Jeremiah 27

English Standard Version

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. ²Thus the Lord said to me: ^(A)“Make yourself straps and ^(B)yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. ³Send 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. ⁴Give 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. ⁹So ^(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.”’”

¹²To ^(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. ¹⁵I 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.”

¹⁶Then 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? ¹⁸If 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, ²⁰which 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— ²¹thus 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.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 27:1 Or Jehoiakim
Jeremiah 27:3 Hebrew Send them

2 Timothy 2:1-13

English Standard Version

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(A)my child, ^(B)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ²and ^(C)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(D)entrust to faithful men,^[a] ^(E)who will be able to teach others also. ³^(F)Share in suffering as ^(G)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier ^(H)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵^(I)An athlete is not ^(J)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is ^(K)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, ^(L)risen from the dead, the ^(M)offspring of David, ^(N)as preached in my gospel, ⁹^(O)for which I am suffering, ^(P)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(Q)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰Therefore ^(R)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(S)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(T)eternal glory. ¹¹The saying is ^(U)trustworthy, for:

^(V)If we have died with him, we will also ^(W)live with him;
¹²^(X)if we endure, we will also reign with him;
^(Y)if we deny him, he also will deny us;
¹³^(Z)if we are faithless, ^(AA)he remains faithful—