Jeremiah 27
27
Slaves of Nebuchadnezzar
1-2 #
2 K 24.18-20; 2 Ch 36.11-13. Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah,#27.1,2 Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah: A few manuscripts and one ancient translation; most Hebrew manuscripts “Not long after Jehoiakim became king of Judah”; most manuscripts of another ancient translation do not have these words. Jehoiakim ruled 609–598 b.c., and Zedekiah ruled 598–586 b.c. the Lord told me:
Jeremiah, make a wooden yoke#27.1,2 yoke: A wooden collar that fits around the neck of an ox, so the ox can be made to pull a plow or a cart. with leather straps, and place it on your neck. 3Then send a message#27.3 a message: Hebrew “them.” to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Some officials from these countries are in Jerusalem, meeting with Zedekiah. 4So have them tell their kings that I have said:
I am the All-Powerful Lord God of Israel, 5and with my power I created the earth, its people, and all animals. I decide who will rule the earth, 6-7#Ba 3.16,17. and I have chosen my servant King Nebuchadnezzar#27.6,7 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. of Babylonia to rule all nations, including yours. I will even let him rule the wild animals. All nations will be slaves of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Then many nations will join together, and their kings will make slaves of the Babylonians.
8This yoke stands for the power of King Nebuchadnezzar, and I will destroy any nation that refuses to obey him. Nebuchadnezzar will attack, and many will die in battle or from hunger and disease. 9You might have people in your kingdom who claim they can tell the future by magic or by talking with the dead or by dreams or messages from a god. But don't pay attention if any of them tell you not to obey Nebuchadnezzar. 10If you listen to such lies, I will have you dragged far from your country and killed. 11But if you and your nation are willing to obey Nebuchadnezzar, I will let you stay in your country, and your people will continue to live and work on their farms.
12After I had spoken to the officials from the nearby kingdoms, I went to King Zedekiah and told him the same thing. Then I said:
Zedekiah, if you and the people of Judah want to stay alive, you must obey Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. 13But if you refuse, then you and your people will die from war, hunger, and disease, just as the Lord has warned. 14Your prophets have told you that you don't need to obey Nebuchadnezzar, but don't listen to their lies. 15Those prophets claim to be speaking for the Lord, but he didn't send them. They are lying! If you do what they say, he will have both you and them dragged off to another country and killed. The Lord has spoken.
16When I finished talking to the king, I told the priests and everyone else that the Lord had said:
Don't listen to the prophets when they say that very soon the Babylonians will return the things they took from my temple. Those prophets are lying! 17If you choose to obey the king of Babylonia, you will live. But if you listen to those prophets, this whole city will be nothing but a pile of rubble.
18If I really had spoken to those prophets, they would know what I am going to do. Then they would be begging me not to let everything else be taken from the temple and the king's palace and the rest of Jerusalem. 19-21After all, when Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin#27.19-21 Jehoiachin: Hebrew “Jeconiah” (see the note at 24.1). to Babylonia as a prisoner, he didn't take everything of value from Jerusalem. He left the bronze pillars, the huge bronze bowl called the Sea, and the movable bronze stands in the temple, and he left a lot of other valuable things in the palace and in the rest of Jerusalem.
But now I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, say that all these things 22will be taken to Babylonia, where they will remain until I decide to bring them back to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 27
27
1This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah,#27:1. Most Hebrew manuscripts have the name “Jehoiakim” instead of Zedekiah, but this does not fit with the rest of the chapter (Zedekiah is clearly identified in verses 3 and 12). son of Josiah, king of Judah. 2This is what the Lord told me: Make for yourself a harness and a yoke and strap it on your neck 3Send 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.
4Give them this order from the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, to convey to their masters: 5It 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. 6Now 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. 7All 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. 8Any nation or kingdom that doesn't serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and doesn't submit to him#27:8. “Submit to him”: literally, “place its neck under his yoke.” Also verse 11. I will punish that nation by war and famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I let Nebuchadnezzar destroy it completely.
9Don'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.” 10They're prophesying a lie to you that will lead to your removal from your country. I will expel you and you will die. 11But 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.
12I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah: Submit to the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live! 13Why 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? 14Don't listen to messages from prophets who say, “You won't serve the king of Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you. 15I 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.
16Then 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. 17Don't listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city be destroyed?
18If 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.
19This what the Lord Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze sea, the bases, and the rest of the objects that are left in Jerusalem— 20everything Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take when he took Jehoiachin #27:20. Here given as Jeconiah.son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, together with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21Again, 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. 22They 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.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com