Jeremiah 27:4
And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; And command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters;
This command stands in the record of Jeremiah's letters concerning the Babylonian captivity and the controversy between true and false prophets. It belongs to a series of acted messages through which God urged Judah to avoid entangling alliances with Egypt and maintain friendly relations with Babylon. Envoys who had come carrying yokes were to take the Lord's message back to their kings, specifically to the rulers of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon and the surrounding nations.
The yoke Jeremiah wore symbolized the commanded submission to Babylonian rule. The message to the masters declares that God had given their lands to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and required the nations to serve and submit to him and his descendants for an appointed, limited time. That appointed servitude would last seventy years, after which God would deliver the captives and punish Babylon.
Submitting to Babylon would spare the nations harsher punishment and allow them to remain in their own lands and work them, while resisting and refusing Babylon's rule would bring famine, sword, and pestilence. The message warned the envoys and rulers not to trust false prophets who promised that the nations would escape Babylonian rule.