Jeremiah 25
Lexham English Bible
Seventy Years of Servitude
25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,[a] 3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, even up to this day, these twenty-three years[b] the word of Yahweh has come to me, and I have spoken to you over and over again,[c] but you have not listened. 4 And though Yahweh has sent all his servants the prophets to you over and over again[d] you have not listened, and you have not inclined your ear to hear, 5 saying,[e] ‘Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors[f] from a long time back and until forever, 6 and you must not go after other gods to serve them, and to bow in worship to them, and you must not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will not do something bad to you.’ 7 ‘Yet you have not listened to me,’ declares[g] Yahweh, ‘so that you[h] have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands for your own harm.’
8 Therefore[i] thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 look, I am going to send and take all the clans[j] of the north,’ declares[k] Yahweh, ‘and I will send[l] to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around, and I will destroy them, and I will make them a horror, and an object of hissing, and everlasting ruins.[m] 10 And I will exterminate from them the sound of jubilation, and the sound of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11 And all this land will become a site of ruins, a desolation, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.[n]
The Cup of Wrath
12 And then[o] when the seventy years[p] are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares[q] Yahweh, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it an everlasting waste.[r] 13 And I will bring upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, everything that is written in this scroll which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will let them work, even them, and I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.’” 15 For thus said Yahweh, the God of Israel, to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand, and you must give it to all the nations to whom I am sending you to drink. 16 And they will drink, and they will stagger, and they will act like madmen because of the presence[s] of the sword that I am sending among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the hand of Yahweh and I gave it[t] to all the nations to whom Yahweh sent me to drink: 18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and its kings, and its officials, to make them a site of ruins, a horror, an object of hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his officials, and all his people; 20 and all the other[u] people; and all the kings of the land of Uz; and all the kings of the land of the Philistines—[v]Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21 Edom, and Moab, and the Ammonites;[w] 22 and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland that is across the sea; 23 and Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all those who are trimmed to the side; 24 and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the other[x] people who dwell in the desert;[y] 25 and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, each one to his brother, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach, he will drink after them.
27 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Drink and become drunk, and vomit, and fall, and you must not rise because of the presence[z] of the sword that I am sending among you.”’ 28 And it will happen, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “You must certainly drink! 29 For look, on the city that is called by[aa] my name I am beginning to inflict harm, and you indeed, will you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares[ab] Yahweh of hosts.’
30 And you yourself shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them:
‘Yahweh will roar from on high,
and from his holy dwelling place[ac] he will give his voice.
He will roar mightily against his settlement,
a jubilant shout like those who tread grapes,
he will answer against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The rage of battle will resound to the end of the earth,
for there is a lawsuit of Yahweh against the nations.
He is entering into judgment with all wicked flesh,
he will give them to the sword,’ declares[ad] Yahweh.”
32 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Look, disaster is going out from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirred up from the farthest parts of the earth.
33 And the slain ones of Yahweh will be on that day
from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth,
and they will not be mourned,
and they will not be gathered,
and they will not be buried.
They will become like dung on the surface[ae] of the ground.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
And roll about in mourning in the dust, O leaders[af] of the flock.
For your days of slaughter and your dispersions have arrived,
and you will fall like a vessel of desire.
35 And flight will perish from the shepherds,
and escape from the leaders[ag] of the flock.
36 A sound, the cry of distress of the shepherds
and the wailing of the leaders[ah] of the flock,
for Yahweh is despoiling their pasture.
37 And the peaceful settlements[ai] are devastated
because of the burning anger of Yahweh.[aj]
38 He has left his den like a lion,
for their land has become a horror,
because of the anger of the oppressors,
and because of his burning anger.”[ak]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 25:2 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 25:3 Hebrew “year”
- Jeremiah 25:3 Literally “I have spoken to you doing early and speaking”
- Jeremiah 25:4 Literally “do early and sending”
- Jeremiah 25:5 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 25:5 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 25:7 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 25:7 Hebrew “they”
- Jeremiah 25:8 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 25:9 Or “families”
- Jeremiah 25:9 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 25:9 Here the subject and verb are supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 25:9 Literally “sites of ruins of eternity”
- Jeremiah 25:11 Hebrew “year”
- Jeremiah 25:12 Literally “And it will happen”
- Jeremiah 25:12 Hebrew “year”
- Jeremiah 25:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 25:12 Literally “a waste of eternity”
- Jeremiah 25:16 Literally “face”
- Jeremiah 25:17 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 25:20 Or “foreign”
- Jeremiah 25:20 Hebrew “Philistine”
- Jeremiah 25:21 Literally “sons of Ammon”
- Jeremiah 25:24 Or “foreign”
- Jeremiah 25:24 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 25:27 Literally “face”
- Jeremiah 25:29 Literally “on it”
- Jeremiah 25:29 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 25:30 Literally “the dwelling place of his holiness”
- Jeremiah 25:31 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 25:33 Literally “face”
- Jeremiah 25:34 Or “nobles”
- Jeremiah 25:35 Or “nobles”
- Jeremiah 25:36 Or “nobles”
- Jeremiah 25:37 Literally “settlements of the peace”
- Jeremiah 25:37 Literally “the blaze of the nose of Yahweh”
- Jeremiah 25:38 Literally “the blaze of his nose”
Jeremiah 25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Babylonian Captivity Foretold
25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah (that was the first year of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon),(A) 2 which the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.(B) 4 And though the Lord persistently sent you all his servants the prophets, you have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear(C) 5 when they said, “Turn now, every one of you, from your evil way and wicked doings, and you will remain on the land that the Lord has given to you and your ancestors from of old and forever;(D) 6 do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.” 7 Yet you did not listen to me, says the Lord, and so you have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.(E)
8 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting disgrace.[a](F) 10 And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.(G) 11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.(H) 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them also, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.(I)
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 For thus 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 it.(J) 16 They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.(K)
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing and of cursing, as they are today;(L) 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 all the mixed people;[b] 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;(M) 21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;(N) 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;(O) 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have shaved temples;(P) 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed peoples[c] that live in the desert;(Q) 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of 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 Sheshach[d] shall drink.(R)
27 Then you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink; get drunk and vomit; fall and rise no more because of the sword that I am sending among you.(S)
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: You must drink! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts.(T)
30 You, therefore, shall prophesy to them all these words and say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold
and shout like those who tread grapes
against all the inhabitants of the earth.(U)
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the guilty he will put to the sword,
says the Lord.(V)
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
See, disaster is spreading
from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirring
from the farthest parts of the earth!
33 Those slain by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented or gathered or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground.(W)
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions,[e]
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.(X)
35 Flight shall fail the shepherds,
and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.
36 Listen! The cry of the shepherds
and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is despoiling their pasture,
37 and the peaceful folds are devastated
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion he has left his den,
for their land has become a waste
because of the cruel anger
and because of his fierce anger.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.