The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
Jer 27:1 Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Jer 27:2 This is what the LORD said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck.
Jer 27:3 Then 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.
Jer 27:4 Give them a message for their masters and say, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Tell this to your masters:
Jer 27:5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.
Jer 27:6 Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.
Jer 27:7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.
Jer 27:8 “‘”If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I destroy it by his hand.
Jer 27:9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
Jer 27:10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.
Jer 27:11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the LORD.”‘”
Jer 27:12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.
Jer 27:13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
Jer 27:14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you.
Jer 27:15 ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.'”
Jer 27:16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the LORD’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you.
Jer 27:17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin?
Jer 27:18 If they are prophets and have the word of the LORD, let them plead with the LORD Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon.
Jer 27:19 For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea, the movable stands and the other articles that are left in this city,
Jer 27:20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—
Jer 27:21 yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about the things that are left in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem:
Jer 27:22 ‘They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'”
1 Under the type of bonds and yokes he prophesied the subduing of the neighbour kings unto Nebuchadnezzar. 8 He exhorted them to yield, and not to believe the false prophets. 12 The like he doeth to Zedekiah. 19 He foretell, the remnant of the vessels shall be carried to Babylon, and there continue until the day of visitation.
The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
Jer 27:1 Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Jehoiakim. Several Hebrew manuscripts read “Zedekiah,” which is undoubtedly the correct reading, as clearly proved by vs. 3, 12 (see ch. 28:1). While Zedekiah ruled by the sufferance of Nebuchadnezzar, who placed him on the throne (see 2 Kings 24:17–19), he and the neighbouring kings who paid tribute to Babylon did not give up hope of freeing themselves from the Chaldean yoke. The experience of Jer. 27 occurred in the 4th year of Zedekiah, about 593 b.c. (see on ch. 28:1).
Jer 27:2 This is what the LORD said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck.
The acting out of such symbolic predictions as this (see Isa. 20:2; Jer. 18; 19; Eze. 12:5–7; Acts 21:11) was to impress forcefully upon the people what the future held for them, and to arouse them, if possible, to a sense of their spiritual lack.
Appearing as he did, as though he were a captive slave in bonds or a beast of burden under the yoke, Jeremiah would capture the attention of all as words alone could not. The nations involved in this conspiracy, especially Zedekiah, were to be left without any excuse for thinking that their plans had any prospect of success.
Jer 27:3 Then 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.
As shown in the closing part of the verse the kings named here had sent “messengers,” or ambassadors, to Zedekiah urging an alliance against Nebuchadnezzar. These nations are mentioned in the same order in the prophecy of ch. 25:21, 22, given 11 years before. This former prediction had partially been fulfilled at this time. However, for some reason these kings entertained the hope that they could succeed in a rebellion against Nebuchadne0zzar.
JJer 27:4 And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters:
Jeremiah was commissioned to tell the representatives of the kings named in v. 3 that their endeavours would be futile; that in the providence of God, Babylon was to be the irresistible conqueror of nations, the divine instrument to punish them for their iniquities.
The Lord of hosts. See on ch. 7:3. This title applied to “the God of Israel” was specially used to impress upon the nations that knew not the Lord, that the true God, the God of the “hosts” of heaven, was more than a match for the armies of earth (see on Joshua 5:14; Ps. 24:10).
Jer 27:5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please.
A reminder that the same God who created the earth (Amos 4:13; 9:6) is the One who controls its destiny, who “removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (see Ps. 83:18; Dan. 2:21; 5:18, 19; for further comment see on ch. 4:17).
Jer 27:6 Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.
Conquering armies levied particularly the horses and cattle of the conquered peoples, thus aggravating the distress and despair of the vanquished.
Jer 27:7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.
This may refer to Nabonidus and Belshazzar (Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law and son-in-law’s son), as the two most prominent rulers following Nebuchadnezzar, though this is not necessarily the case. Rather than referring to any specific successors of Nebuchadnezzar, it may simply mean that the kingdom would exist for an undefined length of time.
Although “all nations shall serve” Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon would not establish an empire of long duration. The Persians and other peoples would in turn subdue the Babylonian king, and so “shall serve themselves of him” (see ch. 51:11, 27–29).
Jer 27:8 If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I destroy it by his hand.
Jer 27:9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
The predictions of all these pagan prognosticators were evidently in agreement in urging these five nations to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar.
They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.
Jer 27:10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.
Through divine inspiration Jeremiah knew what the result would be if the kings followed the false counsel of the heathen oracles. The kings and their armies would go forth to battle and perish, as did Ahab when he hearkened to the “lying spirit in the mouth” of false prophets (1 Kings 22:15–37).
Jer 27:12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live.
The same advice given to the surrounding nations (v. 11) is specifically directed to “Zedekiah king of Judah.” As leader of the people the king, if he had so desired, could presumably have led the nation to yield to Babylon (see PK 458).
Jer 27:13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
Not one nation only, but any nation that would not yield to Babylon.
Jer 27:14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you.
Jer 27:15 ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.'”
The result of following the disobedience of Judah is stressed here, rather than God’s purpose. In the Bible, God is frequently presented as doing that which He does not restrain (see on 1 Kings 22:22).
Jer 27:16 Then I said to the priests and all these people, “This is what the LORD says: Do not listen to the prophets who say, ‘Very soon now the articles from the LORD’s house will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are prophesying lies to you.
Nebuchadnezzar had carried off these “vessels of the Lord’s house” before Zedekiah ascended the throne (2 Kings 24:10–13; 2 Chron. 36:7). To comfort the people, who greatly mourned this important loss, the false prophets predicted that these sacred vessels would soon be returned to Jerusalem. However, these vessels were not brought back until Cyrus restored them to the Jews (Ezra 1:7–11).
Jer 27:17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this city become a ruin?
It is evident that this false prediction of the soon return of the Temple vessels was both a prophecy and an incentive to rebellion. Jeremiah saw that a revolt could lead only to the devastation of Jerusalem and the consequent destruction of the Temple.
Jer 27:18 If they are prophets and have the word of the LORD, let them plead with the LORD Almighty that the articles remaining in the house of the LORD and in the palace of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem not be taken to Babylon.
Jeremiah advises the false prophets to plead with God that the vessels Nebuchadnezzar did not take previously might “go not to Babylon,” rather than waste their time in futile efforts to regain those vessels that were already taken away from the Temple.
Jer 27:19 For this is what the LORD Almighty says about the pillars, the bronze Sea, the movable stands and the other articles that are left in this city,
The pillars. The two bronze columns called Jachin and Boaz that were on each side of the Temple porch (see on 1 Kings 7:15). As to the molten “sea” that was supported by twelve oxen, see on 1 Kings 7:23.
The ten “bases” for the ten lavers are described in 1 Kings 7:27–37. Though not enumerated here, the ark was still in the Temple, where it remained until it was hidden during the final siege of Jerusalem (see PK 453).
Jer 27:20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—
Jer 27:22 ‘They will be taken to Babylon and there they will remain until the day I come for them,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'”
For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kings 25:13–15. Until the day. An allusion to the end of the seventy years of captivity (see Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10; Dan. 9:2).