THE YOKE OF BABYLON

27 At the beginning of the reign of ZedekiahB son of Josiah, king of Judah,c this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:C 2 This is what the Lord said to me: “Make chains and yoke barsd for yourself and put them on your neck.e 3 Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidonf through messengers who are coming to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem. 4 Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Tell this to your masters: 5 “By my great strength and outstretched arm,g I made the earth,h and the people, and animals on the face of the earth. I give it to anyone I please.D,i 6 So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of my servantj Nebuchadnezzar,k king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. 7 All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him.l

8 “ ‘ “As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague—this is the Lord’s declaration—until through him I have destroyed it.