Jeremiah 25
The Message
Don’t Follow the God-Fads of the Day
25 This is the Message given to Jeremiah for all the people of Judah. It came in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah. It was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
2 Jeremiah the prophet delivered the Message to all the people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem:
3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah right up to the present day—twenty-three years it’s been!—God’s Word has come to me, and from early each morning to late every night I’ve passed it on to you. And you haven’t listened to a word of it!
4-6 Not only that but God also sent a steady stream of prophets to you who were just as persistent as me, and you never listened. They told you, “Turn back—right now, each one of you!—from your evil way of life and bad behavior, and live in the land God gave you and your ancestors, the land he intended to give you forever. Don’t follow the god-fads of the day, taking up and worshiping these no-gods. Don’t make me angry with your god-businesses, making and selling gods—a dangerous business!
7 “You refused to listen to any of this, and now I am really angry. These god-making businesses of yours are your doom.”
8-11 The verdict of God-of-the-Angel-Armies on all this: “Because you have refused to listen to what I’ve said, I’m stepping in. I’m sending for the armies out of the north headed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant in this, and I’m setting them on this land and people and even the surrounding countries. I’m devoting the whole works to total destruction—a horror to top all the horrors in history. And I’ll banish every sound of joy—singing, laughter, marriage festivities, genial workmen, candlelit suppers. The whole landscape will be one vast wasteland. These countries will be in subjection to the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12-14 “Once the seventy years is up, I’ll punish the king of Babylon and the whole nation of Babylon for their sin. Then they’ll be the wasteland. Everything that I said I’d do to that country, I’ll do—everything that’s written in this book, everything Jeremiah preached against all the godless nations. Many nations and great kings will make slaves of the Babylonians, paying them back for everything they’ve done to others. They won’t get by with anything.” God’s Decree.
God Puts the Human Race on Trial
15-16 This is a Message that the God of Israel gave me: “Take this cup filled with the wine of my wrath that I’m handing to you. Make all the nations where I send you drink it down. They’ll drink it and get drunk, staggering in delirium because of the killing that I’m going to unleash among them.”
17-26 I took the cup from God’s hand and made them drink it, all the nations to which he sent me:
Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, along with their kings and leaders, turning them into a vast wasteland, a horror to look at, a cussword—which, in fact, they now are;
Pharaoh king of Egypt with his attendants and leaders, plus all his people and the melting pot of foreigners collected there;
All the kings of Uz;
All the kings of the Philistines from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what’s left of Ashdod;
Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
All the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and the coastlands across the sea;
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and the nomads on the fringe of the desert;
All the kings of Arabia and the various Bedouin sheiks and chieftains wandering about in the desert;
All the kings of Zimri, Elam, and the Medes;
All the kings from the north countries near and far, one by one;
All the kingdoms on planet Earth . . .
And the king of Sheshak (that is, Babylon) will be the last to drink.
27 “Tell them, ‘These are orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Drink and get drunk and vomit. Fall on your faces and don’t get up again. You’re slated for a massacre.’
28 “If any of them refuse to take the cup from you and drink it, say to them, ‘God-of-the-Angel-Armies has ordered you to drink. So drink!
29 “‘Prepare for the worst! I’m starting off the catastrophe in the city that I claim as my own, so don’t think you are going to get out of it. No, you’re not getting out of anything. It’s the sword and nothing but the sword against everyone everywhere!’” The God-of-the-Angel-Armies’ Decree.
30-31 “Preach it all, Jeremiah. Preach the entire Message to them. Say:
“‘God roars like a lion from high heaven;
thunder rolls out from his holy dwelling—
Ear-splitting bellows against his people,
shouting hurrahs like workers in harvest.
The noise reverberates all over the earth;
everyone everywhere hears it.
God makes his case against the godless nations.
He’s about to put the human race on trial.
For the wicked the verdict is clear-cut:
death by the sword.’” God’s Decree.
* * *
32 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Prepare for the worst! Doomsday!
Disaster is spreading from nation to nation.
A huge storm is about to rage
all across planet Earth.”
* * *
33 Laid end to end, those killed in God’s judgment that day will stretch from one end of the earth to the other. No tears will be shed and no burials conducted. The bodies will be left where they fall, like so much horse dung fertilizing the fields.
* * *
34-38 Wail, shepherds! Cry out for help!
Grovel in the dirt, you masters of flocks!
Time’s up—you’re slated for the slaughterhouse,
like a choice ram with its throat cut.
There’s no way out for the rulers,
no escape for those shepherds.
Hear that? Rulers crying for help,
shepherds of the flock wailing!
God is about to ravage their fine pastures.
The peaceful sheepfolds will be silent with death,
silenced by God’s deadly anger.
God will come out into the open
like a lion leaping from its cover,
And the country will be torn to pieces,
ripped and ravaged by his anger.
