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The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

¹ In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah^[a] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord. ² Thus the Lord said to me: ^(a)"Make yourself straps and ^(b)yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. ³ Send word^[b] to the king of ^(c)Edom, the king of ^(d)Moab, the king of the sons of ^(e)Ammon, the king of ^(f)Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴ Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: ⁵ "It is I who ^(g)by my great power and my outstretched arm ^(h)have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ⁽ⁱ⁾and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. ^6 (j)Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^(k)my servant, ^(l)and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. ^7 (m)All the nations shall serve him and ⁽ⁿ⁾his son and ^(o)his grandson, ^(p)until the time of his own land comes. ^(q)Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

⁸ "‘"But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(r)and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^(s)with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. ⁹ So ^(t)do not listen to your ^(u)prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^(v)fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.' ^10 (w)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. ^11 (x)But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord."'"

¹² To ^(y)Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^(z)"Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^(aa)serve him and his people and live. ^13 (ab)Why will you and your people die ^(ac)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^(ad)as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ^14 (ae)Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' ^(af)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ¹⁵ I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^(ag)they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you."

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, "Thus says the Lord: ^(ah)Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^(ai)‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,' ^(aj)for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. ^17 (ak)Do not listen to them; ^(al)serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^(am)become a desolation? ¹⁸ If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^(an)let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^(ao)that the vessels that 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 (ap)For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ^(aq)when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹ thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^(ar)concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: ^22 (as)They shall be carried to Babylon ^(at)and remain there ^(au)until the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^(av)Then I will bring them back ^(aw)and restore them to this place."