Jeremiah 25:15-38
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to, drink from it.(A) 16 They will drink, stagger,[a] and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, everyone the Lord sent me to. 18 These included:
Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of scorn and cursing—as it is today;
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people,
20 and all the mixed peoples;
all the kings of the land of Uz;
all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
22 all the kings of Tyre,
all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who shave their temples;[b](B)
24 all the kings of Arabia,
and all the kings of the mixed peoples who have settled in the desert;
25 all the kings of Zimri,
all the kings of Elam,
and all the kings of Media;
26 all the kings of the north, both near and far from one another;
that is, all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth.
Finally, the king of Sheshach[c] will drink after them.
27 “Then you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Drink,(C) get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you. 28 If[d] they refuse to take the cup from you and drink, you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: You must drink! 29 For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears My name,(D) so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.(E)
Judgment on the Whole World
30 “As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:
The Lord roars from heaven;
He raises His voice from His holy dwelling.(F)
He roars loudly over His grazing land;
He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth
because the Lord brings a case against(G) the nations.
He enters into judgment with all flesh.
As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
32 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Pay attention! Disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A great storm is stirred up
from the ends of the earth.”(H)
33 Those slain by the Lord(I) on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,(J) gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the surface of the ground.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
Roll in the dust,[e](K) you leaders of the flock.
Because the days of your slaughter have come,
you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.
35 Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,
and escape, for the leaders of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the shepherds’ cry,
the wail of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 Peaceful grazing land will become lifeless
because of the Lord’s burning anger.(L)
38 He has left His den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword[f] of the oppressor,(M)
because of His burning anger.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 25:16 Or vomit
- Jeremiah 25:23 Or who live in distant places
- Jeremiah 25:26 Probably a name for Babylon
- Jeremiah 25:28 Or When
- Jeremiah 25:34 This custom demonstrated mourning.
- Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg; other Hb mss read burning
Jeremiah 36
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah Dictates a Scroll
36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,(A) king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll,(B) and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah’s reign until today. 3 Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their wrongdoing(C) and their sin.”
4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch(D) son of Neriah. At Jeremiah’s dictation,[a] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. 5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted;(E) I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, 6 so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation[b]—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. You must also read them in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. 7 Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord,(F) and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are great.” 8 So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.
Baruch Reads the Scroll
9 In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month,(G) all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah’s cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.(H) 10 Then at the Lord’s temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe,(I) in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate(J) of the Lord’s temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,(K) Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16 When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us—how did you write all these words? At his dictation?”[c]
18 Baruch said to them, “At his dictation.[d] He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”
Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
19 The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.” 20 Then they came to the king at the courtyard, having deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported everything in the hearing of the king. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. 22 Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters(L) with a fire burning in front of him. 23 As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll[e] with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the blazing fire until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier. 24 As they heard all these words, the king and all of his servants did not become terrified(M) or tear their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them.
Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll
27 After the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,[f] the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned. 29 You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it:(N) The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?’ 30 Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.(O) 31 I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their wrongdoing. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen.”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation[g] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim,(P) Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jeremiah 36:4 Lit From Jeremiah’s mouth
- Jeremiah 36:6 Lit wrote from my mouth
- Jeremiah 36:17 Lit From his mouth
- Jeremiah 36:18 Lit From his mouth
- Jeremiah 36:23 Lit columns, he would tear it
- Jeremiah 36:27 Lit written from Jeremiah’s mouth
- Jeremiah 36:32 Lit it from Jeremiah’s mouth
Jeremiah 45-46
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Message to Baruch
45 This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah(A) when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation[a](B) in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:(C) 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: 3 ‘You have said, “Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with[b] groaning and have found no rest.”’(D)
4 “This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: What I have built I am about to demolish, and what I have planted I am about to uproot(E)—the whole land! 5 But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I am about to bring disaster on every living creature’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war(F) wherever you go.’”
