Jeremiah 27
The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. 2 Thus the Lord said to me: a“Make yourself straps and byoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word to the king of aEdom, the king of aMoab, the king of the sons of aAmmon, the king of aTyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give 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 aby my great power and my outstretched arm bhave made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, cand I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 aNow I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, bmy servant, cand I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 aAll the nations shall serve him and bhis son and chis grandson, duntil the time of his own land comes. eThen 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, aand put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation bwith the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So ado not listen to your bprophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your cfortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 aFor it is a lie that 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. 11 aBut any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.”’”
12 To aZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: b“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and cserve him and his people and live. 13 aWhy will you and your people die bby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, cas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 aDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ bfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but athey 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.”
16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: aDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, b‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ cfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 aDo not listen to them; bserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city cbecome a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then alet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, bthat the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 aFor thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, awhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, aconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 aThey shall be carried to Babylon band remain there cuntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. dThen I will bring them back aand restore them to this place.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.