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.