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Jeremiah 23-25
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 23-25
English Standard Version
The Righteous Branch
23 (A)“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning (B)the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. (C)Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. 3 (D)Then I will gather the remnant of my flock (E)out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, (F)and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 (G)I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
5 (H)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous (I)Branch, and (J)he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and (K)Israel will (L)dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: (M)‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
7 (N)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 8 but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he[a] had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
(O)My heart is broken within me;
(P)all my bones shake;
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.
10 (Q)For the land is full of adulterers;
(R)because of the curse (S)the land mourns,
and (T)the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.
(U)Their course is evil,
and their might is not right.
11 (V)“Both prophet and priest are ungodly;
even (W)in my house I have found their evil,
declares the Lord.
12 (X)Therefore their way shall be to them
like slippery paths (Y)in the darkness,
into which they shall be driven and fall,
for I will bring disaster upon them
(Z)in the year of their punishment,
declares the Lord.
13 In the prophets of (AA)Samaria
(AB)I saw an unsavory thing:
(AC)they prophesied by Baal
(AD)and led my people Israel astray.
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
(AE)they commit adultery and walk in lies;
(AF)they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
(AG)all of them have become like Sodom to me,
(AH)and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets:
(AI)“Behold, I will feed them with bitter food
(AJ)and give them (AK)poisoned water to drink,
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has gone out into all the land.”
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, (AL)filling you with vain hopes. (AM)They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, (AN)‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who (AO)stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, (AP)‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”
18 For (AQ)who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
19 (AR)Behold, the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
(AS)a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
20 (AT)The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and (AU)accomplished
the intents of his heart.
(AV)In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
21 (AW)“I did not send the prophets,
yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
22 (AX)But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
(AY)and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and (AZ)from the evil of their deeds.
23 (BA)“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 (BB)Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. (BC)Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said (BD)who prophesy lies in my name, saying, (BE)‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of (BF)the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name (BG)by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their (BH)fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 (BI)Let the prophet who has a dream (BJ)tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. (BK)What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. 29 (BL)Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and (BM)like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 (BN)Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and (BO)lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when (BP)I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.
33 (BQ)“When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,[b] and (BR)I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ (BS)I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and (BT)you pervert the words of (BU)the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up[c] and (BV)cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 (BW)And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and (BX)perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’”
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
24 (BY)After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem (BZ)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with (CA)the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, (CB)two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, (CC)like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had (CD)very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, (CE)whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 (CF)I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. (CG)I will build them up, and not tear them down; (CH)I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 (CI)I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, (CJ)and they shall be my people (CK)and I will be their God, (CL)for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 “But thus says the Lord: Like (CM)the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat (CN)Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who (CO)dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them (CP)a horror[d] to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be (CQ)a reproach, (CR)a byword, (CS)a taunt, and (CT)a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send (CU)sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 (CV)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, (CW)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 (CX)persistently to you, (CY)but you have not listened. 4 (CZ)You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord (DA)persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5 saying, (DB)‘Turn now, every one of you, (DC)from his evil way and evil deeds, and (DD)dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 (DE)Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, (DF)or provoke me to anger (DG)with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7 (DH)Yet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, (DI)that you might provoke me to anger (DJ)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 (DK)behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, (DL)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, (DM)and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, (DN)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, (DO)the grinding of the millstones and (DP)the light of the lamp. 11 (DQ)This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and (DR)these nations shall serve the king of Babylon (DS)seventy years. 12 Then after (DT)seventy years are completed, (DU)I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, (DV)the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, (DW)making the land an everlasting waste. 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written (DX)in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 (DY)For many nations (DZ)and great kings shall make slaves even of them, (EA)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: (EB)“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 (EC)the sword that I am sending among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord's hand, (ED)and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 (EE)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, (EF)to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 (EG)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20 and (EH)all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of (EI)the land of Uz and all the kings of (EJ)the land of the Philistines ((EK)Ashkelon, (EL)Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of (EM)Ashdod); 21 (EN)Edom, (EO)Moab, and the sons of (EP)Ammon; 22 all the kings of (EQ)Tyre, all the kings of (ER)Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across (ES)the sea; 23 (ET)Dedan, (EU)Tema, (EV)Buz, and all who cut (EW)the corners of their hair; 24 all the (EX)kings of Arabia and all the kings of (EY)the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (EZ)Elam, and all the kings of (FA)Media; 26 all the kings of (FB)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 (FC)Babylon[e] shall drink.
