Jeremiah 27:1-13 ▼

1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word has been to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying,

2 “Thus said YHWH to me: Make bands and yokes for yourself,

3 and you have put them on your neck, and have sent them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of messengers who are coming to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah king of Judah;

4 and you have commanded them for their lords, saying, Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel:

5 Thus you say to your lords, I have made the earth with man, and the livestock that [are] on the face of the earth, by My great power, and by My outstretched arm, and I have given it to whom it has been right in My eyes.

6 And now, I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have also given the beast of the field to him to serve him;

7 and all the nations have served him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the coming in of the time of his land, also it; and many nations and great kings have made him serve them.

8 And it has come to pass, the nation and the kingdom that does not serve him—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon—and that which does not put its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, I lay a charge on that nation—a declaration of YHWH—until I consume them by his hand.

9 And you, you do not listen to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your observers of clouds, and to your sorcerers who are speaking to you, saying, You do not serve the king of Babylon—

10 For they are prophesying falsehood to you, so as to remove you far from your ground, and I have driven you out, and you have perished.

11 And the nation that causes its neck to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and has served him—I have left it on its ground—a declaration of YHWH—and it has tilled it, and dwelt in it.”

12 And I have spoken to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Cause your necks to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

13 Why do you die, you and your people, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as YHWH has spoken concerning the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?