Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Jeremiah 27:12

in Jeremiah 27

And to Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke the same message: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And I spake to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

KJV

I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

⋯

This verse in Jeremiah 27

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

And is it not much more our wisdom to submit to the sweet and easy yoke of our rightful Lord and Master Jesus Christ, that we may secure the lives of our souls? Bring down your spirits to repentance and faith, and that is the way to bring up your spirits to heaven and glory.

This site's exposition

And to Zedekiah king of Judah

on Jeremiah 27:12-13

Zedekiah hears in person the offer: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and live!” Verse 13 asks, “Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague,” so his refusal is a choice against a warning.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 12, 13.) And to King Zedekiah of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: Submit your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and you shall live. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, 'You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah,.... At the same time that he delivered the above message from the Lord to the ambassadors of several nations, who were then residents in Zedekiah's court, or however in Jerusalem: according to all these words; the same things, and much in the same language, he said to the king of Judah, as to the messengers of the nations: saying; as follows: bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon; you, O king, your nobles, and your people.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And to Zedekiah the king of Judah have I spoken, etc. All this Jeremiah said to the ambassadors of the kings.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Jeremiah 27:12:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְאֶל־and to

    veel-H413 →5510 times

  • צִדְקִיָּ֤הZedekiah

    tzidkiyahH6667 →63 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָה֙Judah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • דִּבַּ֔רְתִּיI spoke

    dibartiH1696 →1141 times

  • כְּכָל־according to all

    kekhol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַדְּבָרִ֥יםthe words

    hadevarimH1697 →1440 times

  • הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • הָבִ֨יאוּbring

    haviuH935 →2568 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • צַוְּארֵיכֶ֜םnecks your

    tzavereikhemH6677 →42 times

  • בְּעֹ֣לin [the] yoke of

    beolH5923 →40 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • בָּבֶ֗לBabylon

    bavelH894 →262 times

  • וְעִבְד֥וּand serve

    veivduH5647 →288 times

  • אֹת֛וֹ<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • וְעַמּ֖וֹand people his

    veamoH5971 →1873 times

  • וִֽחְיֽוּ׃and live

    vichyuH2421 →282 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 38:17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.7 worksJeremiah 28:1In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people:4 worksJeremiah 42:11Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear; do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you to save you and deliver you from him.3 worksJeremiah 27:11But the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave in its own land, to cultivate it and reside in it, declares the LORD.”3 worksJeremiah 27:8As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation by sword and famine and plague, declares the LORD, until I have destroyed it by his hand.2 works2 Chronicles 36:11–13Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years.2 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 1:33But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”2 worksJeremiah 27:2–3This is what the LORD said to me: “Make for yourself a yoke out of leather straps and put it on your neck.2 worksEzekiel 17:11–21Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2 worksLamentations 1:14My transgressions are bound into a yoke, knit together by His hand; they are draped over my neck, and the Lord has broken my strength. He has delivered me into the hands of those I cannot withstand.2 works2 Chronicles 36:12And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.2 worksJeremiah 27:1At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD.2 worksNehemiah 3:5Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.1 worksMicah 2:3Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.0 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Proverbs 1:33

    But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 25:12–13

      Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the path chosen for him.

    • Psalms 112:7–8

      He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

    • Isaiah 26:3

      You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.

    • John 10:27–29

      My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

    • Proverbs 14:26

      He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 38:17

    Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live,…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 38:2

      “This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a…

    • Jeremiah 27:17

      Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

    • Jeremiah 21:8–10

      Furthermore, you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 27 →

This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 27 →