27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (FD)Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of (FE)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: (FF)You must drink! 29 For behold, (FG)I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, (FH)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:
(FI)“‘The Lord will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
(FJ)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 (FK)the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
(FL)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,
(FM)and a great tempest is stirring
(FN)from the farthest parts of the earth!
33 (FO)“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. (FP)They shall not be lamented, (FQ)or gathered, or buried; (FR)they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
34 (FS)“Wail, (FT)you shepherds, and cry out,
(FU)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 (FV)for the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36 A voice—the cry (FW)of the shepherds,
(FX)and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,
37 (FY)and the peaceful folds are devastated
(FZ)because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion (GA)he has left his lair,
for their land has become a waste
because of (GB)the sword of the oppressor,
(GC)and because of his fierce anger.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:8 Septuagint; Hebrew I
- Jeremiah 23:33 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew What burden?
- Jeremiah 23:39 Or surely forget you
- Jeremiah 24:9 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew horror for evil
- Jeremiah 25:26 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon
Jeremiah 23-25
New International Version
Jeremiah 23-25
New International Version
The Righteous Branch
23 “Woe to the shepherds(A) who are destroying and scattering(B) the sheep of my pasture!”(C) declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds(D) who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock(E) and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil(F) you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant(G) of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture,(H) where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds(I) over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid(J) or terrified, nor will any be missing,(K)” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David[a] a righteous Branch,(L)
a King(M) who will reign(N) wisely
and do what is just and right(O) in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.(P)
This is the name(Q) by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.(R)
7 “So then, the days are coming,”(S) declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(T) 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”(U)
Lying Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart(V) is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.(W)
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and his holy words.(X)
10 The land is full of adulterers;(Y)
because of the curse[b](Z) the land lies parched
and the pastures(AA) in the wilderness are withered.(AB)
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
11 “Both prophet and priest are godless;(AC)
even in my temple(AD) I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore their path will become slippery;(AE)
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,(AF)”
declares the Lord.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal(AG)
and led my people Israel astray.(AH)
14 And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:(AI)
They commit adultery and live a lie.(AJ)
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,(AK)
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.(AL)
They are all like Sodom(AM) to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”(AN)
15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,(AO)
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness(AP) has spread throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen(AQ) to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions(AR) from their own minds,
not from the mouth(AS) of the Lord.
17 They keep saying(AT) to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’(AU)
And to all who follow the stubbornness(AV) of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm(AW) will come to you.’
18 But which of them has stood in the council(AX) of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
19 See, the storm(AY) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind(AZ) swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
20 The anger(BA) of the Lord will not turn back(BB)
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
21 I did not send(BC) these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,(BD)
they would have proclaimed(BE) my words to my people
and would have turned(BF) them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.(BG)
23 “Am I only a God nearby,(BH)”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
24 Who can hide(BI) in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”(BJ)
declares the Lord.
25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies(BK) in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream!(BL) I had a dream!’ 26 How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions(BM) of their own minds?(BN) 27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget(BO) my name, just as their ancestors forgot(BP) my name through Baal worship.(BQ) 28 Let the prophet who has a dream(BR) recount the dream, but let the one who has my word(BS) speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,”(BT) declares the Lord, “and like a hammer(BU) that breaks a rock in pieces?
