Jeremiah 27
Lexham English Bible
Jeremiah Uses Fetters and Yokes to Illustrate His Message of Submission
27 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying[a]— 2 thus said Yahweh to me—“Make for yourself fetters and yokes and put them on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites,[b] and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon in the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. 4 And you must command them for their masters, saying,[c] ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, this you shall say to your masters: 5 “I have made the earth with humankind and animals[d] that are on the face of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and I give it to whomever is right in my eyes. 6 And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and also the animals[e] of the field I have given to him to serve him. 7 And all the nations will serve him, and his son, and his grandson,[f] until the coming of the time of his own[g] land. Then many nations and great kings will let him work.
8 “But it will be that the nation or kingdom that will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, and with the famine, and with the plague,” declares[h] Yahweh, “until I have destroyed it with my hand. 9 And you, you must not listen to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your interpreters of signs, and to your sorcerers who are saying,[i] ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 For they are prophesying to you a lie, so that you will be removed from your land, and I will drive you away, and you will perish. 11 But the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and will serve him, yet will I leave it on its land,” declares[j] Yahweh, “and they will till it, and they will live in it.”’”
12 And I spoke words like these to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, saying,[k] “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why should you die—you and your people—by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 And you must not listen to the words of the prophets who are speaking to you, saying,[l] ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a lie to you. 15 For I have not sent them,” declares[m] Yahweh, “but they are prophesying in my name falsely,[n] so that I will drive them away. And you will perish—you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”
The Vessels of the Temple
16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying,[o] “Thus says Yahweh, ‘You must not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying,[p] “Look, the vessels of the house of Yahweh are about to be quickly brought back from Babylon”, for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17 And you must not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a site of ruins? 18 But if they are prophets, and if there is with them the word of Yahweh, let them please plead with Yahweh of hosts, that the vessels that are left over in the temple[q] of Yahweh, and the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, must not go to Babylon.’
19 For thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, did not take when he deported Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with[r] all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 ‘They will be brought to Babylon, and there they will stay until the day of my attending to them,’ declares[s] Yahweh. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 27:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:3 Literally “sons of Ammon”
- Jeremiah 27:4 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:5 Hebrew “animal”
- Jeremiah 27:6 Hebrew “animal”
- Jeremiah 27:7 Literally “the son of his son”
- Jeremiah 27:7 Literally “also his”
- Jeremiah 27:8 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 27:9 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:11 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 27:12 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:14 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:15 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 27:15 Literally “to the lie”
- Jeremiah 27:16 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:16 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 27:18 Literally “house”
- Jeremiah 27:20 Literally “and”
- Jeremiah 27:22 Literally “a declaration of”
Jeremiah 27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Sign of the Yoke
27 In the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah[a] son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord.(A) 2 Thus the Lord said to me: Make for yourself yoke straps and bars and put them on your neck.(B) 3 Send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah.(C) 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 by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the people and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever I please.(D) 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him even the wild animals of the field to serve him.(E) 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.(F)
8 But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the Lord, until I have completed its destruction by his hand.(G) 9 You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers,[b] your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.”(H) 10 For they are prophesying a lie to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land; I will drive you out, and you will perish.(I) 11 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, says the Lord, to till it and to live there.(J)
12 I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.(K) 13 Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?(L) 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.(M) 15 I have not sent them, says the Lord, but 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.(N)
16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, “The vessels of the Lord’s house will soon be brought back from Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.(O) 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? 18 If indeed they are prophets and the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.(P) 19 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,(Q) 20 which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem(R)— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall stay, until the day when I give attention to them, says the Lord. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.(S)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.