1In the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign, God hit up Jeremiah with a word, saying,

2God was like, "Yo, make some bonds and yokes, and rock them on your neck,"

3And send them to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, through the messengers who roll up to Zedekiah, king of Judah;

4And tell them to say to their bosses, "This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says; here's the message for your masters:"

5I created the earth, the people, and the animals on it, with my epic power and stretched-out arm, and gave it to whoever I wanted, no cap.

6Now, I've given all these lands to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my dude; even the beasts of the field are his to vibe with.

7All nations will serve him, and his son, and his grandson, until his time is up; then many nations and big kings will serve themselves of him.

8If a nation or kingdom won’t serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and won’t put their necks under his yoke, I’ll punish them, says the Lord, with the sword, famine, and pestilence, until they’re wiped out by his hand.

9So don’t listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, enchanters, or sorcerers, who tell you, "You won’t serve the king of Babylon:"

10They’re just spitting lies to keep you away from your land; I’ll drive you out, and you’ll be done for.

11But the nations that put their neck under Babylon’s yoke and serve him, I’ll let them chill in their own land, says the Lord; they can farm it and live there.

12I also told Zedekiah, king of Judah, everything I just said: "Put your necks under Babylon’s yoke, serve him and his crew, and you’ll survive."

13Why would you and your people want to go down by the sword, famine, and pestilence, like God said about the nation that won’t serve Babylon?

14So don’t listen to the prophets who say, "You won’t serve the king of Babylon:" they’re just lying to you.

15I didn’t send them, says the Lord, yet they’re out here lying in my name; they want to drive you out and have you perish, along with the prophets who are lying to you.

16I also told the priests and everyone else, "This is what the Lord says; don’t listen to your prophets who say the Lord’s stuff is coming back from Babylon soon: they’re just lying."

17Don’t listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live: why should this city be destroyed?

18But if they’re really prophets and the Lord’s word is with them, let them make intercession to the Lord of hosts, so the stuff left in the Lord’s house and the king of Judah’s house doesn’t end up in Babylon.

19For this is what the Lord of hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the bases, and the leftover vessels in this city,

20Which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, didn’t take when he took Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

21Yeah, this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says about the vessels left in the Lord’s house and in the king of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s houses;

22They’ll be taken to Babylon, and they’ll chill there until the day I visit them, says the Lord; then I’ll bring them back and restore them to this place.

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

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

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;

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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,

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;

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;

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.