The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah was this word to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, 2Thus said Jehovah to me: Make to thee bonds and rods and give them upon thy neck, 3And send 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 Zidon, by the hand of messengers coming to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah; 4And command them to say to their lords, Thus said Jehovah of armies God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to your lords: 5I made the earth, the man and the cattle which are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by mine arm stretched forth, and I gave it to whom was right in mine eyes. 6And now I gave all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, my servant; and also the beasts of the field gave I to him to serve him. 7And all the nations served him, and his son, and his son's son, even till the time itself also of his land came: and many nations and great kings served upon him.

8And it was the nation and kingdom which shall not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, and which shall not give his neck in the yoke of the king of Babel, with the sword and with famine and with death I will review upon that nation, says Jehovah, even to my finishing them by his hand. 9And ye shall not hear to your prophets and to your divinations, and to your dreamers, and to those of you practicing magic, and to your sorcerers, which they are saying to you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babel: 10For they are prophesying a lie to you so as to remove you far off from your land; and I thrust you away, and ye perished. 11And the nation which shall bring his neck into the yoke of the king of Babel and serve him, and I gave him rest upon his land, says Jehovah; and he worked it, and dwelt in it.

12And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spake according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks into the yoke of the king of Babel, and serve him and his people, and live. 13Wherefore will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword and by famine and by death, as Jehovah spake against the nation who will not serve the king of Babel? 14And ye shall not bear to the words of the prophets, saying to you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babel; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 15For I sent them not, says Jehovah, and they are prophesying in my name for falsehood; for my thrusting you away, and ye perish, ye, and the prophets prophesying to you.

16And to the priests and to all this people I spake, saying, Thus said Jehovah: Ye shall not hear to the words of your prophets prophesying to you, saying, Behold the vessels of the house of Jehovah being now turned back from Babel speedily: for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17Ye shall not hear to them; serve ye the king of Babel, and live: wherefore shall this city be laid waste? 18And if they be prophets, and if the word of Jehovah be with them, they shall now supplicate to Jehovah of armies for the vessels being left in the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king of Judah, in Jerusalem, not to go into Babel. 19For thus said Jehovah of armies concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the remainder of the vessels being left in this city. 20Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel took them not in his carrying away captive Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem into Babel, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21For thus said Jehovah of armies, God of Israel, concerning the vessels being left in the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king of Judah and Jerusalem: 22They shall be brought to Babel, and there shall they be till the day of my reviewing them, says Jehovah; and I brought them up and turned them back to this place.