1. In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2. The Lord said to me: Make for yourself thongs and yoke bars and put them on your shoulders.
3. Send them to the kings of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, Tyre, and Sidon, through the ambassadors who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah,
4. and command them to tell their lords: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall you say to your lords:
5. It was I who made the earth, human being and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power, with my outstretched arm; and I can give them to whomever I think fit.
6. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, my servant; even the wild animals I have given him to serve him.
7. All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time comes for him and his land; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.