Jeremiah Twenty Seven
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
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Jeremiah 27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jehoiakim. The identification of Jehoiakim as king of Judah at this time seems to conflict directly with Jeremiah 27:3, which identifies Zedekiah as king of Judah then. Actually the Syriac texts and a few Hebrew manuscripts do read “Zedekiah” instead of “Jehoiakim” in this verse. It seems probable that “Zedekiah” was the original reading here, and that some early scribe inadvertently copied Jeremiah 26:1 at this point, which is very similar. This fits the entire context better.
Jeremiah 27:2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck,
Jeremiah 27:3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
Jeremiah 27:4 And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
Jeremiah 27:5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
made the earth. Because God has created the world and everything therein, He has the right to give any portion thereof to those of His own choosing. Although He had given the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, He now chose to give not only Israel but all the known world to “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant” (Jeremiah 27:6).
Jeremiah 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
Jeremiah 27:7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
his son's son. The Babylonian empire would continue in power under Nebuchadnezzar and his son Nabonidus, but would be lost under his grandson, Belshazzar, who was serving as co-regent while Nabonidus was out of the capital (see notes on Daniel 5).
Jeremiah 27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
Jeremiah 27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon:
Jeremiah 27:10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
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 27:12 I spake also 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.
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 27:14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
Jeremiah 27:15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
Jeremiah 27:16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you.
Jeremiah 27:17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
Jeremiah 27:18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
left in the house of the Lord. Many of the temple treasures had already been carried away by the Babylonians at the time Jehoiachin (same as Jeconiah or Coniah) was also taken to Babylon (2 Kings 24:12-15). See note on Jeremiah 22:24. However, those that remained there at that time would also be carried to Babylon (Jeremiah 27:22) in Nebuchadnezzar's final invasion (2 Chronicles 36:18).
Jeremiah 27:19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that remain in this city,
Jeremiah 27:20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, 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;
Jeremiah 27:21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;
Jeremiah 27:22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.