Jeremiah 27:17

KJV

Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?

KJV (with Strong's)

Hearken {H8085} not unto them; serve {H5647} the king {H4428} of Babylon {H894}, and live {H2421}: wherefore should this city {H5892} be laid waste {H2723}?

Complete Jewish Bible

Don't listen to them. Serve the king of Bavel, and stay alive; why should this city become a ruin?'

Berean Standard Bible

Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

American Standard Version

Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city become a desolation?

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Jeremiah 27:17 delivers a divine imperative for the people of Judah to reject the deceptive counsel of false prophets and instead submit to the divinely ordained dominion of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It presents a stark choice: obedience to God's difficult command to serve Babylon leads to preservation and life for Jerusalem, while rebellion guarantees the city's utter desolation and ruin. The verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty over nations and His use of even foreign powers as instruments of His righteous judgment, redemptive discipline, and the ultimate preservation of a remnant.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** Jeremiah 27 is a pivotal chapter within the broader prophetic book, strategically placed during the tumultuous reign of King Zedekiah (597-586 BC), a period marked by intense political instability and widespread spiritual deception. The immediate literary context begins with God commanding Jeremiah to fashion and wear a wooden yoke, a potent visual symbol of the impending servitude of Judah and surrounding nations to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar, as detailed in [Jeremiah 27:1-7](/jeremiah/27-1-7 "Jeremiah 27:1-7 - The Yoke of Babylon"). Jeremiah is then instructed to send similar yokes to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, delivering a consistent, non-negotiable message of submission to Babylon as God's sovereign will. The chapter heavily features a direct confrontation with false prophets who are actively proclaiming a message of peace and imminent deliverance from Babylonian oppression, thereby directly contradicting Jeremiah's difficult, divinely revealed truth. Verse 17 represents Jeremiah's direct and urgent appeal to the people and their king to reject these comforting but ultimately destructive lies, imploring them to embrace the harsh reality of God's judgment and the singular path to survival He has laid out. It is a desperate plea for spiritual discernment and pragmatic obedience amidst widespread national confusion and delusion.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The late 7th and early 6th centuries BC witnessed the rapid rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II, following the decline and eventual collapse of Assyrian dominance. Judah, a small kingdom caught between the regional superpowers of Egypt and Babylon, frequently sought alliances and pursued rebellious policies against the rising superpower. King Zedekiah, installed as a vassal by Nebuchadnezzar after the first deportation of Judah's elite in 597 BC, faced immense internal pressure from nationalistic factions and pro-Egyptian elements to rebel. False prophets, often motivated by popular sentiment, political agendas, or even genuine but misguided zeal, capitalized on this fervent desire for freedom, promising that the Babylonian yoke would soon be broken and the temple treasures returned. This created a dangerous climate of delusion, where God's true word delivered through Jeremiah was dismissed as unpatriotic, defeatist, or even treasonous. The prevailing cultural expectation was for Yahweh to protect Jerusalem and His Temple unconditionally, a belief that fostered a false sense of security despite rampant idolatry, social injustice, and covenant unfaithfulness. Jeremiah's message in [Jeremiah 27](/jeremiah/27 "Jeremiah 27 - The Yoke of Babylon") directly challenged this presumption, asserting that God's covenant loyalty demanded obedience, and His judgment would indeed come through Babylon if His people persisted in rebellion, leading to the [destruction of Jerusalem](/jeremiah/39 "Jeremiah 39 - The Fall of Jerusalem").
* **Key Themes:** Jeremiah 27:17 powerfully articulates several core themes prevalent throughout the book of Jeremiah and the broader Old Testament narrative. Foremost is the theme of **Divine Sovereignty**, demonstrating God's absolute and unchallengeable control over the rise and fall of nations, even using pagan empires like Babylon as instruments of His judgment and disciplinary hand upon His own people. This divine orchestration is explicitly stated when God refers to Nebuchadnezzar as "my servant" ([Jeremiah 25:9](/jeremiah/25-9 "Jeremiah 25:9 - Nebuchadnezzar, God's Servant")). This verse also starkly highlights the **Peril of False Prophecy**, as Jeremiah explicitly warns against listening to those who speak "peace, peace" when there is no peace, leading the people astray with comforting lies that ultimately lead to destruction ([Jeremiah 6:14](/jeremiah/6-14 "Jeremiah 6:14 - False Peace")). Conversely, it presents the **Path to Preservation through Obedience**, where submission to God's difficult will, even through temporary servitude, is revealed as the only means of survival and eventual restoration for the remnant of Judah, a promise reiterated in God's plans for their future ([Jeremiah 29:11](/jeremiah/29-11 "Jeremiah 29:11 - Plans for Hope and a Future")). Finally, the rhetorical question "wherefore should this city be laid waste?" underscores the severe **Consequences of Disobedience**, emphasizing that continued rebellion against God's revealed plan would inevitably lead to the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, a tragic fate that tragically materialized in 586 BC, as detailed in [Jeremiah 39](/jeremiah/39 "Jeremiah 39 - The Fall of Jerusalem").

