In the 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 yokes,
and put
them 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 messengers
which come
to Jerusalem
unto Zedekiah
king
of Judah;
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Hearken
not unto them; serve
the king
of Babylon,
and live:
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 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.
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,
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;
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 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.
