“‘ “But suppose any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And suppose it refuses to put its neck under his yoke. Then I will punish that nation with war, hunger and plague,” announces the Lord.“ I will punish it until his powerful hand destroys it.

“无论哪一邦哪一国，不肯服侍这巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒，也不把颈项放在巴比伦王的轭下，我必用刀剑、饥荒、瘟疫刑罚那邦，直到我藉巴比伦王的手将他们毁灭。这是耶和华说的。

“无论哪一邦、哪一国，不肯服事巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒，不把颈项放在他的轭下，我必用刀剑、饥荒、瘟疫惩罚那邦，直到我藉巴比伦王的手毁灭他们。这是耶和华说的。

“无论哪一邦、哪一国，不肯服事巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒，不把颈项放在他的轭下，我必用刀剑、饥荒、瘟疫惩罚那邦，直到我藉巴比伦王的手毁灭他们。这是耶和华说的。

如果哪一邦或哪一国不肯臣服于巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒，不肯负巴比伦王的轭，我必用战争、饥荒和瘟疫惩罚他们，直到我借巴比伦王的手毁灭他们。这是耶和华说的。

“‘无论哪一国、哪一邦，不服事巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒，不把颈项放在巴比伦王的轭下，我必用刀剑、饥荒和瘟疫去惩罚那国，直到我藉着巴比伦王的手把他们完全消灭。’这是耶和华的宣告。

「無論哪一邦哪一國，不肯服事這巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，也不把頸項放在巴比倫王的軛下，我必用刀劍、饑荒、瘟疫刑罰那邦，直到我藉巴比倫王的手將他們毀滅。這是耶和華說的。

「無論哪一邦、哪一國，不肯服事巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，不把頸項放在他的軛下，我必用刀劍、饑荒、瘟疫懲罰那邦，直到我藉巴比倫王的手毀滅他們。這是耶和華說的。

「無論哪一邦、哪一國，不肯服事巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，不把頸項放在他的軛下，我必用刀劍、饑荒、瘟疫懲罰那邦，直到我藉巴比倫王的手毀滅他們。這是耶和華說的。

如果哪一邦或哪一國不肯臣服於巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，不肯負巴比倫王的軛，我必用戰爭、饑荒和瘟疫懲罰他們，直到我藉巴比倫王的手毀滅他們。這是耶和華說的。

“‘無論哪一國、哪一邦，不服事巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，不把頸項放在巴比倫王的軛下，我必用刀劍、饑荒和瘟疫去懲罰那國，直到我藉著巴比倫王的手把他們完全消滅。’這是耶和華的宣告。

『「『將來無論哪一國哪一邦不服事他，不服事巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒，不將脖子放在巴比倫王的軛下的，我必用刀劍、饑荒、和瘟疫、去察罰那國，永恆主發神諭說，直到把他們都交在巴比倫王手中。

無論何國何族、不服事巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒、不以其項負巴比倫王之軛者、我必以鋒刃饑饉疫癘罰之、迨盡滅於其手、耶和華言之矣、

耶和華又曰、凡諸邦國、不肯服軛、事巴比倫王、尼布甲尼撒者、必以鋒刃、饑饉瘟疫罰之、翦滅務盡。

主又曰、若有民有國、不願服事巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒、不願項負巴比倫王之軛、我必以鋒刃饑饉疫癘罰其民、直至我藉巴比倫王之手、滅之務盡、

“‘“ If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand.

“‘“ But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand.

So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the Lord. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.

“‘“ As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague— this is the LORD’s declaration— until through him I have destroyed it.

‘ And it will be that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with plague,’ declares the Lord,‘ until I have eliminated it by his hand.

And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord,‘ with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

“ As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague”— this is the Lord’s declaration—“ until through him I have destroyed it.

And it shall come to pass,[ that] the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the LORD, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it.

“‘“‘ It will happen that I will punish the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,’ says Yahweh,‘ with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.

“‘ The Lord and King says,“ Zedekiah didn’t keep the promise he made in my name. He broke the treaty. So I will pay him back. And that is just as sure as I am alive.I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. I will judge him there because he was not faithful to me.All Zedekiah’s best troops will be killed by swords. Those who are left alive will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

I will send war, hunger and plague against them. They will be destroyed from the land I gave them and their people of long ago.’ ”

So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,“ The Lord God who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,‘ Give yourself up to the officers of the king of Babylon. Then your life will be spared. And this city will not be burned down. You and your family will remain alive.But what if you do not give yourself up to them? Then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down. And you yourself will not escape from them.’ ”King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“ I’m afraid of some of the Jews. They are the ones who have gone over to the side of the Babylonians. The Babylonians might hand me over to them. And those Jews will treat me badly.”

The Lord and King says,“ It will get much worse. I will punish Jerusalem in four horrible ways. There will be war, hunger, wild animals and plague. They will destroy the people and their animals.

Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, made a promise. He made the promise to give hope to all these men. He spoke in a kind way to them. He said,“ Don’t be afraid to serve the Babylonians. Make your homes in the land of Judah. Serve the king of Babylon. Then things will go well with you.

‘ Stay in this land. Then I will build you up. I will not tear you down. I will plant you. I will not pull you up by the roots. I have decided to stop bringing trouble on you.Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon. You are afraid of him now. Do not be,’ announces the Lord.‘ I am with you. I will keep you safe. I will save you from his power.I will show you my loving concern. Then he will have concern for you. And he will let you return to your land.’“ But suppose you say,‘ We won’t stay in this land.’ If you do, you will be disobeying the Lord your God.And suppose you say,‘ No! We’ll go and live in Egypt. There we won’t have to face war anymore. We won’t hear the trumpets of war. And we won’t get hungry.’Then listen to what the Lord says to you who are left in Judah. He is the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says,‘ Have you already made up your minds to go to Egypt? Are you going to make your homes there?Then the war you fear will catch up with you there. The hunger you are afraid of will follow you into Egypt. And you will die there.In fact, that will happen to all those who go and make their homes in Egypt. All of them will die of war, hunger and plague. Not one of them will live. None of them will escape the trouble I will bring on them.’He is the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of Israel. He says,‘ My great anger has been poured out on those who used to live in Jerusalem. In the same way, it will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. People will use your name in a curse. They will be shocked at you. They will say bad things about you. And they will say you are shameful. You will never see this place again.’

The enemies of Jerusalem and Judah attacked them because the Lord was angry. In the end he threw them out of his land. Zedekiah refused to obey the king of Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He marched out against Jerusalem. All his armies went with him. It was in the ninth year of the rule of Zedekiah. It was on the tenth day of the tenth month. The armies set up camp outside the city. They set up ladders and built ramps and towers all around it.It was surrounded until the 11th year of King Zedekiah’s rule.By the ninth day of the fourth month, there wasn’t any food left in the city. So the people didn’t have anything to eat.

But they might refuse to take the cup from your hand. They might not want to drink from it. Then tell them,‘ The Lord who rules over all says,“ You must drink from it!I am beginning to bring trouble on the city where I have put my Name. You might think you will not be punished. But you will certainly be punished. I am sending war against everyone who lives on earth,” announces the Lord who rules over all.’