Jeremiah 27
EasyEnglish Bible
Judah's people will serve King Nebuchadnezzar
27 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah when Josiah's son Zedekiah became king of Judah. 2 The Lord said to me, ‘Use wood and leather to make a yoke. Tie the yoke around your neck.[a] 3 Then send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon. Those kings have officers who have come to see King Zedekiah of Judah here in Jerusalem. 4 Give them this message to tell their masters:
“The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, ‘Tell this to your masters: 5 I used my great power and strength to make this earth, as well as the people and the animals who live on it. I give these things that I have made to anyone that I choose. 6 Now I choose to give all your countries to my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will rule over you and even over the wild animals. 7 People from all nations will serve him. They will also serve his son and his grandson until the time of their kingdom has finished. Then great kings and people from many other nations will take away his power. 8 But if the people of any nation or kingdom refuse to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, I will punish those people. They must agree to work for him, like oxen that have a yoke around their necks. If they refuse, I will cause the king of Babylon to punish that nation. I will destroy them with war, famine or disease.
9 So do not listen to your prophets, or to your diviners. Do not listen to people who use dreams or magic or the spirits of dead people to tell you what will happen. Those people tell you that you will not have to serve the king of Babylon. 10 But the things that they say are lies, so do not agree with them. It will cause me to take you away from your own land. I will remove you to a country that is far away and you will die there. 11 But if the people of any nation agree to serve the king of Babylon, I will let them stay in their own land. If they work for him, with his yoke around their necks, they can continue to grow crops and live in their own land.’ That is what the Lord says.” ’
12 I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. I told him, ‘Put the yoke of the king of Babylon around your neck. Agree to work for him and for his people. Then you will continue to live. 13 You and your people do not need to die. But war, famine or disease will destroy any nation that refuses to serve the king of Babylon. The Lord has said that this will happen. 14 So do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, “You will not have to serve the king of Babylon.” The things that they prophesy are lies. 15 The Lord says, “I have not sent those prophets. They are using my name to tell you lies. If you agree with them, I will chase you all out of the land, including those false prophets. You will die in a foreign land.” ’
16 I also spoke to the priests and to all the people. I told them, ‘The Lord says, “Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They say that the people of Babylon will soon bring back the valuable things that they took from the Lord's temple. But the things that they tell you are lies. 17 Do not listen to them. Agree to serve the king of Babylon. Then you will continue to live. This city does not need to become a heap of stones!”
18 Perhaps you think that they are true prophets who speak the Lord's messages. Then tell them to pray to the Lord Almighty for help. They should ask him to keep safe the valuable things that remain in Jerusalem. They should pray that the things in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace would not be taken away to Babylon. 19 The Lord Almighty has already spoken about the valuable things that remain in this city. He has spoken about the two bronze pillars, the big bronze bath which is called “the Sea”, and the bronze carts to carry water.[b] 20 King Nebuchadnezzar did not take these things away with him when he took the king of Judah away as prisoner. He took away Jehoiakim's son, King Jeconiah of Judah, as well as the important people of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 Yes, Israel's God, the Lord Almighty has spoken about the things that still remain in Jerusalem, in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace. 22 He has said, “King Nebuchadnezzar's men will take them away to Babylon. They will remain there until I decide to do something with them. Then I will bring them back here to Jerusalem again.” That is what the Lord says. ’
Footnotes
- 27:2 A yoke means hard work. A farmer put a yoke around the necks of his oxen when he wanted them to pull a plough.
- 27:19 These were all things that the priests used in the temple. See 1 Kings 7:13-28.
Jeremiah 27
New King James Version
Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes
27 In[a] the beginning of the reign of [b]Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, (A)king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, (B)and put them on your neck, 3 and 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 messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: 5 (C)‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and (D)have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 (E)And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (F)My servant; and (G)the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 (H)So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, (I)until the time of his land comes; (J)and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 8 And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your [c]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For they prophesy a (K)lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”
12 I also spoke to (L)Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! 13 (M)Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore (N)do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy (O)a lie to you; 15 for I have (P)not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
16 Also 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 prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, (Q)the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’
19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts (R)concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away (S)captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the (T)vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: 22 ‘They shall be (U)carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I (V)visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then (W)I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 27:1 LXX omits v. 1.
- Jeremiah 27:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Arab., Syr. Zedekiah (cf. 27:3, 12; 28:1)
- Jeremiah 27:9 Lit. dreams
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. 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.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 27:1 Or Jehoiakim
- Jeremiah 27:3 Hebrew Send them
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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