The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

1In the beginning of the reign of [†]Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying— 2thus says Yahweh to me—“Make for yourself bonds and the bars of a yoke and put them on your neck, 3and you shall send [†]word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the hand of messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4And you shall command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, 5“I have made the earth, the men, and the animals which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is right in My eyes. 6So now, I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him even the wild beasts of the field to serve him. 7All 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 will [†]make him their servant.

8“And it will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,” declares Yahweh, “until I have brought [†]it to an end by his hand. 9But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your [†]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will banish you, and you will perish. 11But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it on its land,” declares Yahweh, “and they will serve it and inhabit it.”’”

12I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! 13Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? 14So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15for I have not sent them,” declares Yahweh, “but they prophesy a lie in My name, in order that I may banish you and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

16Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says Yahweh: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the house of Yahweh will now shortly be returned from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a waste place? 18But if they are prophets, and if the word of Yahweh is with them, let them now intercede with Yahweh of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19For thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21Indeed, 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 they will be there until the day I [†]visit them,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Then I will bring them up and return them to this place.’”