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

#### Key Word Analysis
* **Hearken (Hebrew, _shâmaʻ'_):** This primitive root signifies far more than mere auditory perception; it denotes hearing intelligently, often carrying the strong implication of attention, understanding, and, crucially, obedience. When Jeremiah commands "Hearken not unto them," it is a forceful imperative to actively disregard, reject, and refuse to obey the words of the false prophets. It demands a conscious, deliberate choice to disengage from their deceptive counsel, recognizing its inherent danger and destructive potential. To "hearken" in this context is to submit one's will and actions to the message received.
* **Serve (Hebrew, _ʻâbad'_):** This highly versatile root means "to work in any sense," but its specific nuance here is "to serve," "to till," or "to enslave." In the context of Jeremiah 27:17, it denotes entering into a state of servitude or subjugation to the king of Babylon. This is not a voluntary alliance but a divinely imposed obligation to labor under Babylon's authority, indicating a period of submission, tribute, and a form of temporary enslavement as an integral part of God's disciplinary plan for Judah. It implies a loss of autonomy and a forced submission to a foreign power.
* **Live (Hebrew, _châyâh'_):** This root encompasses both literal and figurative existence. It means "to live," signifying physical survival, preservation of life, and even the concept of revival or restoration. In Jeremiah 27:17, it promises the preservation of life for the inhabitants of Judah and the continued, albeit diminished, existence of the city of Jerusalem. This promise stands in stark contrast to the alternative of death and utter destruction, offering a path to continued national identity and a future, even if that future begins in exile. It speaks to God's desire for a remnant to survive.
* **Laid waste (Hebrew, _chorbâh'_):** Derived from a word meaning "drought" or "dryness," this feminine noun properly signifies "desolation." It describes a state of utter ruin, destruction, or a place left decayed, uninhabited, and barren. The rhetorical question "wherefore should this city be laid waste?" powerfully highlights the dire, yet avoidable, consequence of rejecting God's command: the complete and irreversible destruction of Jerusalem, transforming it into a desolate ruin, a place of utter destruction and emptiness.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"Hearken not unto them;":** This is a direct, emphatic, and urgent command from God, delivered through His prophet Jeremiah. It instructs the people of Judah to completely disregard, dismiss, and refuse to obey the words of the false prophets. These prophets were actively propagating a message of false hope, promising a swift end to Babylonian dominion and encouraging rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. Their counsel was contrary to God's revealed will and ultimately destructive. The imperative "hearken not" underscores the critical importance of spiritual discernment and the profound danger of listening to deceptive voices, no matter how appealing or comforting their message may initially sound. It demands a conscious choice to reject falsehood.
* **"serve the king of Babylon, and live:":** This clause presents God's divinely ordained path to preservation and survival amidst impending judgment. The command to "serve" implies a humble and pragmatic submission to Babylon's authority, accepting their temporary dominion as God's chosen instrument of discipline. This was undoubtedly a deeply humiliating and difficult command for a people who believed themselves uniquely protected by God and their Temple. However, the accompanying promise "and live" offers a profound and immediate incentive: physical survival for the people and the continued, albeit subjugated, existence of Jerusalem. This reveals God's merciful desire for the preservation of a remnant, even in the midst of His righteous judgment.
* **"wherefore should this city be laid waste?":** This is a powerful and poignant rhetorical question that serves to underscore the logical, inevitable, and utterly senseless consequence of disobedience. The question implies that if the people refuse to serve Babylon as God commands, the only alternative is not freedom or victory, but catastrophic and avoidable destruction. It suggests that there is no legitimate or rational reason for Jerusalem to suffer such a devastating fate if its inhabitants simply obey God's clear, albeit difficult, instruction. This rhetorical device functions as a final, urgent warning, highlighting the self-inflicted nature of the impending catastrophe and appealing to reason and self-preservation.

