Jeremiah 27
27
1In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah#27.1 Another reading is Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2Thus the Lord said to me: “Make yourself thongs and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3Send word#27.3 Cn: Heb send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.
8“ ‘ “But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers,#27.9 Gk Syr Vg: Heb dreams your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11But any nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to till it and dwell there, says the Lord.” ’ ”
12To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? 14Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you. 15I have not sent them, says the Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”
16Then 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 are prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you. 17Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? 18If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels which are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I give attention to them, says the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Jeremiah 27
27
Nebuchadnezzar Is Made Ruler
1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This happened when Zedekiah son of Josiah was king of Judah. 2This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and poles. Put it on the back of your neck. 3Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Send the messages through the messengers of these kings. Those messengers have come to Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah. 4Tell them to give this message to their masters. Tell them, ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: “Tell your masters: 5I made the earth and everyone on it. I made all the animals on the earth. I did this with my great power and my strong arm. I can give the earth to anyone I want. 6Now I have given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He is my servant. I will make even the wild animals obey him. 7All nations will serve Nebuchadnezzar and his son and grandson. Then the time will come for Babylon to be defeated. Many nations and great kings will make Babylon their servant.
8“‘“But now some nations or kingdoms might refuse to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. They might refuse to be under his control. If that happens, I will punish that nation with war, hunger and terrible sickness, says the Lord. I will do it until I destroy that nation. I will use Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the nation that fights against him. 9So don’t listen to your false prophets. Don’t listen to people who use magic to tell what will happen in the future. Don’t listen to those who say they can tell what dreams mean. Don’t listen to mediums or magicians. They all tell you, ‘You will not be slaves to the king of Babylon.’ 10They are telling you lies! They will only cause you to be taken far from your homeland. I will force you to leave your homes. And you will die in another land. 11But some nations will put themselves under the control of the king of Babylon. They will serve him. I will let those nations stay in their own country, says the Lord. The people from those nations will live in their own land and farm it.”’”
12I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “You must put yourself under the control of the king of Babylon and serve him. If you serve him and his people, you will live. 13Why should you and your people die like those who do not serve the king of Babylon? Why should you die because of war, hunger and sickness? The Lord said this will happen. 14But the false prophets are saying this: ‘You will never be slaves to the king of Babylon.’ Don’t listen to them because they are prophesying lies to you! 15‘I did not send them,’ says the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies. And they are saying the message is from me. So I will send Judah away. You will die! And those prophets who prophesy to you will die also.’”
16Then I, Jeremiah, said to the priests and all the people, “This is what the Lord says: Those false prophets are saying that what the Babylonians took from the Temple of the Lord will be brought back soon. Don’t listen to them! They are prophesying lies to you. 17Don’t listen to those prophets. But serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. There is no reason for you to cause Jerusalem to become a ruin. 18They might be prophets and have the message from the Lord. If so, let them pray to the Lord of heaven’s armies. Let them pray about the things that are still in the Temple of the Lord. Let them pray about the things that are still in the king’s palace and in Jerusalem. Let them pray that all this will not be taken away to Babylon.
19“This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says about those things left in Jerusalem. In the Temple there are the pillars, the large bronze bowl, which is called the Sea, the stands that can be moved and other things. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon left them in Jerusalem. 20Nebuchadnezzar did not take these away when he took Jehoiachin king of Judah captive. Jehoiachin was the son of King Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar also took other important people away from Judah and Jerusalem. 21This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says about the things left in the Temple of the Lord and in the king’s palace and in Jerusalem: ‘All of this will also be taken to Babylon. 22And they will stay there until the day I go to get them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back and return them to this place.’”
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