Jeremiah 27:1–17

aIn the beginning of the reign of bJehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus ||saith the Lord to me; cMake thee bonds and dyokes, and put them upon thy neck, 3 And send them to the king of eEdom, and to the king of eMoab, and to the king of the eAmmonites, and to the king of eTyrus, and to the king of eZidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem bunto 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 fI have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and gby my outstretched arm, and hhave 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, imy servant; and kthe beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7 lAnd all nations shall serve him, and mhis son, and nhis son’s son, lountil the very time of his land come: and then pmany 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 qthat will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, rwith the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 vTherefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to syour diviners, nor to your †dreamers, nor to your tenchanters, nor to your usorcerers, vwhich speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10 vwFor 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 qthe 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 *xto Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, qBring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and yserve him and his people, and live. 13 zWhy will ye die, thou and thy people, raby the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, bas the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 cTherefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: dfor they prophesy a lie unto you. 15 eFor I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy †a lie in my name; fthat 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; vHearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, gthe vessels of the Lord’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: vfor they prophesy a lie unto you. 17 Hearken not unto them; yserve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city hbe laid waste?