#### Literary Devices
Jeremiah 27:17 is crafted with several impactful literary devices that amplify its urgent and pivotal message. The most evident is the pervasive use of the **Imperative Mood**, seen in the commands "Hearken not unto them" and "serve the king of Babylon." This grammatical choice conveys the absolute authority and non-negotiable nature of God's decree, demanding immediate and decisive action from the audience. Following these commands, the verse employs a stark **Contrast** between "live" and "be laid waste," presenting two mutually exclusive and dramatically different outcomes that hinge entirely on the people's choice of obedience or rebellion. This juxtaposition heightens the sense of urgency and the gravity of the decision. Furthermore, the phrase "wherefore should this city be laid waste?" functions as a potent **Rhetorical Question**. This is not a query seeking an answer, but rather a device designed to emphasize the utter folly, irrationality, and senselessness of choosing destruction when a clear, albeit difficult, path to preservation is explicitly offered. While not directly in this verse, the broader context of Jeremiah 27 features powerful **Symbolism**, most notably the "yoke" worn by Jeremiah, which visually embodies the very servitude that Judah is commanded to embrace. Verse 17, therefore, serves as the verbal articulation of this potent symbolic message, urging a pragmatic and faithful response to God's sovereign and disciplinary decree.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 27:17 stands as a profound theological statement on God's active and intricate sovereignty over human history, demonstrating His unwavering commitment to His covenant purposes, even when those purposes are realized through difficult and seemingly counter-intuitive means. It reveals that God orchestrates the rise and fall of nations, utilizing even pagan empires as instruments of His divine will, not only for righteous judgment upon His people's persistent sin but also for their ultimate preservation and redemptive discipline. This passage profoundly challenges the common human desire for immediate comfort, nationalistic pride, and liberation from hardship, instead calling for a deeper, counter-cultural trust in God's wisdom, even when His prescribed path appears humiliating or contrary to popular sentiment. It underscores the critical importance of spiritual discernment, urging believers to carefully distinguish God's true, often challenging, word from deceptive voices that offer false peace. True peace and flourishing, both individually and corporately, are found not in resisting God's sovereign plan or avoiding hardship, but in aligning one's will with His. The stark choice presented—submission for life or rebellion for ruin—is a recurring biblical principle, emphasizing that obedience, even in adversity, is the pathway to God's ultimate blessing, preservation, and the fulfillment of His long-term purposes.

* [Deuteronomy 28:15-68](/deuteronomy/28-15-68 "Deuteronomy 28:15-68 - Curses for Disobedience")
* [Proverbs 14:12](/proverbs/14-12 "Proverbs 14:12 - A Way That Seems Right")
* [Romans 13:1-7](/romans/13-1-7 "Romans 13:1-7 - Submission to Governing Authorities")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 27:17 offers timeless and challenging wisdom for believers navigating complex and often perplexing circumstances in the contemporary world. It calls us to a radical and unwavering trust in God's absolute sovereignty, compelling us to recognize that His hand is actively at work even in situations that appear oppressive, unjust, or contrary to our immediate desires. In an age saturated with competing narratives and promises of easy fixes, this verse serves as a potent reminder of our susceptibility to deceptive voices, much like the false prophets who misled Judah. It compels us to cultivate deep spiritual discernment, rigorously testing every message, ideology, or cultural narrative against the unchanging truth of God's Word, even when that truth demands difficult obedience, humble submission, or the relinquishing of personal comfort. True faith, as exemplified here, means embracing God's discipline, trusting His long-term plan, and understanding that His ways, though sometimes painful or counter-intuitive, are always designed for our ultimate good, spiritual formation, and His enduring glory. Our true preservation and flourishing, both as individuals and as the corporate body of Christ, are ultimately found not in resisting God's revealed will, but in aligning ourselves wholeheartedly with it, understanding that His path, while demanding, leads to genuine life.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **In what specific areas of my life am I currently tempted to "hearken not" to God's clear commands or biblical principles, preferring a more comfortable, popular, or self-serving path?**
* **How does this passage challenge my preconceived notions about God's sovereignty, especially when I face difficult, seemingly unjust, or externally imposed circumstances?**
* **What "false prophets" (e.g., deceptive cultural narratives, self-help ideologies, popular opinions, or even personal desires) might I be listening to that promise an easy way out or a quick fix, rather than God's prescribed path of disciplined obedience and patient endurance?**
* **What might "serving the king of Babylon" look like in my contemporary context—that is, how can I embrace difficult, counter-cultural obedience or submission to God's will, even when it feels humiliating or inconvenient, for the sake of His preservation and purpose in my life and community?**

