Jeremiah 25
New Living Translation
Seventy Years of Captivity
25 This message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah.[a] This was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon began his reign.
2 Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people in Judah and Jerusalem, 3 “For the past twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon,[c] king of Judah, until now—the Lord has been giving me his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not listened.
4 “Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention. 5 Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. 6 Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’
7 “But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. 8 And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, 9 I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[d] you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. 10 I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. 11 This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12 “Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians[e] a wasteland forever. 13 I will bring upon them all the terrors I have promised in this book—all the penalties announced by Jeremiah against the nations. 14 Many nations and great kings will enslave the Babylonians, just as they enslaved my people. I will punish them in proportion to the suffering they cause my people.”
The Cup of the Lord’s Anger
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. 16 When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them.”
17 So I took the cup of anger from the Lord and made all the nations drink from it—every nation to which the Lord sent me. 18 I went to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an object of horror, contempt, and cursing. 19 I gave the cup to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials, and all his people, 20 along with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod. 21 Then I gave the cup to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, 22 and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea. 23 I gave it to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places.[f] 24 I gave it to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert, 25 and to the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media. 26 And I gave it to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other—all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon[g] himself drank from the cup of the Lord’s anger.
27 Then the Lord said to me, “Now tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’ 28 And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: You have no choice but to drink from it. 29 I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!’
30 “Now prophesy all these things, and say to them,
“‘The Lord will roar against his own land
from his holy dwelling in heaven.
He will shout like those who tread grapes;
he will shout against everyone on earth.
31 His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring his case against all the nations.
He will judge all the people of the earth,
slaughtering the wicked with the sword.
I, the Lord, have spoken!’”
32 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Look! Disaster will fall upon nation after nation!
A great whirlwind of fury is rising
from the most distant corners of the earth!”
33 In that day those the Lord has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure.
34 Weep and moan, you evil shepherds!
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock!
The time of your slaughter has arrived;
you will fall and shatter like a fragile vase.
35 You will find no place to hide;
there will be no way to escape.
36 Listen to the frantic cries of the shepherds.
The leaders of the flock are wailing in despair,
for the Lord is ruining their pastures.
37 Peaceful meadows will be turned into a wasteland
by the Lord’s fierce anger.
38 He has left his den like a strong lion seeking its prey,
and their land will be made desolate
by the sword[h] of the enemy
and the Lord’s fierce anger.
Footnotes
- 25:1a The fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign and the accession year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 605 B.c.
- 25:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 25:9.
- 25:3 The thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign was 627 B.c.
- 25:9 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
- 25:12 Or Chaldeans.
- 25:23 Or who clip the corners of their hair.
- 25:26 Hebrew of Sheshach, a code name for Babylon.
- 25:38 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads by the anger.
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
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
