1 In the beginning of the realm of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word was made of the Lord to Jeremy, and said, (At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word of the Lord was made to Jeremiah, and said,)

2 The Lord saith these things to me, Make thou to thee bonds and chains, and thou shalt put them in thy neck (or and thou shalt put them on, or around, thy neck);

3 and thou shalt send those to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon (or and to the king of the Ammonites), and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of [the] messengers that came to Jerusalem, and to Zedekiah, king of Judah.

4 And thou shalt command to them, that they speak to their lords, (and say), The Lord of hosts, God of Israel saith these things, Ye shall say these things to your lords,

5 I made earth, and man, and beasts that be on the face of all earth, in my great strength, and in mine arm holden forth; and I gave it to him that pleased (me) before mine eyes. (I made the earth, and the people, and all the beasts that be upon the face of the earth, by my great strength, and by my arm stretched forth; and I gave it to those who pleased my eyes.)

6 And now therefore I gave all these lands in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, the king of Babylon; furthermore and I gave to him the beasts of the field, that they serve him. (And so now I have given all of these lands into the hands, or into the power, of my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon; and I have even given him the beasts of the field, so that they would serve him.)

7 And all folks shall serve him, and his son, and the son of his son, till the time of his land and of him come; and many folks and great kings shall serve him. (And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and the son of his son, until the time of the end for his own land come; yea, many nations and great kings shall serve him.)

8 Forsooth the folk and realm that serveth not Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and whoever boweth not his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I shall visit on that folk in sword, and hunger, and pestilence, saith the Lord, till I waste them in his hand. (But the nation, or the kingdom, that serveth not Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and whoever boweth not his neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I shall punish that nation with the sword, and hunger, and pestilence, saith the Lord, until I destroy them by his hand, or by his power.)

9 Therefore do not ye hear your prophets, and false diviners, and dreamers, and diviners by (the) chittering and flying of birds, and witches, that say to you, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;

10 for they prophesy a leasing to you, that they make you far from your land, and cast out you, and ye perish. (for they prophesy a lie to you, so that they make you far from your land, and cast you out, and ye perish.)

11 Certainly the folk that maketh subject their noll under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serveth him, I shall leave, either deliver, it in his (own) land, saith the Lord; and it shall till that land, and shall dwell therein. (Truly the nation that maketh subject their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serveth him, I shall leave them in their own land, saith the Lord; and they shall till that land, and shall live there.)

12 And I spake by all these words to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and I said, Make ye subject your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve ye him, and his people, and ye shall live.

13 Why shall ye die, thou and thy people, by sword, and hunger, and pestilence, as the Lord spake to the folk, that would not serve to the king of Babylon? (Why shall ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, and hunger, and pestilence, as the Lord said would happen to any nation, that would not serve the king of Babylon?)

14 Do not ye hear the words of prophets saying to you, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they speak leasing to you (or for they say lies to you),

15 for I sent not them, saith the Lord; and they prophesy falsely in my name, that they cast out you, and that ye perish, both ye and the prophets that prophesy to you. (for I did not send them, saith the Lord; and they prophesy falsely in my name, and so I shall cast you out, and ye shall perish, both ye and the prophets who prophesy to you.)

16 And I spake to the priests, and to this people, and I said, The Lord God saith these things, Do not ye hear the words of your prophets, that prophesy to you, and say, Lo! the vessels of the (house of the) Lord shall turn again now soon from Babylon; for they prophesy a leasing to you. (And I spoke to the priests, and to this people, and I said, The Lord God saith these things, Do not ye listen to the words of your prophets, who prophesy to you, and say, Behold! the vessels of the House of the Lord shall soon be brought back from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.)

17 Therefore do not ye hear them, but serve ye the king of Babylon, that ye live; why is this city given into wilderness? (And so do not ye listen to them, but serve ye the king of Babylon, so that ye can live; why should this city be turned into a wilderness?)

18 And if they be prophets, and if the word of God is in them, run they (now) to the Lord of hosts, (and plead) that the vessels, which were left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, come not into Babylon (or be not taken away to Babylon).

19 For the Lord of hosts saith these things to the pillars, and to the sea, that is, a great washing vessel, and to the foundaments, and to the remnants of [the] vessels, that were left in this city, (For the Lord of hosts saith these things about the pillars, and the sea, that is, a great washing vessel, and their bases, and the remnants of the vessels, that were left in this city,)

20 which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took not, when he translated Jeconiah (or when he carried away captive Jeconiah), the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem into Babylon, and all the principal men of Judah and of Jerusalem.

21 For the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things to the vessels that be left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, (For the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things about the vessels that be left in the House of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem,)

22 They shall be translated, either led over, into Babylon, and shall be (left) there unto the day of their visitation, saith the Lord; and (then) I shall make those to be brought (back), and to be restored in this place.