Jeremiah 27
27
Submit to the king of Babylon and live
1Early in the rule of Judah’s King Zedekiah,#27.1 Heb manuscripts, Syr; MT Jehoiakim Josiah’s son, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2This is what the LORD said to me: Make a yoke of straps and bars and wear it on your neck. 3Then send word#27.3 Or them (the yokes) to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their representatives who have come to Jerusalem to Judah’s King Zedekiah. 4Tell them to say to their masters: The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Say this to your masters:
5By my great power and outstretched arm, I have made the earth and the people and animals that are on it. I can give it to anyone I please. 6Now I hand over all these countries to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I even give him the wild animals as subjects. 7All nations will serve him, his son and grandson, until the time for his land arrives; then many nations and great kings will conquer him.
8As for the nation or country that won’t serve Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and won’t put its neck under his yoke, I will punish it with sword, famine, and disease until I have destroyed it by his hand, declares the LORD. 9As for you, don’t listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers,#27.9 Or dreams mediums, or your sorcerers who say to you, “Don’t serve the king of Babylon.” 10They are lying to you, and their lies will lead to banishment from your land. I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11But any nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will let stay in its land to till it and live on it, declares the LORD.
12I delivered the same message to Judah’s King Zedekiah: If you want to live, put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people. 13Why should you and your people die by sword, famine, and disease, as the LORD pronounced against any nation that won’t serve the king of Babylon? 14Pay no attention to the words of the prophets who encourage you not to serve the king of Babylon, for they are lying to you. 15I haven’t sent these prophets, declares the LORD; they are prophesying falsely in my name. If you listen to them, I will drive you out, and you will perish, both you and your prophets!
16Then I spoke to the priests and all this people: This is what the LORD says: Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you, “In a short while, the temple equipment will be brought back from Babylon.” They are prophesying a lie to you. 17Don’t listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Otherwise, this city will be reduced to ruin. 18If they are really prophets and have the LORD’s word, let them intercede with the LORD of heavenly forces not to let the equipment left in the LORD’s temple and in the royal palace of Judah and Jerusalem be carted off to Babylon.
19This is what the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims about the pillars, the Sea, the stands, and the rest of the equipment left in this city, 20which Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar didn’t plunder when he deported Jeconiah the son of Judah’s King Jehoiakim from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the officials of Judah and Jerusalem. 21Yes, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims about the equipment that is left in the LORD’s temple and in the royal palace in Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22They will be carted off to Babylon where they will remain until the day I come looking for them, declares the LORD; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 27
27
Jeremiah Wears an Ox Yoke
1This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Zedekiah#27:1 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version (see also 27:3, 12); most Hebrew manuscripts read Jehoiakim. son of Josiah, king of Judah.
2This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with leather straps. 3Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors who have come to see King Zedekiah in Jerusalem. 4Give them this message for their masters: ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: 5With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. 6Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. 7All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. 8So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the Lord. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.
9“‘Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, “The king of Babylon will not conquer you.” 10They are all liars, and their lies will lead to your being driven out of your land. I will drive you out and send you far away to die. 11But the people of any nation that submits to the king of Babylon will be allowed to stay in their own country to farm the land as usual. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”
12Then I repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. “If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people. 13Why do you insist on dying—you and your people? Why should you choose war, famine, and disease, which the Lord will bring against every nation that refuses to submit to Babylon’s king? 14Do not listen to the false prophets who keep telling you, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you.’ They are liars. 15This is what the Lord says: ‘I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die—you and all these prophets, too.’”
16Then I spoke to the priests and the people and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to your prophets who claim that soon the gold articles taken from my Temple will be returned from Babylon. It is all a lie! 17Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed? 18If they really are prophets and speak the Lord’s messages, let them pray to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Let them pray that the articles remaining in the Lord’s Temple and in the king’s palace and in the palaces of Jerusalem will not be carried away to Babylon!’
19“For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken about the pillars in front of the Temple, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the water carts, and all the other ceremonial articles. 20King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin#27:20 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant spelling of Jehoiachin. son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21Yes, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about the precious things still in the Temple, in the palace of Judah’s king, and in Jerusalem: 22‘They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again.’”
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