Jeremiah 27 - 31 - Legacy Standard Bible

Jeremiah 27 - 31

The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying— 2 thus says Yahweh to me—“Make for yourself bonds and the bars of a yoke and put them on your neck, 3 and you shall send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon by the hand of messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And you shall command them to go to their masters, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, 5 “I have made the earth, the men, and the animals which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is right in My eyes. 6 So now, I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him even the wild beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant. 8 “And it will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,” declares Yahweh, “until I have brought it to an end by his hand. 9 But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will banish you, and you will perish. 11 But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it on its land,” declares Yahweh, “and they will serve it and inhabit it.”’” 12 I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine, and pestilence, as Yahweh has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them,” declares Yahweh, “but they prophesy a lie in My name, in order that I may banish you and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” 16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says Yahweh: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the house of Yahweh will now shortly be returned from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a waste place? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of Yahweh is with them, let them now intercede with Yahweh of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 For thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands, and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21 Indeed, thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, 22 ‘They will be brought to Babylon, and they will be there until the day I visit them,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Then I will bring them up and return them to this place.’”

Hananiah’s Rebellion Against Yahweh

Now it happened in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Yahweh in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I am going to return to this place all the vessels of the house of Yahweh, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I am also going to return to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’” 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing in the house of Yahweh, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May Yahweh do so; may Yahweh establish your words which you have prophesied to return the vessels of the house of Yahweh and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. 7 Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! 8 The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. 9 The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom Yahweh has truly sent.” 10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar of the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar of the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You have broken the bars of a yoke made of wood, but you have made in their place the bars of a yoke made of iron.” 14 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. And I have even given him the beasts of the field.”’” 15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, Yahweh has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die because you have spoken rebellion against Yahweh.’” 17 So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had gone out from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. 7 Seek the peace of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to Yahweh on its behalf; for in its peace you will have peace.’ 8 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams which you dream. 9 For they prophesy a lie to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares Yahweh. 10 “For thus says Yahweh, ‘When seventy years have been fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you and establish My good word to you, to return you to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will return your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have banished you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will cause you to return to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ 15 “Because you have said, ‘Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’— 16 for thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile— 17 thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will give them over to be a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and an object of horror and of hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have banished them, 19 because they have not listened to My words,’ declares Yahweh, ‘which I sent to them by My slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending; but you did not listen,’ declares Yahweh. 20 You, therefore, hear the word of Yahweh, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will strike them down before your eyes. 22 And because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire 23 because they have acted with wicked foolishness in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness,” declares Yahweh.’” 24 And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 25 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 “Yahweh has given you to be a priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of Yahweh over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, 27 so now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’”’” 29 So Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, 31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,” 32 therefore thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his seed; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares Yahweh, “because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.”’”

Yahweh Will Return the Fortunes of His People

The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, days are coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘when I will return the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ Yahweh says, ‘I will also cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’” 4 Now these are the words which Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah: 5 “For thus says Yahweh,

‘We have heard a sound of trembling,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

Ask now, and see

If a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man

With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale?

Alas! For that day is great,

There is none like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,

But he will be saved from it.

8 ‘And it will be in that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off your neck and will tear off your bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 9 But they shall be a slave to Yahweh their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10

Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares Yahweh,

‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;

For behold, I will save you from afar

And your seed from the land of their captivity.

And Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,

And no one will make him tremble.

For I am with you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘to save you;

For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations where I have scattered you,

Only I will not make a complete destruction of you.

But I will chasten you justly

And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

12 “For thus says Yahweh,

‘Your injury is incurable,

And your wound is desperately sick.

There is no one to plead your cause;

No healing for your sore,

No recovery for you.

All your lovers have forgotten you;

They do not seek you;

For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,

With the punishment of a cruel one,

Because your iniquity is numerous

And your sins are mighty.

Why do you cry out over your injury?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your iniquity is numerous

And your sins are mighty,

I have done these things to you.

Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;

And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity;

And those who take you as spoil will be spoil,

And all who plunder you I will give as plunder.

For I will restore you to health,

And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares Yahweh,

‘Because they have called you a banished one, saying:

“It is Zion; no one is seeking her.”’

18 “Thus says Yahweh,

‘Behold, I will return the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

And have compassion on his dwelling places;

And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,

And the palace will sit on its just place.

