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Jeremiah, 27

1. (At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh:)

1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2. Yahweh said this to me, 'Make yourself thongs and yokes and put them on your neck.

2. Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,

3. Then send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, through their envoys accredited to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem.

3. 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;

4. Give them the following message for their masters, "Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says this: You must tell your masters this:

4. 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;

5. I by my great power and outstretched arm made the earth, the human beings and the animals that are on earth, and I give them to whom I please.

5. 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.

6. For the present, I have handed all these countries over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant; I have even put the wild animals at his service.

6. 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.

7. (All the nations will serve him, his son and his grandson, until the time for his own country comes in its turn, when mighty nations and great kings will enslave him.)

7. 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.

8. Any nation or kingdom that will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and will not bow its neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon, I shall punish that nation with sword, famine and plague, Yahweh declares, until I have destroyed it by his hand.

8. 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.

9. For your own part, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, dreamers, magicians and sorcerers, who tell you: You will not be enslaved by the king of Babylon.

9. 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:

10. They prophesy lies to you, the result of which will be that you will be banished from your soil, that I shall drive you out, and you will perish.

10. 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.

11. The nation, however, that is prepared to bend its neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I shall leave in peace on its own soil, Yahweh declares, to farm it and stay on it." '

11. 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.

12. To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in exactly the same terms. 'Bend your necks', I told him, 'to the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people and you will survive.

12. 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.

13. (Why so anxious to die, you and your people, by sword, famine and plague, with which Yahweh has threatened the nation refusing to serve the king of Babylon?)

13. 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?

14. Do not listen to the words the prophets say to you, "You will not be enslaved by the king of Babylon." They prophesy lies to you.

14. 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.

15. Since I have not sent them, Yahweh declares, they prophesy untruths to you in my name. The result will be that I shall drive you out, you will perish, and so will the prophets who prophesy to you.'

15. 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.

16. I also spoke to the priests and to all this people as follows, 'Yahweh says this, "Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you as follows: Look, the vessels of the Temple of Yahweh will very shortly be brought back from Babylon. They prophesy lies to you.

16. 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.

17. (Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and you will survive. Why should this city become a ruin?)

17. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

18. If they are real prophets, if Yahweh's word is really with them, they ought now to be pleading with Yahweh Sabaoth that the remaining vessels in the Temple of Yahweh, in the palace of the king of Judah and elsewhere in Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon too!

18. 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.

19. For this is what Yahweh Sabaoth says about (the pillars, the Sea, the stands and) the other vessels still remaining in this city,

19. 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,

20. those not carried off by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon when he took Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon (with all the leading men of Judah and Jerusalem).

20. 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;

21. Yes, this is what Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says about the vessels still remaining in the Temple of Yahweh, in the palace of the king of Judah and elsewhere in Jerusalem:

21. 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;

22. They will be carried off to Babylon (and stay there until the day I punish them), Yahweh declares. (Then I shall bring them back and restore them to this place.)" '

22. 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.



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Footnotes:

27:1-7 - Jeremiah receives a divine command to submit to the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Submission to foreign power is a test of faith for Judah, for it reveals God's sovereignty over the nations and the need for trust in His will (see also Daniel 2:37-38 and Romans 13:1).

27:8-11 - Jeremiah warns against the false hope that neighboring nations can save Judah. He emphasizes that resistance to Nebuchadnezzar is futile and that peace will come only when the people submit to God's will (see also Isaiah 31:1-3 and Acts 4:12).

27:12-15 - Jeremiah urges King Zedekiah and the people to submit to Babylon to avoid destruction. Failure to submit to Nebuchadnezzar would result in suffering and loss, and true peace would come through obedience (see also 1 Peter 2:13-14 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

27:16-22 - Jeremiah warns against false prophets who promise the immediate restoration of the temple furnishings. The message is clear: the temple and sacred objects cannot be restored without first undergoing divine judgment (see also Matthew 7:15-20 and 2 Peter 2:1-3).

27:23:00 - Jeremiah's prophecy about the future of the temple vessels reveals that, although they appear lost, they will be restored in God's time, showing divine sovereignty over history and ultimate redemption (see also Isaiah 61:7 and Revelation 21:9-10).

Verses related to Jeremiah, 27:

Jeremiah chapter 27 brings the illustration of the yoke. How should nations respond to Babylonian rule? This symbolic text uses yokes to represent the necessary submission to Nebuchadnezzar. The chapter warns against false prophets who promise quick deliverance. Jeremiah 27 also predicts the return of temple utensils in the future. Reflect with us on five biblical passages that relate to the deep themes of this challenging chapter.

1 Kings 22:11: "Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, had made horns of iron, and declared: 'Thus says the Lord: With these horns you will strike the Arameans until they are destroyed.'" - This verse shows a false prophet using a physical symbol, similar to the yoke Jeremiah wears in Jeremiah 27.

Ezekiel 13:3: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit without having seen anything!" - This passage condemns false prophets, an important theme in Jeremiah 27.

Deuteronomy 28:48: "Therefore, hungry, thirsty, without clothing and in extreme poverty, you will serve the enemies that the Lord sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he destroys you." - This verse uses the image of an iron yoke, similar to the wooden yoke that Jeremiah uses in Jeremiah 27.

2 Chronicles 36:7: "Nebuchadnezzar took some of the utensils from the Lord's temple to Babylon and placed them in his temple." - This passage reports the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy in Jeremiah 27:19-22 regarding the temple utensils.

Matthew 11:29: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Jesus uses the yoke metaphor in a positive way, contrasting with the negative use in Jeremiah 27.

FAQ:

What did the yoke that Jeremiah wore mean?

The yoke symbolized that the nations should submit to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, according to God's will. (Jeremiah 27:2-6)

What did God warn the kings of the surrounding nations about?

God warned that whoever resisted Nebuchadnezzar would be destroyed, but whoever submitted would live. (Jeremiah 27:8-11)

How did Jeremiah warn against false prophets?

Jeremiah said that false prophets deceived the people, promising immediate deliverance, but the truth was submission to Babylon. (Jeremiah 27:14-17)

What was the main message of Jeremiah 27?

God determined that Babylon would dominate the nations, and resistance would bring destruction. Submission was the only way out. (Jeremiah 27:6-8)

What happened to the temple utensils?

God revealed that the sacred utensils would be taken to Babylon and would not be returned until after the captivity. (Jeremiah 27:19-22)


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