Common English Bible CEB
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Early in the rule of Judah's King Zedekiah, Josiah's son, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
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In the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord.
2 This is what the LORD said to me: Make a yoke of straps and bars and wear it on your neck.
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Thus the Lord said to me: Make yourself a yoke of straps and bars, and put them on your neck.
3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their representatives who have come to Jerusalem to Judah's King Zedekiah.
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Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah.
4 Tell them to say to their masters: The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Say this to your masters:
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Give them this charge for their masters: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters:
5 By my great power and outstretched arm, I have made the earth and the people and animals that are on it. I can give it to anyone I please.
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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 hand over all these countries to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I even give him the wild animals as subjects.
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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 nations will serve him, his son and grandson, until the time for his land arrives; then many nations and great kings will conquer him.
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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 As for the nation or country that won't serve Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and won't put its neck under his yoke, I will punish it with sword, famine, and disease until I have destroyed it by his hand, declares the LORD.
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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 As for you, don't listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, mediums, or your sorcerers who say to you, "Don't serve the king of Babylon."
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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."
10 They are lying to you, and their lies will lead to banishment from your land. I will drive you out, and you will perish.
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For they are prophesying a lie to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land; I will drive you out, and you will perish.
11 But any nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will let stay in its land to till it and live on it, declares the LORD.
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But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, says the Lord, to till it and live there.
12 I delivered the same message to Judah's King Zedekiah: If you want to live, put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people.
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I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
13 Why should you and your people die by sword, famine, and disease, as the LORD pronounced against any nation that won't serve the king of Babylon?
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Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
14 Pay no attention to the words of the prophets who encourage you not to serve the king of Babylon, for they are lying to you.
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Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you not to serve the king of Babylon, for they are prophesying a lie to you.
15 I haven't sent these prophets, declares the LORD; they are prophesying falsely in my name. If you listen to them, I will drive you out, and you will perish, both you and your prophets!
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I have not sent them, says the Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.
16 Then I spoke to the priests and all this people: This is what the LORD says: Don't listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you, "In a short while, the temple equipment will be brought back from Babylon." They are prophesying a lie to you.
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Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, "The vessels of the Lord's house will soon be brought back from Babylon," for they are prophesying a lie to you.
17 Don't listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Otherwise, this city will be reduced to ruin.
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Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation?
18 If they are really prophets and have the LORD's word, let them intercede with the LORD of heavenly forces not to let the equipment left in the LORD's temple and in the royal palace of Judah and Jerusalem be carted off to Babylon.
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If indeed they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.
19 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims about the pillars, the Sea, the stands, and the rest of the equipment left in this city,
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For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,
20 which Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar didn't plunder when he deported Jeconiah the son of Judah's King Jehoiakim from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the officials of Judah and Jerusalem.
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which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—
21 Yes, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims about the equipment that is left in the LORD's temple and in the royal palace in Judah, and in Jerusalem:
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thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem:
22 They will be carted off to Babylon where they will remain until the day I come looking for them, declares the LORD; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.
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They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall stay, until the day when I give attention to them, says the Lord. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
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.