^27:8But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to¹⁹ him. I, the Lord, affirm that²⁰ I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it²¹ with war,²² starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it.²³^27:9So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination,²⁴ by dreams, by consulting the dead,²⁵ or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be²⁶ subject to the king of Babylon.’ ^27:10Do not listen to them,²⁷ because their prophecies are lies.²⁸ Listening to them will only cause you²⁹ to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile.³⁰

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Footnotes

19 Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. for the figure.
20 Heb “oracle of the Lord.”
21 Heb “The nation and/or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon, by sword, starvation, and disease I will punish [or more literally, “visit upon”] that nation, oracle of the Lord.” The long complex Hebrew sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style and the figures interpreted for the sake of clarity. The particle אֵת, the sign of the accusative, before “which will not put …” is a little unusual here. For its use to introduce a new topic (here a second relative clause) see 85 אֵת 3.α.
22 Heb “with/by the sword.”
23 The verb translated “destroy” (תָּמַם, tamam) is usually intransitive in the stem of the verb used here. It is found in a transitive sense elsewhere only in Ps 64:7. 1070 תָּמַם 7 emends both texts. In this case they recommend תִּתִּי (titi): “until I give them into his hand.” That reading is suggested by the texts of the and Targumic translations (see fn c). The Greek translation supports reading the verb “destroy” but treats it as though it were intransitive “until they are destroyed by his hand” (reading תֻּמָּם [tummam]). The here is accepted as the more difficult reading and support is seen in the transitive use of the verb in Ps 64:7. Heb “I will punish that nation until I have destroyed them [i.e., its people] by his hand.” “Hand” here refers to agency. Hence, “I will use him.”
24 Various means of divination are alluded to in the OT. For example, Ezek 21:26–27 alludes to throwing down arrows to see which way they fall and consulting the shape of the liver of slaughtered animals. Gen 44:5 alludes to reading the future through pouring liquid in a cup. The means alluded to in this verse were all classified as pagan and prohibited as illegitimate in Deut 18:10–14. The Lord had promised that he would speak to them through prophets like Moses (Deut 18:15, 18). But even prophets could lie. Hence, the Lord told them that the test of a true prophet was whether what he said came true or not (Deut 18:20–22). An example of false prophesying and the vindication of the true as opposed to the false will be given in the chapter that follows this.
25 An example of this is seen in 1 Sam 28.
26 The verb in this context is best taken as a negative obligatory imperfect. See §31.4g for discussion and examples. See Exod 4:15 as an example of positive obligation.
27 The words “Don’t listen to them” have been repeated from v. 9a to pick up the causal connection between v. 9a and v. 10 that is formally introduced by a causal particle in v. 10 in the original text.
28 Heb “they are prophesying a lie.”
29 Heb “lies will result in your being taken far …” (לְמַעַן [léma’an] + infinitive). This is a rather clear case of the particle לְמַעַן introducing result (contra 775 מַעַן note 1. There is no irony in this statement; it is a bold prediction).
30 The words “out of your country” are not in the text but are implicit in the meaning of the verb. The words “in exile” are also not in the text but are implicit in the context. These words have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“ ‘ “But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and 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 the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“ ‘ “If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“ ‘ “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. So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ They are prophesying a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish.

NLTNew Living Translation

So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the Lord. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.

“ ‘Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, “The king of Babylon will not conquer you.” They are all liars, and their lies will lead to your being driven out of your land. I will drive you out and send you far away to die.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“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 Yahweh, “until I have destroyed it with my hand. 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, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. 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: 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.

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