Jeremiah 27:1–28:17
The Nations to Submit to Nebuchadnezzar
1 In the beginning of the reign of 1aZedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying—
2 thus says the Lord to me—“Make for yourself abonds and byokes and put them on your neck,
3 and send 1word to the king of aEdom, to the king of aMoab, to the king of the sons of aAmmon, to the king of aTyre and to the king of aSidon 2by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
4 “Command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters,
5 “aI have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth bby My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will cgive it to the one who is 1pleasing in My sight.
6 “Now I ahave given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, bMy servant, and I have given him also the cwild animals of the field to serve him.
7 “aAll the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson buntil the time of his own land comes; then cmany nations and great kings will 1make him their servant.
8 “It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which awill 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 bsword, with famine and with pestilence,” declares the Lord, “until I have destroyed 1it by his hand.
9 “But as for you, ado not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your 1dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
10 “For they prophesy a alie to you in order to bremove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish.
11 “But the nation which will abring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will blet remain on its land,” declares the Lord, “and they will till it and dwell in it.” ’ ”
12 I spoke words like all these to aZedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live!
13 “Why will you adie, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the Lord has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon?
14 “So ado 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 blie to you;
15 for aI have not sent them,” declares the Lord, “but they bprophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may cdrive you out and that you may perish, dyou and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the avessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a blie to you.
17 “Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city abecome a ruin?
18 “But aif they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now bentreat the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.
19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the apillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,
20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he acarried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.
21 “Yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem,
22 ‘They will be acarried to Babylon and they will be there until the bday I visit them,’ declares the Lord. ‘Then I will cbring them 1back and restore them to this place.’ ”
1 Now in the same year, ain the beginning of the reign of bZedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, cHananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from dGibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,
2 “aThus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
3 ‘Within two years I am going to bring back to this place aall the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.
4 ‘I am aalso going to bring back to this place bJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the cexiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the dyoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who were standing in the ahouse of the Lord,
6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “aAmen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord 1confirm your words which you have prophesied to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place.
7 “Yet ahear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people!
8 “The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times aprophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence.
9 “The prophet who prophesies of peace, awhen the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the ayoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
11 Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “aThus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’ ” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12 The aword of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
13 “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made instead of them ayokes of iron.”
14 ‘For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a ayoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will bserve him. And cI have also given him the beasts of the field.” ’ ”
15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and ayou have made this people trust in a lie.
16 “Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘aBehold, I am about to 1remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to bdie, because you have 2ccounseled rebellion against the Lord.’ ”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month.