CLV(i)
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, has this word been unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
2 `Thus said Yahweh unto me, Make to you bands and yokes,
3 And you have put them on your neck, and have sent them unto the king of Edom, and unto the king of Moab, and unto the king of the sons of Ammon, and unto the king of Tyre, and unto the king of Zidon, by the hand of messengers who are coming in to Jerusalem, unto Zedekiah king of Judah;"
4 And you have commanded them for their lords, saying, Thus said Yahweh of Hosts, Elohim of Israel,
5 Thus do you say unto your lords, I--I have made the earth with man, and the cattle that [are] on the face of the earth, by My great power, and by My stretched-out arm, and I have given it to whom it has been right in Mine eyes."
6 `And now, I--I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and also the beast of the field I have given to him to serve him;"
7 And served him have all the nations, and his son, and his son's son, till the coming in of the time of his land, also it; and done service for him have many nations and great kings."
8 And it has come to pass, the nation and the kingdom that do not serve him--Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon--and that which puts not its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, I lay a charge on that nation--an affirmation of Yahweh--till I consume them by his hand."
9 `And you, you do not hearken unto your prophets, and unto your diviners, and unto your dreamers, and unto your observers of clouds, and unto your sorcerers who are speaking unto you, saying, You do not serve the king of Babylon, --"
10 For falsehood they are prophesying to you, so as to remove you far from off your ground, and I have driven you out, and you have perished."
11 And the nation that causes its neck to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and has served him--I have left it on its ground--an affirmation of Yahweh--and it has tilled it, and dwelt in it.'"
12 And unto Zedekiah king of Judah I have spoken according to all these words, saying, `Cause your necks to enter into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live."
13 Why do you die, you and your people, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?
14 `And you do not hearken unto the words of the prophets who are speaking unto you, saying, You do not serve the king of Babylon, --for falsehood they are prophesying to you."
15 For I have not sent them--an affirmation of Yahweh--and they are prophesying in My name falsely, so as to drive you out, and you have perished, you, and the prophets who are prophesying to you.'"
16 And unto the priests, and unto all this people, I have spoken, saying, `Thus said Yahweh, You do not hearken unto the words of your prophets, who are prophesying to you, saying, Lo, the vessels of the house of Yahweh are brought back from Babylon now in haste, for falsehood they are prophesying to you."
17 You do not hearken unto them, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why is this city a waste?
18 `And, if they be prophets, and if a word of Yahweh be with them, let them intercede, I pray you, with Yahweh of Hosts, so that the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and [in] the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, have not gone into Babylon."
19 For thus said Yahweh of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,
20 That Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has not taken, in his removing Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon with all the freemen of Judah and Jerusalem,
21 Surely thus said Yahweh of Hosts, Elohim of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left of the house of Yahweh, and of the house of the king of Judah, and [in] Jerusalem:"
22 To Babylon they are brought, and there they are till the day of My inspecting them--an affirmation of Yahweh; then I have brought them up, and have brought them back unto this place.'"