1. Early in the rule of Judah’s King Zedekiah, Josiah’s son, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2. This is what the Lord said to me: Make a yoke of straps and bars and wear it on your neck.
3. Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their representatives who have come to Jerusalem to Judah’s King Zedekiah.
4. Tell them to say to their masters: The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Say this to your masters:
5. By my great power and outstretched arm, I have made the earth and the people and animals that are on it. I can give it to anyone I please.
6. Now I hand over all these countries to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I even give him the wild animals as subjects.
7. All nations will serve him, his son and grandson, until the time for his land arrives; then many nations and great kings will conquer him.
8. As for the nation or country that won’t serve Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar and won’t put its neck under his yoke, I will punish it with sword, famine, and disease until I have destroyed it by his hand, declares the Lord.
9. As for you, don’t listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, mediums, or your sorcerers who say to you, "Don’t serve the king of Babylon."