Was all of Judah exiled to Babylon? Jeremiah Chapter 27 tells us who was exiled to Babylon.
Yahuah told Jeremiah to make bands and yokes for the following nations who will serve Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Jeremiah 27:2-3 So says Yahuah to me, make bonds and yokes for yourself, and put them on your neck. And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the sons of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who came to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah.
Yahuah says He has made the earth, the man and the animals and He will decide what is to be done in His eyes – Jeremiah 27:5.
Jeremiah 27:6-7 ‘And now, I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the sovereign of Babylon, My servant. And the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. ‘And all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes. And then many nations and great sovereigns shall make him serve them.
All the nations in verse 3 shall serve Babylon for many years – serve Nebuchadnezzar, his son and his son’s son.
Yahuah says in Jeremiah 27:8 that if these nations (verse 3) do not serve Babylon as He instructed, then Yahuah will punish them with the sword, famine and plaques.
Yahuah also says not to listen to your prophets, or to those divining to you, or to your dreams, or to your soothsayers, or to your sorcerers, those who speak to you, saying, you shall not serve the king of Babylon. For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, that I should drive you out, and you should perish – Jeremiah 27:9-10.
Now the next part I find very interesting.
Jeremiah 27:11 But the nation that will bring its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, says Yahuah, I will leave it on its own land, and it may work it and live in it.
The nations that except to serve Babylon will be allowed to stay on their own land and live in it.
But hear the next verse.
Jeremiah 27:12-13 I also spoke to Zedekiah, king of Judah according to all these words, saying, bring your necks into the king of Babylon's yoke, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague, as Yahuah has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
Yahuah is saying if the King of Judah and his people serve Babylon as He instructed then they will stay in the land of Judah and live.
So according to my understanding part of Judah was exiled to the land of Babylon and another part of the people stayed in the land of Judah and served Babylon. These words were spoken to Jeremiah at the start of King Jehoiakim’s reign (Jeremiah 27:1). Some translation says King Zedekiah.
In Jeremiah 27:20 it states who of Judah was exiled to Babylon; which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take (speaking of the temple equipment) when he exiled Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king ofJudah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah andJerusalem.
If I understand correctly, Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah was exiled out of the land of Judah and King Zedekiah or King Jehoiakim stayed in the land of Judah. The question, was these two different periods of Judah or did the remainder of people in Judah later also been exiled to Babylon.
We will get the answer when reading on in the next chapters of Jeremiah.
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