Jeremiah 25
Legacy Standard Bible
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the (A)fourth year of (B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the (C)first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the (D)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3 “From the (E)thirteenth year of (F)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, [a]these (G)twenty-three years the word of Yahweh has come to me, and I have spoken to you, [b](H)rising up early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And Yahweh has sent to you all His (I)slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, 5 saying, ‘(J)Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the ground which Yahweh has given to you and your fathers (K)forever and ever; 6 and (L)do not walk after other gods to [c]serve them and to [d]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will bring no evil against you.’ 7 Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares Yahweh, “in order that you might (M)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own evil demise.
8 “Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Because you have not listened to My words, 9 behold, I will (N)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, (O)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will [e]devote them to destruction and (P)make them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting waste place. 10 Moreover, I will [f](Q)make the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the (R)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp, to perish from them. 11 (S)This whole land will be a waste place and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon (T)seventy years.
Punishment Against Babylon
12 ‘Then it will be (U)when seventy years are fulfilled, that I will (V)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for their iniquity, even the land of the Chaldeans; and (W)I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have spoken against it, all that is written in (X)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against (Y)all the nations. 14 —[g]For (Z)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will (AA)repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands—’”
15 For thus Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this (AB)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16 They will (AC)drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 Then I took the cup from the hand of Yahweh and (AD)made all the nations to whom Yahweh sent me drink it: 18 (AE)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a waste place, an object of horror, an object of hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 (AF)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people, 20 and all the [h](AG)foreign people, all the kings of the (AH)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (AI)Philistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of (AJ)Ashdod), 21 (AK)Edom, (AL)Moab, and the sons of (AM)Ammon, 22 and all the kings of (AN)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of (AO)the coastlands which are beyond the sea, 23 and (AP)Dedan, Tema, (AQ)Buz, and all who (AR)cut [i]the corners of their hair, 24 and all the kings of (AS)Arabia and all the kings of the [j](AT)foreign people who dwell in the desert, 25 and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (AU)Elam, and all the kings of (AV)Media, 26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and (AW)all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of [k](AX)Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “(AY)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more because of the (AZ)sword which I will send among you.”’ 28 And it will be, if they (BA)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “(BB)You shall surely drink! 29 For behold, I am (BC)beginning to bring evil against this city which is (BD)called by My name. But shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for (BE)I am calling for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares Yahweh of hosts.’
30 “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,
‘(BF)Yahweh will (BG)roar from on high
And give forth His voice from His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against His [l]pasture.
He will bellow a shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A rumbling has come to the end of the earth
Because Yahweh has (BH)a contention against the nations.
He is entering into (BI)judgment with all flesh;
As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares Yahweh.”
32 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Behold, evil is going forth
From (BJ)nation to nation,
And a great (BK)storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.
33 “Those (BL)slain by Yahweh on that day will be from one end of the earth to the [m]other. They will (BM)not be lamented, gathered, or buried; they will be like (BN)dung on the face of the ground.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
And (BO)roll yourselves in ashes, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your (BP)slaughter and your scatterings are being fulfilled,
And you will fall like a desirable vessel.
35 (BQ)Refuge will perish from the shepherds
And escape from the mighty ones of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the mighty ones of the flock!
For Yahweh is destroying their pasture,
37 And the peaceful (BR)pastures are made silent
Because of the (BS)burning anger of Yahweh.
38 He has forsaken His hiding place (BT)like the lion;
For their land has become an object of horror
Because of the burning desire of [n]the oppressor
And because of His burning anger.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 25:3 Lit this
- Jeremiah 25:3 Lit I rise early
- Jeremiah 25:6 Or worship
- Jeremiah 25:6 Or bow down to
- Jeremiah 25:9 Or put them under the ban
- Jeremiah 25:10 Lit cause to perish
- Jeremiah 25:14 Or For they have served many nations and great kings
- Jeremiah 25:20 Or mixed multitude
- Jeremiah 25:23 Or fringes of the desert
- Jeremiah 25:24 Or mixed multitude
- Jeremiah 25:26 Cryptic name for Babylon
- Jeremiah 25:30 Or habitation
- Jeremiah 25:33 Lit other end of the earth
- Jeremiah 25:38 Lit the one who mistreats
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
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
