Jeremiah 27:7

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 shall make him their slave.

Jeremiah 27:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 27:7

And all nations shall serve him
That is, all those, all above mentioned; though there were others also that were tributary to him, but not every nation under heaven: and his son, and his son's son;
their Scripture names were Evilmerodach and Belshazzar, ( Jeremiah 52:31 ) ( Daniel 5:1 ) ; and by Ptolemy, in his canon, are called Iloarudamus and Nabonadius; between whom he places Niricassolassarus, or Neriglissarus; who was not a son of Evilmerodach, but his sister's husband. A son of his succeeded him, called Laborosoarchod; who, reigning but nine months, is not placed in the canon; agreeably to which is the account of Berosus F8; by whom the immediate son of Nebuchadnezzar is named Evilmaradouchus; or Evilmalaurouchus, as in Eusebius F9; who, after he had reigned two years, was slain by Neriglissoor, or Neriglissar, as in the above writer, his sister's husband; who, after he had enjoyed the kingdom four years, died, and left it to his son, whom he calls Chabaessoarachus, or Laborosoarchados, as before, who reigned but nine months; and then Nabonnidus succeeded, the name he gives him who was conquered by Cyrus in the seventeenth year of his reign; and not very different is the account of Nebuchadnezzar's successors, and the names of them, as given by Abydenus, out of Megasthenes F11; according to whom, Evilmalaurouchus, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, was his successor; then Neriglissar, his sister's husband, who left a son called Labassoarascus; and after him Nabannidochus, in whose times Cyrus took Babylon; and who appears to be the same with Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar; so that the Scripture is very just and accurate in mentioning these two only as the son, and son's son of Nebuchadnezzar, whom the nations should serve; for in the last of these ended the Babylonish monarchy: until the very time of his land come;
or that "itself; also he himself"


FOOTNOTES:

F12 or, "also of himself", as the Vulgate Latin version. The Targum is,
``until the time of the destruction of his land come, also of himself;''
there was a time fixed for his life, and so long the nations were to serve, and did serve, him personally; and there was a time fixed for the continuance of his monarchy, in his son, and son's son; when it was to end, as it did, in Belshazzar's reign; and when the seventy years' captivity of the Jews was up: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him;
and his kingdom; subdue it, and make it tributary to them. This was accomplished by the Medes and Persians, with Darius and Cyrus at the head of them, and other nations and kings, allies and auxiliaries to them, and associates with them; see ( Jeremiah 25:14 ) . The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "and many nations and great kings shall serve him"; so the Targum; which falls in with the former part of the verse; wherefore the other sense is best.
F8 Apud Joseph. contra Apion. I. 1. sect. 20. p. 1344.
F9 Praepar. Evangel. I. 9. c. 40. p. 455.
F11 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457.
F12 (awh Mg) "etiam illud, [vel] ipsum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 27:7 In-Context

5 It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the people and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever I please.
6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him even the wild animals 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 shall make him their slave.
8 But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the Lord, until I have completed its destruction by his hand.
9 You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, "You shall not serve the king of Babylon."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.