Jeremiah 25
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 605 BC · Judah alone · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
38 verses · 1052 words · ~5 min read · ~7 min listen
Seventy Years of Captivity
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows:
3“From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4And the Lord has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.
5The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’
7‘But to your own harm, you have not listened to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so you have provoked Me to anger with the works of your hands.’
8Therefore this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the Lord, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
10Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the Lord, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.
13I will bring upon that land all the words I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’”
The Cup of Godʼs Wrath
15This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. 16And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17So I took the cup from the Lordʼs hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the Lord had sent me, 18to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people; 20all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; 22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; 26all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too.
27“Then you are to tell them that this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’
28If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! 29For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of Hosts.’
30So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
32This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
33Those slain by the Lord on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.
The Cry of the Shepherds
Footnotes (7)
- a v3 Literally I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking,
- b v4 Literally to you, rising up early and sending (them),
- c v9 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
- d v12 That is, the Babylonians
- e v26 Sheshach is a code name for Babylon.
- f v34 Hebrew; LXX you will fall like the best of the rams
- g v38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and LXX (see also Jeremiah 46:16and Jeremiah 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger
Study notes on this chapter · 1
Seventy years of exile and Cyrus's decree
Jeremiah says the nations will serve Babylon seventy years, after which God will restore his people. Ezra opens by saying Cyrus of Persia's decree to rebuild the temple fulfilled Jeremiah's word (538 BC).
When: Jeremiah, c. 605 BC; Cyrus's decree, c. 538 BC (Babylon fell to Persia in 539 BC).
Ways people read this (1)
- The seventy years may be counted from 605 BC to 539/538 BC, or from the temple's destruction (586 BC) to its rebuilding (c. 516 BC); it may also be a round number.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.