¶ In the beginning¹ of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Thus saith the LORD² to me; Make³ thee bonds and yokes, and put⁴ them upon thy neck,

And send them to the king of Edom⁵, 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 messengers⁶ which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;

And command them to say unto their masters, Thus⁷ saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

I have made⁸ the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have⁹ given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

And now have I given all¹⁰ these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my¹¹ servant; and¹² the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

And all¹³ nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until¹⁴ the very time of his land come: and then many¹⁵ nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.

And it¹⁶ 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 nation¹⁷ will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword¹⁸, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Therefore hearken¹⁹ not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers²⁰, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:

¶ For they²¹ prophesy a lie unto you, to²² remove you far from your land; and that I²³ should drive you out, and ye should perish.

But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those²⁵ will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

¶ I spake also to Zedekiah²⁶ king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring²⁷ your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

Why²⁸ will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword²⁹, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

Therefore hearken³⁰ not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they³¹ prophesy a lie unto you.

For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie³² in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye³³ might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

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,³⁴ the vessels of the LORD'S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for³⁵ they prophesy a lie unto you.

Hearken not unto them; serve³⁶ the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore³⁷ should this city be laid waste?

But if they³⁸ be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them³⁹ 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.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars⁴⁰, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,

¶ Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when⁴¹ he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels⁴⁴ that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;

They shall be carried⁴⁵ to Babylon, and there shall they be until⁴⁶ the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then⁴⁷ will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.