Jeremiah 27:1-15 - Jeremiah Uses Fetters And Yokes To Illustrate His Message Of Submission

¹ At the beginning of the reign of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ² this is what the LORD says to me: "Make restraints and yokes for yourself and put them on your neck. ³ Then send messengers to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon through the envoys who come to Jerusalem to king Zedekiah of Judah. ⁴ Give them this order for their masters: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says, and this is what you are to say to your masters, ⁵ "By my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth, mankind, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, and I give it to whomever I see fit. ⁶ Now I've given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I've even given him the wild animals to serve him. ⁷ All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his country's time also comes, and then many nations and great kings will use him as a slave.

⁸ If a nation and kingdom does not serve him King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I'll judge that nation with the sword, with famine, and with plague," declares the LORD, "until I've completely destroyed it by his hand. ⁹ You aren't to listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, and your sorcerers who say to you, "Don't serve the king of Babylon.' ¹⁰ They're prophesying a lie to you in order to remove you far away from your land. I'll drive you out and you will perish. ¹¹ But I'll let the nation that brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him remain in its own land," declares the LORD, "and they'll work it and remain in it."'"

¹² I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: "Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live! ¹³ Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by plague as the LORD has decreed about the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴ Don't listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, "You won't serve the king of Babylon.' Indeed, they're prophesying a lie to you. ¹⁵ For I didn't send them," declares the LORD, "and they're falsely prophesying in my name, so I will drive both you and the prophets who prophesy to you out of the land."