the palace of the king of Judah and in [other places in]:

22 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.”

They will [all] be carried away to Babylon. And they will stay there until I say that they should be brought back to Jerusalem. Then they will be bought back here. [That is what I, ] Yahweh, say.’”