30 “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against(BV) the prophets(BW) who steal from one another words supposedly from me. 31 Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’(BX) 32 Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,(BY)” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray(BZ) with their reckless lies,(CA) yet I did not send(CB) or appoint them. They do not benefit(CC) these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message(CD) from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake(CE) you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message(CF) from the Lord,’ I will punish(CG) them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’(CH) or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort(CI) the words of the living God,(CJ) the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast(CK) you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace(CL)—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
Two Baskets of Figs
24 After Jehoiachin[c](CM) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs(CN) placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early;(CO) the other basket had very bad(CP) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(CQ) Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent(CR) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.[d] 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back(CS) to this land. I will build(CT) them up and not tear them down; I will plant(CU) them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know(CV) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,(CW) and I will be their God, for they will return(CX) to me with all their heart.(CY)
8 “‘But like the bad(CZ) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah(DA) king of Judah, his officials(DB) and the survivors(DC) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.(DD) 9 I will make them abhorrent(DE) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword,(DF) a curse[e](DG) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish(DH) them. 10 I will send the sword,(DI) famine(DJ) and plague(DK) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.(DL)’”
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(DM) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar(DN) king of Babylon. 2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah(DO) and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah(DP) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,(DQ) but you have not listened.(DR)
4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets(DS) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.(DT) 5 They said, “Turn(DU) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land(DV) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods(DW) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused(DX) my anger with what your hands have made,(DY) and you have brought harm(DZ) to yourselves.”
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon(EA) all the peoples of the north(EB) and my servant(EC) Nebuchadnezzar(ED) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[f](EE) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,(EF) and an everlasting ruin.(EG) 10 I will banish from them the sounds(EH) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,(EI) the sound of millstones(EJ) and the light of the lamp.(EK) 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,(EL) and these nations will serve(EM) the king of Babylon seventy years.(EN)
12 “But when the seventy years(EO) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon(EP) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[g] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate(EQ) forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written(ER) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved(ES) by many nations(ET) and great kings; I will repay(EU) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup(EV) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send(EW) you drink it. 16 When they drink(EX) it, they will stagger(EY) and go mad(EZ) because of the sword(FA) I will send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent(FB) me drink it: 18 Jerusalem(FC) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin(FD) and an object of horror and scorn,(FE) a curse[h](FF)—as they are today;(FG) 19 Pharaoh king(FH) of Egypt,(FI) his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;(FJ) all the kings of the Philistines(FK) (those of Ashkelon,(FL) Gaza,(FM) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom,(FN) Moab(FO) and Ammon;(FP) 22 all the kings of Tyre(FQ) and Sidon;(FR) the kings of the coastlands(FS) across the sea; 23 Dedan,(FT) Tema,(FU) Buz(FV) and all who are in distant places[i];(FW) 24 all the kings of Arabia(FX) and all the kings of the foreign people(FY) who live in the wilderness; 25 all the kings of Zimri,(FZ) Elam(GA) and Media;(GB) 26 and all the kings of the north,(GC) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms(GD) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak[j](GE) will drink it too.
27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk(GF) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword(GG) I will send among you.’ 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink(GH), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster(GI) on the city that bears my Name,(GJ) and will you indeed go unpunished?(GK) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword(GL) on all(GM) who live on the earth,(GN) declares the Lord Almighty.’
30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
“‘The Lord will roar(GO) from on high;
he will thunder(GP) from his holy dwelling(GQ)
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread(GR) the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult(GS) will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring charges(GT) against the nations;
he will bring judgment(GU) on all(GV) mankind
and put the wicked to the sword,(GW)’”
declares the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Look! Disaster(GX) is spreading
from nation to nation;(GY)
a mighty storm(GZ) is rising
from the ends of the earth.”(HA)
33 At that time those slain(HB) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered(HC) up or buried,(HD) but will be like dung lying on the ground.
34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;(HE)
roll(HF) in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered(HG) has come;
you will fall like the best of the rams.[k](HH)
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
the leaders of the flock no place to escape.(HI)
36 Hear the cry(HJ) of the shepherds,(HK)
the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion(HL) he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate(HM)
because of the sword[l] of the oppressor(HN)
and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.(HO)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 23:5 Or up from David’s line
- Jeremiah 23:10 Or because of these things
- Jeremiah 24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 24:5 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
- Jeremiah 25:9 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 25:18 That is, their names to be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, to be seen by others as cursed
- Jeremiah 25:23 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
- Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
- Jeremiah 25:34 Septuagint; Hebrew fall and be shattered like fine pottery
- Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 46:16 and 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.