THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 27 ©
The prophet is commanded to wear a yoke upon his neck, and likewise to send yokes to five neighbor kings, and to tell them, that they must bow their necks with Judah under Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke, (and the more willing they did it, the better it would be for them) without hearkening unto the false prophets, vs. 1, 2, etc. All this he afterward amply propounds unto King Zedekiah, moreover prophesying that the remaining vessels of the temple would be likewise carried to Babel, and there continue till the time appointed, 12.
IN 1the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and 2yokes, and puta3them upon thy neck,
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 4messengers which 5come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of 6hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, 7and haveb given it unto whom it seemed 8meet unto me.
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of 9Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, myc10servant; and the 11beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
And all nations shall serve him, and his 12son, and his son’s 13son, until the very time of 14his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall 15serve themselves of him.
And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and 16that 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 17hand.
Therefore hearken not ye to your 18prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your 19dreamers, nor to your 20enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
For they prophesy a 21lie unto you, 22to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
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.
¶ 23I 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 24live.
Why will ye 25die, 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?
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 lied unto you.
For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; 26that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
Also I spake to the priests and to 27all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the 28vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortlye be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and 29live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make 30intercession 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.
¶For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the 31pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,
Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captivef Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the 32nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
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;
They shall be carriedg to Babylon, and there shall they 33be until the day that I 34visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restoreh them to this place.