Jeremiah 27:8

8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I visit, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

Jeremiah 27:8 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 27:8

And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation and kingdom which
will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
Will not, upon his approaching to them, invading and besieging them, submit and become tributary to him, as is more fully expressed in the next clause: and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon;
or voluntarily become subject to him, and pay a tax he shall impose upon them. This refers to, and explains the symbol of, Jeremiah's making and wearing yokes, ( Jeremiah 27:2 ) ; that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with
the famine, and with the pestilence;
with one judgment after another; some will perish by the sword of the enemy, sallying out upon them, or endeavouring to make their escape; others by famine their provisions being spent through the length of the siege; and others by pestilence, or the plague, by the immediate hand of God: until I have consumed them by his hand;
Nebuchadnezzar's; by means of him; by his sword, and strait besieging them; or, "into his hand"; and so the Targum,

``until I have delivered them into his hand;''

having consumed multitudes by the sword, famine, and pestilence, will deliver the rest into his hands to be carried captive by him.

Jeremiah 27:8 In-Context

6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him.

7 And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his land also come, when many nations and great kings shall reduce him to servitude.

8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I visit, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

9 And ye, hearken not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak unto you saying: Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon.

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

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'punish,' as Isa. 10.12.