Jeremiah 25

Seventy Years of Captivity

25The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^e son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar^f king of Babylon. ²So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah^g and to all those living in Jerusalem: ³For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah^h son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,ⁱ but you have not listened.^j

⁴And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets^k to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.^{l 5}They said, “Turn^m now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the landⁿ the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶Do not follow other gods^o to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷“But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused^p my anger with what your hands have made,^q and you have brought harm^r to yourselves.”

⁸Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹I will summon^s all the peoples of the north^t and my servant^u Nebuchadnezzar^v king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^aw them and make them an object of horror and scorn,^x and an everlasting ruin.^{y 10}I will banish from them the sounds^z of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,^a the sound of millstones^b and the light of the lamp.^{c 11}This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,^d and these nations will serve^e the king of Babylon seventy years.^f

¹²“But when the seventy years^g are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon^h and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,^b for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolateⁱ forever. ¹³I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written^j in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴They themselves will be enslaved^k by many nations^l and great kings; I will repay^m them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

¹⁵This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cupⁿ filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send^o you drink it. ¹⁶When they drink^p it, they will stagger^q and go mad^r because of the sword^s I will send among them.”

¹⁷So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent^t me drink it: ¹⁸Jerusalem^u and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin^v and an object of horror and scorn,^w a curse^cx—as they are today;^{y 19}Pharaoh king^z of Egypt,^a his attendants, his officials and all his people, ²⁰and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;^b all the kings of the Philistines^c (those of Ashkelon,^d Gaza,^e Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); ²¹Edom,^f Moab^g and Ammon;^{h 22}all the kings of Tyreⁱ and Sidon;^j the kings of the coastlands^k across the sea; ²³Dedan,^l Tema,^m Buzⁿ and all who are in distant places^d;^{o 24}all the kings of Arabia^p and all the kings of the foreign people^q who live in the wilderness; ²⁵all the kings of Zimri,^r Elam^s and Media;^{t 26}and all the kings of the north,^u near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms^v on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak^ew will drink it too.

²⁷“Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk^x and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword^y I will send among you.’ ²⁸But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink^z, tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! ²⁹See, I am beginning to bring disaster^a on the city that bears my Name,^b and will you indeed go unpunished?^c You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword^d on all^e who live on the earth,^f declares the Lord Almighty.’

³⁰“Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

“ ‘The Lord will roar^g from on high;

he will thunder^h from his holy dwellingⁱ

and roar mightily against his land.

He will shout like those who tread^j the grapes,

shout against all who live on the earth.

³¹The tumult^k will resound to the ends of the earth,

for the Lord will bring charges^l against the nations;

he will bring judgment^m on allⁿ mankind

and put the wicked to the sword,^o’ ”

declares the Lord.

³²This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster^p is spreading

from nation to nation;^q

a mighty storm^r is rising

from the ends of the earth.”^s

³³At that time those slain^t by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered^u up or buried,^v but will be like dung lying on the ground.

³⁴Weep and wail, you shepherds;^w

roll^x in the dust, you leaders of the flock.

For your time to be slaughtered^y has come;

you will fall like the best of the rams.^fz

³⁵The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,

the leaders of the flock no place to escape.^a

³⁶Hear the cry^b of the shepherds,^c

the wailing of the leaders of the flock,

for the Lord is destroying their pasture.

³⁷The peaceful meadows will be laid waste

because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

³⁸Like a lion^d he will leave his lair,

and their land will become desolate^e

because of the sword^g of the oppressor^f

and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.^g