Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did Jeremiah tell Judah to submit to Babylonian rule?

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Painting by Rembrandt van Rijn showing Jeremiah sitting in a dimly lit cave, head resting on his hand in sorrow, with Jerusalem burning in the background. — Jeremiah *Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem*, oil on panel by Rembrandt, 1630: in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Jeremiah urged the people of Judah to submit to Babylonian rule because he believed it was the will of Yahweh that they be placed into the hands of the Neo-Babylonian empire.1

Throughout his ministry, Jeremiah interpreted the political upheaval and the rise of Babylon as divine judgment for Judah’s moral decay, social injustice, and religious infidelity. By wearing a yoke around his neck, he physically symbolized his message that Judah and surrounding states should accept the yoke of Babylonia rather than rebel. Even as the siege of Jerusalem progressed, he consistently advised King Zedekiah that surrender was the only path to survival, viewing resistance as futile against a power ordained by God to punish the nation for its transgressions.12