Jeremiah 25

1 The word of the Lord, that was made to Jeremy, of all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, after that Jeconiah was translated into Babylon; that is the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; (The word of the Lord, that was made to Jeremiah, about all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, after that Jehoahaz was carried away captive to Egypt; that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon;)

2 which word Jeremy, the prophet, spake to all the people of Judah, and to all the dwellers of Jerusalem, and said, (which word the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and said,)

3 From the thirteenth year of the realm of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, unto this day, this is the three and twentieth year, (that) the word of the Lord was made to me; and I spake to you, and I rose (up) by night and spake, and ye heard not (but ye would not listen).

4 And the Lord sent to you all his servants (the) prophets, and rose (up) full early, and sent, and ye heard not (but you would not listen), neither ye bowed [in] your ears, for to hear;

5 when he said, Turn ye again, each man from his evil way, and from your worst thoughts, and ye shall dwell in the land which the Lord gave to you, and to your fathers, from the world and till into the world. (when they said, Turn ye, each person, from your evil ways, and from your worst thoughts, and ye shall live in the land which the Lord gave to you, and to your forefathers, forever and ever.)

6 And do not ye go after alien gods, (saith the Lord,) that ye serve them, and worship them, neither stir ye me to wrathfulness, in the works of your hands, and I shall not torment you. (And do not ye go after strange, or foreign, gods, saith the Lord, so that ye serve them, and worship them, nor stir ye me to anger, with the works of your hands, and I shall not torment you.)

7 And ye heard not me, saith the Lord, that ye stirred me to wrathfulness in the works of your hands, into your [own] evil. (But ye would not listen to me, saith the Lord, and ye stirred me to anger with the works of your hands, to your own harm.)

8 Therefore the Lord of hosts saith these things, For that that ye heard not my words, (And so the Lord of hosts saith these things, Because ye did not listen to, or obey, my words,)

9 lo! I shall send (for), and take all the kindreds of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, my servant, the king of Babylon; and I shall bring them on this land, and on the dwellers thereof, and on all nations, that be in the compass thereof (lo! I shall send for all the tribes of the north, saith the Lord, and my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon; and I shall bring them against this land, and its inhabitants, and all the nations that be all around it); and I shall slay them, and I shall set them into wondering, and into hissing, and into everlasting wildernesses.

10 And I shall lose of them the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of spouse, and the voice of spousess, the voice of [the] quern, and the light of the lantern. (And I shall take from them the sound of joy, and the sound of happiness, the voice of the spouse, and the voice of the spousess, the sound of the quern, and the light of the lantern.)

11 And all the land thereof shall be into wilderness, and into wondering; and all these folks shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 And when seventy years be [ful]filled, I shall visit on the king of Babylon, and on that folk, (for) the wickedness of them, saith the Lord, and on the land of Chaldees, and I shall set it into everlasting wildernesses. (And when seventy years be fulfilled, I shall punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their wickedness, and I shall make the land of the Chaldeans into an everlasting wilderness.)

13 And I shall bring on that land all my words which I spake against it, all thing that is written in this book; whatever things Jeremy prophesied against all folks (whatever Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations);

14 for they served to them, when they were many folks, and great kings; and I shall yield to them after the works of them, and after the deeds of their hands. (and then they shall serve many nations, and great kings; and so I shall yield to them after their works, and after the deeds of their own hands.)

15 For the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith thus, Take thou the cup of wine of this strong vengeance from mine hand, and thou shall pour out drink thereof to all heathen men, to which I shall send thee.

16 And they shall drink, and shall be troubled, and shall be mad, of the face of sword, which I shall send among them. (And they shall drink it, and shall be troubled, and shall go mad, in the face of the sword, which I shall send among them.)

17 And I took the cup from the hand of the Lord, and I poured out drink to all folks, to which the Lord sent me; (And I took the cup from the Lord's hand, and I poured out drink to all the nations, to which the Lord had sent me;)

18 to Jerusalem, and to all the cities of Judah, and to the kings thereof, and to the princes thereof; that I should give them into wilderness, and into wondering, and into hissing, and into cursing, as this day is (yea, to make them into wilderness, and into wondering, and into hissing, and into cursing, as it is this day);

19 to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his servants, and to his princes, and to all his people;

20 and to all men generally, to all the kings of the land (of) Uz, and to all the kings of the land of Philistines, and to Ashkelon, and to Azzah, and to Ekron, and to the residues of Ashdod (and to the remnant of Ashdod);

21 to Idumea, and to Moab, and to the sons of Ammon; (to Edom, and to Moab, and to the Ammonites;)

22 and to all the kings of Tyrus (and to all the kings of Tyre), and to all the kings of Sidon, and to the kings of the land of isles that be beyond the sea;

23 and to Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and to all men that be clipped on the long hair (and to all the men who clip their long hair);

24 and to all the kings of Arabia, and to all the kings of the west, that dwell in desert (who live in the desert);

25 and to all the kings of Zimri, and to all the kings of Elam, and to all the kings of Medes (and to all the kings of Media);

26 and to all the kings of the north, of nigh and of far, to each man against his brother; and to all the realms of earth, that be on the face thereof; and (the) king (of) Sheshach shall drink after them. (and to all the kings of the north, of near and of far away, to each person and their kin; and to all the kingdoms of the earth, that be on the face of it; and the king of Sheshach, that is, the king of Babylon, shall drink after them.)

