Prophecy of the 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), the word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the (D)people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, “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 the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you (H)again and again, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all His (I)servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, saying, ‘(J)Turn now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers (K)forever and ever; and (L)do not follow other gods to [b]serve them and to [c]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will do you no harm.’ Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order to (M)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

“Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will (N)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘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 [d]completely destroy them and (P)make them an object of horror and [e]hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. 10 Moreover, I will (Q)eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the (R)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 (S)This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for (T)seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

12 ‘Then it will be (U)when seventy years are completed I will (V)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and 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 pronounced against it, all that is written in (X)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against (Y)all the nations. 14 ([f]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 this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this (AB)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it. 16 Then they will (AC)drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lords hand and (AD)gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: 18 To (AE)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, [g]hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 To (AF)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 and to all the (AG)foreign [h]people, all the kings of the (AH)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (AI)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of (AJ)Ashdod); 21 To (AK)Edom, (AL)Moab, and the sons of (AM)Ammon; 22 and to 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 to (AP)Dedan, Tema, (AQ)Buz, and all who (AR)trim the corners of their hair; 24 and to all the kings of (AS)Arabia and all the kings of the (AT)foreign [i]people who live in the desert; 25 and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (AU)Elam, and all the kings of (AV)Media; 26 and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and (AW)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of [j](AX)Sheshach shall drink it after them.

27 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “(AY)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the (AZ)sword which I am sending among you.”’ 28 And if they (BA)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “(BB)You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I am (BC)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is (BD)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for (BE)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of armies.’

30 “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

‘The (BF)Lord will (BG)roar from on high
And raise His voice from His holy dwelling;
He will roar forcefully against His [k]fold.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
Because the Lord has (BH)a controversy with the nations.
He is entering into (BI)judgment with [l]humanity;
As for the wicked, He has turned them over to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”

32 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, evil is going out
From (BJ)nation to nation,
And a great (BK)storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.

33 “Those (BL)put to death by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the [m]other. They will (BM)not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like (BN)dung on the face of the ground.

34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
(BO)Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your (BP)slaughter and your dispersions [n]have come,
And you will fall like a precious vessel.
35 [o]There will be (BQ)no sanctuary for the shepherds,
Nor escape for the masters of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
For the Lord is destroying their pasture,
37 And the peaceful (BR)grazing places are devastated
Because of the (BS)fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left His hiding place (BT)like the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the [p]oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 25:3 Lit this
  2. Jeremiah 25:6 Or worship
  3. Jeremiah 25:6 Or bow down to
  4. Jeremiah 25:9 Or put them under the ban
  5. Jeremiah 25:9 Or whistling
  6. Jeremiah 25:14 Or For they have served many nations and great kings
  7. Jeremiah 25:18 Or whistling
  8. Jeremiah 25:20 Or mercenaries
  9. Jeremiah 25:24 Or mercenaries
  10. Jeremiah 25:26 Cryptic name for Babylon
  11. Jeremiah 25:30 Or pasture; i.e., a ref to His people
  12. Jeremiah 25:31 Lit all flesh
  13. Jeremiah 25:33 Lit other end of the earth
  14. Jeremiah 25:34 Lit are full
  15. Jeremiah 25:35 Lit Sanctuary will perish from
  16. Jeremiah 25:38 Or oppressor

The Seventy-Year Exile

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(A) son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon). The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon,(B) king of Judah, until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again,[a](C) but you have not obeyed. The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you time and time again,[b] but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.[c](D) He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds.(E) Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever.(F) Do not follow other gods to serve them and to bow in worship to them,(G) and do not anger me by the work of your hands.(H) Then I will do you no harm.

“‘But you have not obeyed me’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘with the result that you have angered me by the work of your hands and brought disaster on yourselves.’

“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed my words, I am going to send for all the families of the north’(I)—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘and send for my servant(J) Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them an example of horror(K) and scorn, and ruins forever.(L) 10 I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them—the voice of the groom and the bride,(M) the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.(N) 12 When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, and I will make it a ruin forever.(O) 13 I will bring on that land all my words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’”(P)

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 to whom I am sending you drink from it.(Q) 16 They will drink, stagger,[d] and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”(R)

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink from it.

18 Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an example for 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 coasts and islands;

23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who clip the hair on their temples;[e](S)

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 throughout the earth.

Finally, the king of Sheshak[f](T) will drink after them.

27 “Then you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink,(U) get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you.’ 28 If[g] they refuse to accept the cup from your hand and drink, you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: You must drink! 29 For I am already bringing disaster(V) on the city that bears my name,(W) 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 Armies.’(X)

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 on high;
he makes his voice heard from his holy dwelling.(Y)
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(Z) the nations.
He enters into judgment with all humanity.(AA)
As for the wicked, he hands them over to the sword—
this is the Lord’s declaration.

32 “This is what the Lord of Armies says:

Pay attention! Disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A huge storm is stirred up
from the ends of the earth.”(AB)

33 Those slain by the Lord(AC) on that day will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,(AD) gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the soil’s surface.

34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
Roll in the dust,(AE) you leaders of the flock.
Because the days of your slaughter have come,(AF)
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.(AG)
38 He has left his den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword[h] of the oppressor,(AH)
because of his burning anger.

Footnotes

  1. 25:3 Lit you; rising early and speaking
  2. 25:4 Lit to you, rising early and sending
  3. 25:4 Lit even inclined your ear to hear
  4. 25:16 Or vomit
  5. 25:23 Or who live in distant places
  6. 25:26 = Babylon
  7. 25:28 Or When
  8. 25:38 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg; other Hb mss read burning