Jeremiah

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

1Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD.

NoteThe KJV says the reign of Jehoiakim, but everything that follows happens during the reign of his successor Zedekiah, who is named in verses 3 and 12. Many old copies of Jeremiah read Zedekiah here.

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

2This is what the LORD said to me: Make yourself a yoke out of straps and wooden bars, and put it on your own neck.

3And 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;

3Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send it through their messengers who have come to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

4And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;

4Tell those messengers to carry this word back to their kings. Say: The LORD who commands heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says this.

5I 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.

5I made the earth, and the people and animals that live on it, by my great power and my strong arm. I give it to whoever I choose.

6And 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.

6Right now I have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who serves me. I have even put the wild animals under him.

7And 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.

7All nations will serve him, then his son, then his grandson. When his own land's time comes, many nations and great kings will make him their slave.

Note"Serve themselves of him" in the KJV does not mean help him. It means the opposite: other nations will one day force Babylon to serve them.

8And 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.

8Any nation or kingdom that will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, or put its neck under his yoke, I will punish. I will use war, hunger, and disease, until Nebuchadnezzar has wiped it out, says the LORD.

9Therefore 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:

9So do not listen to your prophets, or your fortune tellers, or those who explain dreams, or your mediums, or your magicians. They tell you, You will not serve the king of Babylon.

10For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.

10What they tell you is a lie. It will end with you taken far from your land. I will drive you out, and you will die.

11But 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.

11But any nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will leave in its own land. They will farm it and live there, says the LORD.

12I 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.

12I told King Zedekiah of Judah the very same thing. I said, Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live.

13Why 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?

13Why should you and your people die by war, hunger, and disease? That is what the LORD said would happen to any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon.

14Therefore 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.

14Do not listen to the prophets who tell you, You will not serve the king of Babylon. What they tell you is a lie.

15For 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.

15I did not send them, says the LORD. They are lying and using my name. So I will drive you out, and you will die, along with the prophets who spoke to you.

16Also 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.

16I also spoke to the priests and to all the people. I said, The LORD says this: Do not listen to your prophets. They say the objects taken from the LORD's house will soon come back from Babylon. That is a lie.

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

17Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city be turned into ruins?

18But 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.

18If they really are prophets, and the LORD's word is truly with them, let them beg the LORD of heaven's armies. Let them pray that the objects still left in the LORD's house, in the palace of Judah's king, and in Jerusalem are not carried off to Babylon.

19For 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,

19This is what the LORD of heaven's armies says about the bronze pillars, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the stands it rested on, and the other objects still left in this city.

Note"The sea" was the name of a huge bronze water basin that stood outside the temple. It is not the ocean.

20Which 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;

20Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take these when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, away from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the leading men of Judah and Jerusalem.

21Yea, 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;

21Yes, this is what the LORD of heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says about the objects still left in the LORD's house, in the palace of Judah's king, and in Jerusalem.

22They 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.

22They will be carried to Babylon, and there they will stay until the day I come for them, says the LORD. Then I will bring them back and put them in this place again.

Note"Until the day that I visit them" does not mean a friendly visit. It means the day God turns his attention to them and acts.