Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a place of ruins?
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city become a desolation?
- KJV Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
- BSB Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?
- NKJV Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste?
- NLT Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeremiah pleads with them to ignore the false prophets, serve Babylon, and live. He warns that resistance will make the city a ruin.
Overview
The prophet repeats his life-or-death appeal: submission preserves the city, rebellion destroys it. He exposes the false prophets as guides toward desolation. His persistence reflects God's patient mercy, offering escape even to a stubborn people. The choice between life and desolation mirrors the deeper choice every soul faces between heeding or rejecting God's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 38:17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. You will live, along with your house.
- Jer 38:23They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to be burned with fire.’”
- Jer 27:11–13But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that nation will I let remain in their own land,’ says Yahweh; ‘and they shall till it, and dwell therein.’”’”
- Jer 7:34Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.”
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 27:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.