Jeremiah is commanded by the LORD to make yokes, symbolizing submission, and send them to various kings, including Judah's Zedekiah. The LORD declares He has given all nations into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, His servant, and warns that those who resist Babylon will face divine punishment. He urges Judah and other nations to submit to Babylon to avoid destruction, cautioning against false prophets who counsel otherwise.
and send them to the king of Edom, 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 hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah;
I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me.
Now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the animals of the field also have I given him to serve him.
All the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondservant.
It shall happen, that the nation and the 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 punish, says the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
But as for you, don’t you listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon:
But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land, says the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.
Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
For I have not sent them, says the LORD, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you.
Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says the LORD: Don’t listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.
But if they be prophets, and if the LORD’s word be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the LORD’s house, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don’t go to Babylon.
For thus says the LORD of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn’t take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
yes, thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the LORD’s house, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:
They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, says the LORD; then I will bring them up, and restore them to this place.
Study Notes for Jeremiah 27
Verse 1
The dating of this event is highly disputed. Contextual evidence (vv. 3, 12, 20) and ancient versions strongly suggest this occurred during the reign of Zedekiah (597–586 BC), not Jehoiakim (609–598 BC).
Verse 2
The Lord instructs Jeremiah to perform a symbolic act by wearing a wooden yoke, representing the burden of servitude and political submission that God demanded of Judah and the surrounding nations.
Verse 5
Jeremiah grounds God’s political control in His role as Creator. Because Yahweh made the earth, He has the absolute sovereign right to appoint rulers and determine the fate of nations.
Verse 6
God refers to the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar as 'my servant.' This designation underscores that the Babylonian empire is not merely a political power, but a divinely ordained instrument of judgment against disobedient nations.
Verse 7
The length of Babylonian dominance is explicitly limited to three generations (likely Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson). This specific time limit offers a prophetic assurance that the judgment is temporary.
Verse 9
God warns against relying on foreign or local religious practitioners who offered false assurances of peace and independence. These diviners spoke what the people wanted to hear, not God’s truth.
Verse 11
Obedience to God's command—even when it involves submission to a hostile foreign power—is the path to survival and continued dwelling in the land.
Verse 12
Jeremiah now applies the general message directly to King Zedekiah, who was installed by Nebuchadnezzar but was constantly pressured by surrounding nations and internal factions to plot rebellion.
Verse 15
The severe consequence of listening to false prophets is emphasized: God will ensure that both the people and the lying prophets are destroyed and exiled together.
Verse 16
False prophets were specifically promising that the sacred vessels taken in the 597 BC deportation would soon be returned. This prophecy provided false hope and encouraged resistance to Babylon.
Verse 18
Jeremiah challenges the false prophets: if they truly speak for God, they should pray that the *remaining* vessels in the temple and palace be spared from future capture, rather than predicting the return of the lost items.
Verse 20
Jeconiah (or Jehoiachin) was carried away during the first major wave of deportation in 597 BC, along with the first set of temple treasures (2 Kings 24:13).
Verse 22
This final verse confirms that the remaining temple treasures will indeed be taken in the final destruction of Jerusalem (586 BC), but promises that they will be brought back upon God’s appointed day of restoration (cf. Ezra 1:7–11).
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