‏ Jeremiah 25

Seventy Years of Captivity

1 ^aThe 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), 2which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3“For twenty-three years, ^bfrom 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 ^cpersistently to you, ^dbut you have not listened. 4 ^eYou have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord ^fpersistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5saying, ^g‘Turn now, every one of you, ^hfrom his evil way and evil deeds, and ⁱdwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 ^jDo not go after other gods to serve and worship them, ^kor provoke me to anger ^lwith the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7 ^mYet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, ⁿthat you might provoke me to anger ^owith 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 ^pbehold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^qmy servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, ^rand make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10Moreover, ^sI will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^tthe grinding of the millstones and ^uthe light of the lamp. 11 ^vThis whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and ^wthese nations shall serve the king of Babylon ^xseventy years. 12Then after ^yseventy years are completed, ^zI will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, ^aathe land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, ^abmaking the land an everlasting waste. 13I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written ^acin this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 ^adFor many nations ^aeand great kings shall make slaves even of them, ^afand I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

15Thus 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. 16They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^ahthe sword that I am sending among them.”

17So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, ^aiand made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 ^ajJerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^akto make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 ^alPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20and ^amall the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^anthe land of Uz and all the kings of ^aothe land of the Philistines ( ^apAshkelon, ^aqGaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^arAshdod); 21 ^asEdom, ^atMoab, and the sons of ^auAmmon; 22all the kings of ^avTyre, all the kings of ^awSidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^axthe sea; 23 ^ayDedan, ^azTema, ^baBuz, and all who cut ^bbthe corners of their hair; 24all the ^bckings of Arabia and all the kings of ^bdthe mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^beElam, and all the kings of ^bfMedia; 26all the kings of ^bgthe 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 ^bhBabylon ▼

▼Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon

shall drink.

27“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^bjDrink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^bkthe 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: ^blYou must drink! 29For behold, ^bmI begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^bnfor 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:

^bo“‘The Lord will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
^bpand shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for ^bqthe Lord has an indictment against the nations;
^brhe 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,
^bsand a great tempest is stirring
^btfrom the farthest parts of the earth!

33 ^bu“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ^bvThey shall not be lamented, ^bwor gathered, or buried; ^bxthey shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

34 ^by“Wail, ^bzyou shepherds, and cry out,
^caand 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.
35No refuge will remain ^cbfor the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36A voice—the cry ^ccof the shepherds,
^cdand the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,
37 ^ceand the peaceful folds are devastated
^cfbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38Like a lion ^cghe has left his lair,
for their land has become a waste
because of ^chthe sword of the oppressor,
^ciand because of his fierce anger.”