Prophecies Against the Nations
46 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the nations:(G)
Prophecies against Egypt
2 About Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt’s king,(H) which was defeated at Carchemish(I) on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Judah’s King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:(J)
3 Deploy small shields(K) and large;
draw near for battle!
4 Harness the horses;
mount the steeds;[c]
take your positions with helmets on!
Polish the lances;
put on armor!(L)
5 Why have I seen this?
They are terrified,
they are retreating,
their warriors are crushed,
they flee headlong,
they never look back,
terror is on every side!(M)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
6 The swift cannot flee,
and the warrior cannot escape!
In the north by the bank of the Euphrates River,
they stumble and fall.(N)
7 Who is this, rising like the Nile,(O)
like rivers whose waters churn?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
and its waters churn like rivers.
He boasts, “I will go up, I will cover the earth;
I will destroy cities with their residents.”
9 Rise up, you cavalry!
Race furiously, you chariots!
Let the warriors go out—
Cush and Put,(P)
who are able to handle shields,
and the Ludim,(Q)
who are able to handle and string the bow.(R)
10 That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Hosts,
a day of vengeance to avenge Himself
against His adversaries.
The sword will devour and be satisfied;
it will drink its fill of their blood,
because it will be a sacrifice(S) to the Lord, the God of Hosts,
in the northern land by the Euphrates River.
11 Go up to Gilead and get balm,(T)
Virgin Daughter Egypt!
You have multiplied remedies in vain;
there is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your dishonor,(U)
and your outcry fills the earth,
because warrior stumbles against warrior
and together both of them have fallen.
13 This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to defeat the land of Egypt:(V)
14 Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol!(W)
Proclaim it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes!
Say: Take positions! Prepare yourself,
for the sword devours all around you.(X)
15 Why have your strong ones been swept away?
Each has not stood,
for the Lord has thrust him down.
16 He continues to stumble.(Y)
Indeed, each falls over the other.
They say, “Get up! Let’s return to our people
and to the land of our birth,
away from the sword that oppresses.”(Z)
17 There they will cry out,
“Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise;
he let the opportune moment pass.”
18 As I live—
this is the King’s declaration;
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(AA)
He will come like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea.
19 Get your bags ready for exile,
inhabitant of Daughter Egypt!(AB)
For Memphis will become a desolation,
uninhabited ruins.
20 Egypt is a beautiful young cow,(AC)
but a horsefly from the north is coming against her.[d](AD)
21 Even her mercenaries among her
are like stall-fed calves.
They too will turn back;
together they will flee;
they will not take their stand,
for the day of their calamity is coming on them,
the time of their punishment.(AE)
22 Egypt will hiss like a slithering snake,[e]
for the enemy will come with an army;
with axes they will come against her
like those who cut trees.(AF)
23 They will cut down her forest—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
though it is dense,
for they are more numerous than locusts;
they cannot be counted.(AG)
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
handed over to a northern people.(AH)
25 The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to punish Amon, god of Thebes,(AI) along with Pharaoh, Egypt, her gods, and her kings—Pharaoh and those trusting in him. 26 I will hand them over to those who want to take their lives(AJ)—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this,(AK) it will be inhabited again as in ancient times.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Reassurance for Israel
27 But you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid,(AL)
and do not be discouraged, Israel,
for without fail I will save you from far away
and your descendants, from the land of their captivity!
Jacob will return and have calm and quiet
with no one to frighten him.
28 And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for I will be with you.(AM)
I will bring destruction on all the nations
where I have banished you,
but I will not bring destruction on you.
I will discipline you with justice,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.(AN)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 45:1 Lit scroll from Jeremiah’s mouth
- Jeremiah 45:3 Lit I labored in my
- Jeremiah 46:4 Or mount up, riders
- Jeremiah 46:20 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read is coming, coming
- Jeremiah 46:22 Lit Her sound, she will go like a snake
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