Jeremiah 27:12

27:12 I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, ¹  “Submit ²  to the yoke of servitude to ³  the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live.

Jeremiah 28:11

28:11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ⁴  before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 28:14

28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁶  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ⁷  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “I spoke to Zedekiah…according to all these words, saying.”

² sn The verbs in this verse are all plural. They are addressed to Zedekiah and his royal advisers (compare 22:2).

³ tn Heb “put their necks in the yoke of.” See the study note on v. 2 for the figure.

⁴ tn Heb “I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from upon the necks of all the nations.”

⁵ tn Heb “Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.”

⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.

⁸ tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”

⁹ sn The emphasis is on the absoluteness of Nebuchadnezzar’s control. The statement is once again rhetorical and not to be taken literally. See the study note on 27:6.