Chapter Twenty-Seven

1–11. The Lord commands Jeremiah to put bonds and a yoke on himself and to send bonds and yoke to the neighboring peoples. 12–15. An admonition to Zedekiah, 16–22. and to the priests.

Jer 27:1-11. During the reign of King Zedekiah, the prophet received a command from the Lord – to put bonds with a yoke on himself and to send such bonds and yoke to the rulers of the neighboring kingdoms with the envoys of these kingdoms. At the same time, the Lord Himself explains the meaning of this symbolic action in the following way: The Lord, as the Master of the earth, has decided to place under the power of Nebuchadnezzar all the lands of western Asia. Let therefore these lands willingly bear the yoke imposed upon them by Nebuchadnezzar, let them not believe any soothsayers who point out to them the possibility of throwing off the Babylonian yoke.

Jeremiah 27:1. At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:: That one must read the name Zedekiah here instead of Jehoiakim – this is clearly evident a) from verse 3, where Zedekiah is specifically named, b) from verse 1 of chapter 28, where it is said that the event described in this chapter occurred “in that same year at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah” (Jer 28:1); the exact time of the described event can be determined as follows: it was not earlier than the 4th year of Zedekiah’s reign, because it is unlikely that Zedekiah, placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, would have immediately begun to conspire against him. But in the 4th year he even traveled to Babylon to prove his loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 51:59).

Jeremiah 27:2. Thus the Lord said to me: Make yourself bonds and a yoke and put them upon your neck; A wooden yoke was fastened to the body with ropes or bonds (cf. Isa 9:4).

Jeremiah 27:7. And all peoples will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; and then many peoples and great kings will serve him. The prophet speaks here only of the duration of the Babylonian captivity and hardly intends to say that the throne of Babylon will necessarily pass from father to son.

Jeremiah 27:12. And to Zedekiah, king of Judah, I spoke all these words and said: Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and you will live. Jeremiah 27:13. Why should you and your people die by the sword, famine, and plague, as the Lord has spoken concerning the people that will not serve the king of Babylon? Jeremiah 27:14. And do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, “You will not serve the king of Babylon”; for they are prophesying a lie to you. Jeremiah 27:15. I have not sent them, says the Lord; and they are prophesying falsely in My name, in order that I might drive you out and that you might perish – you and the prophets who prophesy to you. The same submission to Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah recommends to Zedekiah, whom various prophets were misleading, giving him hope regarding the possibility of throwing off foreign rule. Jer 27:16-22. Finally, the prophet also advises the priests and the people not to believe the prophets who promise that the vessels taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar will soon be returned to Jerusalem. It would be better if these prophets, if they truly are close to God, would pray that the remaining vessels also not be carried away to Babylon, because in fact God promises to take them from the Judahites as well. * * * Notes Zedekiah.