1
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah , came this word unto Jeremiah from Jehovah , saying,
2
Thus saith Jehovah to me: Make thee bonds and bars, and put them upon thy neck ;
3
and send them to the king of Edom , and to the king of Moab , and to the king of the children of Ammon , and to the king of Tyre , and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers that come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah ;
4
and give them a charge unto their masters , saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts , the God of Israel , Thus shall ye say unto your masters :
5
I have made the earth , the men and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth , by my great power and by my outstretched arm ; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto me.
6
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon , my servant ; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him.
7
And all the nations shall serve him, and his son , and his son's son , until the time of his own land come : and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondman.
8
And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon , and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon , that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah , with the sword , and with the famine , and with the pestilence , until I have consumed them by his hand .
9
But as for you, hearken ye not to your prophets , nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams , nor to your soothsayers , nor to your sorcerers, that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon :
10
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.
11
But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon , and serve him, that [nation ] will I let remain in their own land, saith Jehovah ; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
12
And I spake to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words , saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon , and serve him and his people, and live.
13
Why will ye die , thou and thy people , by the sword , by the famine , and by the pestilence , as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon ?
14
And hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon ; for they prophesy a lie unto you.
15
For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah , but they prophesy falsely in my name ; that I may drive you out, and that ye may perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
16
Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah : Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Jehovah's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon ; for they prophesy a lie unto you.
17
Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon , and live: wherefore should this city become a desolation?
18
But if they be prophets , and if the word of Jehovah be with them, let them now make intercession to Jehovah of hosts , that the vessels which are left in the house of Jehovah , and in the house of the king of Judah , and at Jerusalem , go not to Babylon .
19
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the pillars , and concerning the sea , and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city ,
20
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim , king of Judah , from Jerusalem to Babylon , and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem ;
21
yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts , the God of Israel , concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Jehovah , and in the house of the king of Judah , and at Jerusalem :
22
They shall be carried to Babylon , and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, saith Jehovah ; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place .