The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar 2 Brenton Thus said the Lord; Make to thyself bonds and yokes, and put them about thy neck, BSB BSB: This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.
3 Brenton and thou shalt send them to the king of Idumea, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hands of their messengers that come to meet them at Jerusalem to Sedekias king of Juda. BSB BSB: Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
4 Brenton And thou shalt commission them to say to their lords, Thus said the Lord God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to your lords; BSB BSB: Give them a message from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to relay to their masters:
5 Brenton I have made the earth by my great power, and with my high arm, and I will give it to whomsoever it shall seem good in mine eyes. BSB BSB: By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
6 Brenton I gave the earth to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon to serve him, and the wild beasts of the field to labour for him. BSB BSB: So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.
8 Brenton And the nation and kingdom, all that shall not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with sword and famine will I visit them, saith the Lord, until they are consumed by his hand. BSB BSB: As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation by sword and famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I have destroyed it by his hand.
9 Brenton And hearken ye not to your false prophets, nor to them that divine to you, nor to them that foretel events by dreams to you, nor to your auguries, nor your sorcerers, that say, Ye shall by no means work for the king of Babylon: BSB BSB: But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your sorcerers who declare, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
10 Brenton for they prophesy lies to you, to remove you far from your land. BSB BSB: For they prophesy to you a lie that will serve to remove you from your land; I will banish you and you will perish.
11 Brenton But the nation which shall put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, I will even leave it upon its land, and it shall serve him, and dwell in it. BSB BSB: But the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave in its own land, to cultivate it and reside in it, declares the LORD.”
12 Brenton I spoke also to Sedekias king of Juda according to all these words, saying, Put your neck into the yoke , BSB BSB: And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!
14 Brenton and serve the king of Babylon. For they prophesy unrighteous words to you, BSB BSB: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying to you a lie.
15 Brenton for I sent them not, saith the Lord; and they prophesy in my name unjustly, that I might destroy you, and ye should perish, and your prophets, who unrighteously prophesy lies to you. BSB BSB: For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
16 Brenton I spoke to you, and to all this people, and to the priests, saying, Thus said the Lord; Hearken not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the Lord's house shall return from Babylon: for they prophesy to you unrighteous words . I sent them not. BSB BSB: Then I said to the priests and to all this people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Look, very soon now the articles from the house of the LORD will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying to you a lie.
18 Brenton If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is in them, let them meet me, for thus has the Lord said. BSB BSB: If they are indeed prophets and the word of the LORD is with them, let them now plead with the LORD of Hosts that the articles remaining in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, not be taken to Babylon.
19 Brenton And as for the remaining vessels, BSB BSB: For this is what the LORD of Hosts says about the pillars, the sea, the bases, and the rest of the articles that remain in this city,
20 Brenton which the king of Babylon took not, when he carried Jechonias prisoner out of Jerusalem, BSB BSB: which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.
21 Brenton they shall go into Babylon, saith the Lord. BSB BSB: Yes, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about the articles that remain in the house of the LORD, in the palace of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:
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