From them will come forth thanksgiving

And the voice of those who celebrate;

And I will multiply them, and they will not decrease;

I will also honor them, and they will not be insignificant.

Their children also will be as formerly,

And their congregation shall be established before Me;

And I will punish all their oppressors.

And their mighty one shall be one of them,

And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;

And I will bring Him near, and He shall approach Me;

For who would dare to give his heart as security to approach Me?’ declares Yahweh.

‘You shall be My people,

And I will be your God.’”

Behold, the storm of Yahweh!

Wrath has gone forth,

A sweeping storm;

It will burst on the head of the wicked.

The burning anger of Yahweh will not turn back

Until He has done and until He has established

The intent of His heart;

In the last days you will understand this.

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

“At that time,” declares Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” 2 Thus says Yahweh,

“The people who survived the sword

Found grace in the wilderness—

Israel, when it went to find its relief.”

Yahweh appeared to him from afar, saying,

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt,

O virgin of Israel!

Again you will take up your tambourines

And go forth to the dances of those celebrating.

Again you will plant vineyards

On the hills of Samaria;

The planters will plant

And will enjoy them.

For there will be a day when watchmen

On the hills of Ephraim call out,

‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

To Yahweh our God.’”

7 For thus says Yahweh,

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the head of the nations;

Make it heard, give praise, and say,

‘O Yahweh, save Your people,

The remnant of Israel.’

Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,

And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,

Among them the blind and the lame,

The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;

A great assembly, they will return here.

With weeping they will come,

And by supplication I will lead them;

I will make them walk by streams of waters,

On a straight path in which they will not stumble;

For I am a father to Israel,

And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations,

And declare in the coastlands far away,

And say, “He who dispersed Israel will gather him

And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob

And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.

“They will come and sing for joy on the height of Zion,

And they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh—

Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,

And over the young of the flock and the herd;

And their soul will be like a watered garden,

And they will never waste away again.

Then the virgin will be glad in the dance,

And the young men and the old, together,

For I will turn their mourning into joy

And will comfort them and give them gladness for their sorrow.

I will fill the soul of the priests with richness,

And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares Yahweh.

15 Thus says Yahweh,

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

Wailing and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

She refuses to be comforted for her children

Because they are no more.”

16 Thus says Yahweh,

“Restrain your voice from weeping

And your eyes from tears,

For your work will be rewarded,” declares Yahweh,

“And they will return from the land of the enemy.

And there is hope for your future,” declares Yahweh,

“And your children will return to their own territory.

I have surely heard Ephraim grieving,

‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,

Like an untrained calf;

Cause me to return that I may return,

For You are Yahweh my God.

For after I turned away, I repented;

And after I was instructed, I slapped my thigh;

I was ashamed and also dishonored

Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’

Is Ephraim My dear son?

Is he a delightful child?

Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,

I certainly still remember him;

Therefore My inmost being yearns for him;

I will surely have compassion on him,” declares Yahweh.

“Set up roadmarks for yourself,

Place for yourself guideposts;

Set your heart to the highway,

The way by which you went.

Return, O virgin of Israel,

Return to these your cities.

How long will you go here and there,

O faithless daughter?

For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth—

A woman will encompass a man.”

23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I return their fortunes,

‘Yahweh bless you, O abode of righteousness,

O holy hill!’

24 And Judah and all its cities will inhabit it together, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25 For I satisfy the weary soul and fill up every soul who wastes away.” 26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

The New Covenant

27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 And it will be that as I have watched over them to uproot, to tear down, to pull down, to destroy, and to bring calamity, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares Yahweh. 29

“In those days they will not say again,

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge. 31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, but I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 And they will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 35 Thus says Yahweh,

Who gives the sun for light by day

And the statutes for the moon and the stars for light by night,

Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;

Yahweh of hosts is His name:

“If these statutes are removed

From before Me,” declares Yahweh,

“Then the seed of Israel also will cease

From being a nation before Me forever.”

37 Thus says Yahweh,

“If the heavens above can be measured

And the foundations of the earth searched out below,

Then I will also reject all the seed of Israel

For all that they have done,” declares Yahweh.

38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when the city will be rebuilt for Yahweh from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will go out farther, straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to Yahweh; it will not be uprooted or pulled down anymore forever.”