1. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:
2. "Thus says the Lord to me: Make bands and chains for yourself. And you shall place them on your neck.
3. And you shall send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who came to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah, the king of Judah.
4. And you shall instruct them to say to their masters: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You shall say these things to your masters:
5. I made the earth, and the men and beasts which are upon the face of the earth, by my great strength and by my outstretched arm. And I have given it to whomever it was pleasing in my eyes.
6. And now, therefore, I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. Moreover, I have given to him also the beasts of the field, so that they may serve him.
7. And all the nations will serve him, and his son, and his son's son. Many nations and great kings will serve him, until the time arrives for him and his land.
8. But the nation or kingdom that will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and whoever will not bend his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will visit upon that nation with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, says the Lord, until I consume them by his hand.
9. Therefore, you should not choose to listen to your own prophets, and diviners, and dreamers, and soothsayers, and sorcerers, who say to you: 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon.'
10. For they prophesy lies to you, so that they may cause you to be far from your own country, and may cast you out, and may cause you to perish.