27 In
the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah
came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus
saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy
neck, 3 And
send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king
of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon,
by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king
of Judah; 4 And
command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; 5 I
have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by
my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom
it seemed meet unto me. 6 And
now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king
of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also
to serve him. 7 And
all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the
very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall
serve themselves of him. 8 And
it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve
the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their
neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish,
saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence,
until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore
hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers,
nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying,
Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10 For
they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that
I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 11 But
the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,
and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith
the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
12
I spake also to 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 Why will ye die, thou and thy people,
by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken
against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore hearken not unto the words
of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king
of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 15 For I have not sent them, saith the
LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and
that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. 16 Also I spake to the priests and to all
this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your
prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD's
house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy
a lie unto you. 17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king
of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they be prophets, and if the
word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD
of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and
in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning
the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning
the residue of the vessels that remain in this city. 20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king
of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel, concerning the 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 carried to Babylon, and
there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then
will I bring them up, and restore them to this place..