The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

27 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah^[a] 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 ^(B)yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. ³ Send word^[b] to the king of ^(C)Edom, the king of ^(D)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(E)Ammon, the king of ^(F)Tyre, 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 ^(G)by my great power and my outstretched arm ^(H)have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ^(I)and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. ^6 (J)Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^(K)my servant, ^(L)and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. ^7 (M)All the nations shall serve him and ^(N)his son and ^(O)his grandson, ^(P)until the time of his own land comes. ^(Q)Then 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, ^(R)and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^(S)with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. ⁹ So ^(T)do not listen to your ^(U)prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^(V)fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ ^10 (W)For 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 (X)But 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 ^(Y)Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^(Z)“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^(AA)serve him and his people and live. ^13 (AB)Why will you and your people die ^(AC)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(AD)as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ^14 (AE)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^(AF)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ¹⁵ I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^(AG)they 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: ^(AH)Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^(AI)‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^(AJ)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ^17 (AK)Do not listen to them; ^(AL)serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^(AM)become a desolation? ¹⁸ If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^(AN)let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^(AO)that 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 (AP)For 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, ^(AQ)when 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, ^(AR)concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ^22 (AS)They shall be carried to Babylon ^(AT)and remain there ^(AU)until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^(AV)Then I will bring them back ^(AW)and restore them to this place.”

Hananiah the False Prophet

28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of ^(AX)Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of ^(AY)Azzur, the prophet from ^(AZ)Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(BA)I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. ^3 (BB)Within ^(BC)two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴ I will also bring back to this place ^(BD)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, ^(BE)for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^(BF)“Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. ⁷ Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ^8 (BG)The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. ^9 (BH)As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

¹⁰ Then the prophet Hananiah took the ^(BI)yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. ¹¹ And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, ^(BJ)“Thus says the Lord: ^(BK)Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of ^(BL)all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

¹² Sometime after the prophet ^(BM)Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations ^(BN)an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(BO)and they shall serve him, ^(BP)for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” ¹⁵ And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, ^(BQ)the Lord has not sent you, ^(BR)and you have made this people trust in a lie. ¹⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, ^(BS)because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

¹⁷ In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

Children and Parents

6 ^(A)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ^2 (B)“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ^(C)but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

^5 (D)Bondservants,^[a] obey your earthly masters^[b] with fear and trembling, ^(E)with a sincere heart, ^(F)as you would Christ, ⁶ not by the way of eye-service, as ^(G)people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ^8 (H)knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^(I)whether he is a bondservant or is free. ⁹ Masters, do the same to them, ^(J)and stop your threatening, knowing that ^(K)he who is both their Master^[c] and yours is in heaven, and that ^(L)there is no partiality with him.

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, ^(M)be strong in the Lord and in ^(N)the strength of his might. ^11 (O)Put on ^(P)the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ^(Q)the schemes of the devil. ¹² For ^(R)we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(S)the rulers, against the authorities, against ^(T)the cosmic powers over ^(U)this present darkness, against ^(V)the spiritual forces of evil ^(W)in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore ^(X)take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in ^(Y)the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(Z)having fastened on the belt of truth, and ^(AA)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, ^(AB)as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up ^(AC)the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all ^(AD)the flaming darts of ^(AE)the evil one; ¹⁷ and take ^(AF)the helmet of salvation, and ^(AG)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying ^(AH)at all times ^(AI)in the Spirit, ^(AJ)with all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^(AK)keep alert with all perseverance, making ^(AL)supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and ^(AM)also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth ^(AN)boldly to proclaim ^(AO)the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I ^(AP)am an ambassador ^(AQ)in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Final Greetings

^21 (AR)So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, ^(AS)Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may ^(AT)encourage your hearts.

^23 (AU)Peace be to the brothers,^[d] and ^(AV)love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace be with all who ^(AW)love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

I Love the Lord

More Proverbs of Solomon

25 These also are ^(A)proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.