Jeremiah 27:1-22

YAHWEH spoke these words to Jeremiah at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah. YAHWEH said to me: “Make a harness, attach it to the wooden bars of a yoke, and put them on your neck. The ambassadors of the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon are in Jerusalem to see Zedekiah king of Judah. Tell them, ‘Here is a message for your kings. The Commander of Angel Armies, the God of Israel, commands you to deliver this message to them: “ ‘ “I am the one who made the earth, every person, and every animal in the world by my great strength and by my mighty power, and I can give it to whomever I please. Now I have given all your countries to my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him. All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson —until the time of the fall of his own kingdom comes, when other nations and great kings will make him their servant. The nation or kingdom that refuses to submit to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not put its neck into the harness of the yoke to serve the king, I will punish,” declares YAHWEH. “I will punish it with the sword, food shortages, and pestilence until I have let Nebuchadnezzar completely destroy it. “ ‘ “Do not listen to your prophets; they are false. Do not listen to your fortune tellers, dream interpreters, mediums, sorcerers, and magicians who say to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you.’ They are prophesying lies to you; do not believe them! They open the door for your enemies to take you away. I will drive you out of your land, and you will perish. But the nation that harnesses herself to the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will allow her to live and farm her land,” declares YAHWEH.’ ” I, Jeremiah, also delivered a similar message to King Zedekiah of Judah: “You must harness yourself to the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. Otherwise you will die together with your people by sword, food shortages, and pestilence, as YAHWEH has threatened any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon. Pay no attention to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘Do not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy lies to you. ‘I have not sent them,’ declares YAHWEH. ‘They lie when they affirm that they are speaking in my name. If you listen to them, I will drive you out. You will be destroyed—you and the prophets who are lying to you.’ ” And to the priests and to all the people I said: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who lie to you, saying, ‘The holy vessels plundered from YAHWEH’s temple are going to be brought back to you soon from Babylon,’ for they prophesy falsely to you, declares YAHWEH. Do not listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon and live a long life. Why should Jerusalem be destroyed? If they are true prophets and the word of YAHWEH is in them, let them intercede with YAHWEH, the Commander of Angel Armies, so that the furnishings that are still left in YAHWEH’s temple, in the king’s palace, and in Jerusalem may not be carried off to Babylon. That’s because YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, has already spoken about the temple furnishings that remain in the city—the bronze pillars, the large bronze basin, the stands, and all the other bowls and chalices. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take them away when he took captive Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim to Babylon along with all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. For the God of Israel, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, said that the furnishings left behind in YAHWEH’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem will be carried off to Babylon, and ‘they will stay there until the day that I restore them and bring them back where they belong,’ declares YAHWEH.”