271 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah , king of Judah , this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord , saying - 2 thus says the Lord to me-"Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck , 3 and send word to the king of Edom , to the king of Moab , to the king of the sons of Ammon , to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah . 4 "Command them to go to their masters , saying , 'Thus says the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , thus you shall say to your masters , 5 " I have made the earth , the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm , and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight . 6 "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon , My servant , and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him. 7 " All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes ; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant . 8 "It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon , and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon , I will punish that nation with the sword , with famine and with pestilence ," declares the Lord , "until I have destroyed it by his hand . 9 "But as for you, do not listen to your prophets , your diviners , your dreamers , your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying , 'You will not serve the king of Babylon .' 10 "For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land ; and I will drive you out and you will perish . 11 "But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land ," declares the Lord , "and they will till it and dwell in it.""'
12 I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah , saying , "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people , and live ! 13 "Why will you die , you and your people , by the sword , famine and pestilence , as the Lord has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon ? 14 "So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying , 'You will not serve the king of Babylon ,' for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them," declares the Lord , "but they prophesy falsely in My name , in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish , you and the prophets who prophesy to you." 16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people , saying , "Thus says the Lord : Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying , 'Behold , the vessels of the Lord'S house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon '; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17 "Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon , and live ! Why should this city become a ruin ? 18 "But if they are prophets , and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now entreat the Lord of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord , in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon . 19 "For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars , concerning the sea , concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city , 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim , king of Judah , from Jerusalem to Babylon , and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem . 21 "Yes , thus says the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem , 22 'They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day I visit them,' declares the Lord . 'Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place .' "