Jeremiah 25
New King James Version
Seventy Years of Desolation
25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, (A)in the fourth year of (B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 (C)“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, (D)but you have not listened. 4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, (E)rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, (F)‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might (G)provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take (H)all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (I)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and (J)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will [a]take from them the (K)voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, (L)the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy (M)years.
12 ‘Then it will come to pass, (N)when [b]seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; (O)‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. 14 (P)(For many nations (Q)and great kings shall (R)be served by them also; (S)and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”
Judgment on the Nations
15 For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this (T)wine cup of [c]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And (U)they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them (V)a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and (W)a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; 20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of (X)the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (Y)Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and (Z)the remnant of Ashdod); 21 (AA)Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; 22 all the kings of (AB)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the (AC)sea; 23 (AD)Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the (AE)mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (AF)Elam, and all the kings of the (AG)Medes; 26 (AH)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of [d]Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (AI)“Drink, (AJ)be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, (AK)I begin to bring calamity on the city (AL)which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for (AM)I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’
30 “Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
‘The Lord will (AN)roar from on high,
And utter His voice from (AO)His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against (AP)His fold.
He will give (AQ)a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A noise will come to the ends of the earth—
For the Lord has (AR)a controversy with the nations;
(AS)He will plead His case with all flesh.
He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, disaster shall go forth
From nation to nation,
And (AT)a great whirlwind shall be raised up
From the farthest parts of the earth.
33 (AU)And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be (AV)lamented, (AW)or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
34 “Wail,(AX) shepherds, and cry!
Roll about in the ashes,
You leaders of the flock!
For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;
You shall fall like a precious vessel.
35 And the shepherds will have no [e]way to flee,
Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds,
And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.
For the Lord has plundered their pasture,
37 And the peaceful dwellings are cut down
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left His lair like the lion;
For their land is desolate
Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,
And because of His fierce anger.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 25:10 Lit. cause to perish from them
- Jeremiah 25:12 Beginning circa 605 b.c. (2 Kin. 24:1) and ending circa 536 b.c. (Ezra 1:1)
- Jeremiah 25:15 wrath
- Jeremiah 25:26 A code word for Babylon, Jer. 51:41
- Jeremiah 25:35 Or refuge
Jeremiah 25
English Standard Version
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 (A)The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 “For twenty-three years, (B)from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken (C)persistently to you, (D)but you have not listened. 4 (E)You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord (F)persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5 saying, (G)‘Turn now, every one of you, (H)from his evil way and evil deeds, and (I)dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 (J)Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, (K)or provoke me to anger (L)with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7 (M)Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, (N)that you might provoke me to anger (O)with the work of your hands to your own harm.
8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 (P)behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (Q)my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, (R)and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, (S)I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, (T)the grinding of the millstones and (U)the light of the lamp. 11 (V)This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and (W)these nations shall serve the king of Babylon (X)seventy years. 12 Then after (Y)seventy years are completed, (Z)I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, (AA)the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, (AB)making the land an everlasting waste. 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written (AC)in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 (AD)For many nations (AE)and great kings shall make slaves even of them, (AF)and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
The Cup of the Lord's Wrath
15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: (AG)“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of (AH)the sword that I am sending among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, (AI)and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 (AJ)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, (AK)to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 (AL)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20 and (AM)all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of (AN)the land of Uz and all the kings of (AO)the land of the Philistines ((AP)Ashkelon, (AQ)Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of (AR)Ashdod); 21 (AS)Edom, (AT)Moab, and the sons of (AU)Ammon; 22 all the kings of (AV)Tyre, all the kings of (AW)Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across (AX)the sea; 23 (AY)Dedan, (AZ)Tema, (BA)Buz, and all who cut (BB)the corners of their hair; 24 all the (BC)kings of Arabia and all the kings of (BD)the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (BE)Elam, and all the kings of (BF)Media; 26 all the kings of (BG)the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of (BH)Babylon[a] shall drink.
27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (BI)Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of (BJ)the sword that I am sending among you.’
28 “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: (BK)You must drink! 29 For behold, (BL)I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, (BM)for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’
30 “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
(BN)“‘The Lord will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
(BO)and shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for (BP)the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
(BQ)he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the wicked he will put to the sword,
declares the Lord.’
32 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Behold, disaster is going forth
from nation to nation,
(BR)and a great tempest is stirring
(BS)from the farthest parts of the earth!
33 (BT)“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. (BU)They shall not be lamented, (BV)or gathered, or buried; (BW)they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
34 (BX)“Wail, (BY)you shepherds, and cry out,
(BZ)and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
35 No refuge will remain (CA)for the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36 A voice—the cry (CB)of the shepherds,
(CC)and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,
37 (CD)and the peaceful folds are devastated
(CE)because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion (CF)he has left his lair,
for their land has become a waste
because of (CG)the sword of the oppressor,
(CH)and because of his fierce anger.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 25:26 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