### FAQ

**Why would God command His people to serve a pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar?**

Answer: God commanded His people to serve Nebuchadnezzar because He is supremely sovereign over all nations and uses even pagan rulers as instruments of His divine will. In this specific historical context, Babylon was God's chosen tool to bring righteous judgment upon Judah for their persistent idolatry, egregious covenant unfaithfulness, and pervasive moral corruption. This period of servitude was a form of disciplinary exile, intended not to annihilate His people, but to humble them, purify them, and ultimately lead them back to Himself in repentance. It powerfully demonstrated that God's justice would be carried out, and His enduring covenant promises, while steadfast, did not exempt His people from the severe consequences of their unrepentant sin. This divine strategy is a recurring theme in Scripture, seen elsewhere when God uses Assyria as "the rod of my anger" ([Isaiah 10:5](/isaiah/10-5 "Isaiah 10:5 - Assyria as God's Rod")) to discipline Israel.

**What was the danger of listening to the false prophets mentioned in this verse?**

Answer: The profound danger of listening to the false prophets mentioned in Jeremiah 27:17 was that their message, though comforting, popular, and appealing to nationalistic pride, was a deceptive lie that directly contradicted God's revealed will. These prophets promised immediate peace and a swift end to Babylonian oppression, actively encouraging rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. By "hearkening" to their seductive words, the people were being led to defy God's explicit command to submit, which would inevitably result in the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, along with the death or even harsher exile of its inhabitants. Their deceptive words offered a false hope that ultimately led to utter ruin, tragically highlighting the critical importance of discerning true prophecy from comforting falsehoods that lead astray ([Jeremiah 14:14](/jeremiah/14-14 "Jeremiah 14:14 - False Prophecies")).

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 27:17, with its stark call to submission for the sake of life in the face of impending judgment, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While Judah was commanded to submit to an earthly, pagan king (Nebuchadnezzar) to preserve their physical city and temporal lives, Christ's call is to submit to the true King of Kings, Jesus Himself, for eternal life and spiritual preservation. The "life" promised in Jeremiah was a temporal, physical existence under duress, a survival within the confines of earthly judgment; the life offered by Christ, however, is abundant, eternal, and a glorious triumph over the spiritual desolation of sin and the power of death ([John 10:10](/john/10-10 "John 10:10 - Abundant Life in Christ")). Just as Judah faced a critical choice between physical desolation and difficult submission to God's ordained path, all humanity faces an even more profound choice between spiritual ruin and humble submission to Christ's Lordship. Jesus Himself perfectly embodied this radical submission to the Father's will, even to the agonizing point of death on a cross, declaring, "not my will, but yours be done" ([Luke 22:42](/luke/22-42 "Luke 22:42 - Jesus' Submission in Gethsemane")). His voluntary submission to the Father's plan, enduring the ultimate "laying waste" of divine judgment for sin on the cross, became the singular means by which all who believe can truly "live" eternally, escaping the spiritual desolation and eternal death that sin brings. The false prophets of Jeremiah's day offered a deceptive path to a fleeting, earthly peace; Christ, in contrast, is the true "Prince of Peace" ([Isaiah 9:6](/isaiah/9-6 "Isaiah 9:6 - Prince of Peace")) who offers genuine, lasting reconciliation with God through His atoning sacrifice, thereby fulfilling the ultimate purpose of God's sovereign plan for salvation and true life.

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Jeremiah 38:17

Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

Jeremiah 27:11

But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.

Jeremiah 27:13

Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

Jeremiah 38:23

So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

Jeremiah 7:34

Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.