1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, --

2 Thus said Jehovah to me, Make for thee bands and yokes, and put them on thy neck;

3 Then send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the ambassadors, who shall come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah the king of Judah:

4 And thou shalt give them a message to their masters, saying, -- Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to your masters, --

5 I made the earth, man also and beast, Which are on the face of the earth, By my great power and my extended arm; And given it have I to whom it seemed good to me:

6 And now given have I all these lands Into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar The king of Babylon, my servant; And also the beast of the field Have I given to him to serve him:

7 And serve him and his son, And his son's son, shall all nations, Until the time of his land shall come, And also of himself; yea, serve him Shall many nations and great kings.

8 And it shall be as to the nation and kingdom, Who will not serve him, even Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, And who will not put their neck Under the yoke of the king of Babylon, With the sword, and famine, and pestilence, Will I visit that nation, saith Jehovah, Until I consume them by his hand.

9 And you, hearken not to your prophets, And to your diviners, and to your dreamers, And to your augurs, and to your sorcerers, Who speak to you, saying, -- "Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;"

10 For they prophesy falsely to you, That they might move you far from your own land, And that I might cast you away and ye perish:

11 But the nation which shall bring its neck Under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, saith Jehovah; And it shall cultivate it and dwell in it.

12 To Zedekiah also, the king of Judah, I spoke according to all these words, saying, -- Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, And serve him and his people, and ye shall live.

13 Why should ye perish, thou and thy people, By the sword, and famine, and pestilence, As Jehovah has spoken of the nation, Which will not serve the king of Babylon:

14 And hearken not to the words of the prophets, Who speak to you, saying, -- "Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;" For falsely do they prophesy to you;

15 For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah, But they prophesy in my name falsely, That I might drive you out, And that ye might perish, ye, And the prophets who prophesy to you.

16 To the priests also and to all the people spake I, saying, -- Thus saith Jehovah, -- Hearken not to the words of your prophets, Who prophesy to you, saying, -- "Behold, the vessels of the house of Jehovah Shall now soon be restored from Babylon;" For falsehood do these prophesy to you:

17 Hearken ye not to them; Serve the king of Babylon and ye shall live; Why should this city become a desolation?

18 But if they be prophets, And if the word of Jehovah be with them, Let them now intercede with Jehovah of hosts, That the vessels which remain in the house of Jehovah, And in the house of the king of Judah, And in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon.

19 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts of the pillars, and of the sea, and of the bases, and of the residue of the vessels which are left in this city,

20 Which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did not take away, when he led captive Jeconiah the king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

21 yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, of the vessels which remain in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king, and in Jerusalem;

22 To Babylon shall they be carried, and there shall they be until the day in which I shall visit them, saith Jehovah, and bring them up and restore them to this place.