“1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus
saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, 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 Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king
of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto
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 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that [are]
upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have
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, my
servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until
the very time of his land come: and then many 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 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. 9 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: 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 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 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 the LORD
hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
14 Therefore 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 the LORD, yet they
prophesy a lie in my name; that 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; Hearken
not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying,
Behold, the vessels of the LORD’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 be laid waste? 18 But if they [be] prophets, and if the word of the
LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts,
that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and [in] the
house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 19 For
thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the
sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels
that remain 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 the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
concerning the vessels that remain [in] the house of the LORD, and [in]
the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; 22 They shall be
carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit
them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to
this place.” (Jeremiah 27:1-22 AV)