1Early in the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2This is what the LORD said to me, “Make a yoke of crossbar and straps, and put it on your neck, 3And send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, via their envoys who come to Zedekiah, king of Judah at Jerusalem; 4And tell them to say to their masters, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Tell this to your masters: 5‘I have made the earth, and every man and animal upon it by My great power and by My outstretched arm; and have given these things of Mine to whomever I please. 6And now I will hand all your lands over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, My servant; and I will also give him the beasts of the field to serve him. 7And all those nations shall serve him, his son, and his son's son, until the time for him to have possession the land comes to an end; at which time many nations and great kings shall enslave him. 8And if any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and will not submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with sword, famine, and plague, until I have destroyed that nation by his hand, says the LORD. 9Therefore, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, enchanters, nor your sorcerers, who tell you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon”; 10For they prophesy lies to you that will result in your being driven far from your land; for then I will drive you out, and you shall perish. 11But the nations that yield their neck to the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I allow to remain in their own land’, says the LORD; ‘and they shall till it, and dwell there.’”’”

12I also told Zedekiah, king of Judah, all these same words: “Submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13Why should you and your people die by the sword, famine, or plague, since the LORD has pronounced disaster against any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14So, do not listen to the words of those prophets that tell you, ‘You do not need to serve the king of Babylon’; for they prophesy a lie to you. 15‘For I have not sent them’, says the LORD, ‘But they prophesy a lie in My name; that will result in Me banishing you, that you and the false prophets that lie to you, will die.’”

16Then I also spoke this to the priests and to all the people: “Thus says the LORD; ‘Do not listen to the words of the “prophets” who “prophesy” to you and say, “The vessels of the LORD's house shall soon be returned from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17Do not listen to them; but serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be laid waste? 18If they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, so that the vessels that remain in the Temple of the LORD, and in the palace of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, are not taken to Babylon. 19For this is what the LORD of hosts says concerning the bronze pillars, sea, the bases, and the rest of the vessels that remain in this city, 20Which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, did not take, when he carried Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem: 21‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the Temple of the LORD, and in the palace of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem, 22“They shall indeed be carried to Babylon, and they shall remain there until the day that I send for them,” says the LORD; “Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”’”