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), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “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. (E)You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord (F)persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 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. (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.’ (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.

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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.

Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people in Judah and Jerusalem, “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.

“Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention. 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. Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’

“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.

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Footnotes

  1. 25:1a The fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign and the accession year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 605 B.c.
  2. 25:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 25:9.
  3. 25:3 The thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign was 627 B.c.