Jeremiah 27:6

27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power ¹  of my servant, ²  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. ³ 

Jeremiah 28:14

28:14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁴  says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations ⁵  so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.”’” ⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”

² sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

³ tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.

⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for this title.

⁵ tn Heb “An iron yoke I have put on the necks of all these nations.”

⁶ 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.