27 And thou shalt say to them, The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Drink ye, and be ye drunken, and spew ye, and fall ye down, and do not ye rise (up) from the face of [the] sword which I shall send among you.

28 And when they will not take the cup from thine hand (And if they refuse to take the cup from thy hand), (so) that they drink, thou shalt say to them, The Lord of hosts saith these things, Ye drinking shall drink;

29 for lo! in the city in which my name is called to help, I begin to torment, and shall ye as innocents be without pain? ye shall not be without pain, for I call (for the) sword on all the dwellers of earth, saith the Lord of hosts. (for lo! in the city in which my name is called on for help/in the city which is called by my name, I shall begin to torment it, and shall ye, as innocents, be without pain? ye shall not be without pain, for I shall call for the sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.)

30 And thou shalt prophesy to them all these words, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and from his holy dwelling place he shall give his voice; he roaring shall roar on his fairness; a merry song, as of men treading in pressers, shall be sung against all [the] dwellers of earth. (And thou shalt prophesy to them all these words, and thou shalt say to them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and he shall give his voice from his holy dwelling place; he roaring shall roar across the heavens; and a happy song, like when people tread the winepresses, shall be sung against all the inhabitants of the earth.)

31 [The] Sound is come unto the last parts of [the] earth, for why doom is to the Lord with folks, he is deemed with each flesh; the Lord saith, I have given wicked men to the sword. (The sound shall come unto the last parts of the earth, for the Lord shall judge the nations, yea, he shall judge all flesh, and he shall give the wicked ones to the sword. Thus saith the Lord.)

32 The Lord of hosts saith these things, Lo! torment shall go out from folk into folk, and a great whirlwind shall go out from the ends of [the] earth.

33 And the slain men of the Lord shall be in that day from the end of the earth unto the end thereof; they shall not be bewailed, neither shall be gathered together, neither shall be buried; they shall lie into a dunghill on the face of [the] earth. (And on that day, the people killed by the Lord shall lie flat on the earth from one end to the other; they shall not be bewailed, nor shall they be gathered together, nor shall they be buried, but they shall lie upon the face of the earth like a mound of dung.)

34 Yell, ye shepherds, and cry, and, ye principals of the flock, besprinkle you with ashes; for your days be [ful]filled, that ye be slain, and your scatterings be (ful)filled, and ye shall fall as precious vessels. (Yell, ye shepherds of the people, and cry aloud, and besprinkle yourselves with ashes, ye principal men, or ye leaders, of the flock; for your days be fulfilled, and now ye shall be killed, and your scatterings be fulfilled, and now ye shall fall like precious vessels.)

35 And fleeing shall perish from [the] shepherds, and saving shall perish from the principals of the flock. (And there shall be no escape for the shepherds of the people, yea, no salvation for the principal men, or the leaders, of the flock.)

36 The voice of the cry of shepherds, and the yelling of the principals of the flock, for the Lord hath wasted the pastures of them. (Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds of the people, and the yelling of the principal men, or of the leaders, of the flock, for the Lord hath destroyed their pastures.)

37 And the fields of peace were still(ed), for the face of [the] wrath of the strong vengeance of the Lord. (And the peaceful fields were wasted, by the anger of the strong vengeance of the Lord.)

38 He as a lion hath forsaken his tabernacle, for the land of them is made into desolation, of the face of (the) wrath of the culver, and of the face of (the) wrath of the strong vengeance of the Lord. (They have deserted their tents like a lion hath deserted his den, for their land is made into desolation, by the cruel sword, and by the anger of his strong vengeance.)

Jeremiah 25 Commentary

Chapter 25

The Jews rebuked for not obeying calls to repentance. (1-7) Their captivity during seventy years is expressly foretold. (8-14) Desolations upon the nations shown by the emblem of a cup of wrath. (15-29) The judgments again declared. (30-38)

Verses 1-7 The call to turn from evil ways to the worship and service of God, and for sinners to trust in Christ, and partake of his salvation, concerns all men. God keeps an account how long we possess the means of grace; and the longer we have them, the heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. Rising early, points out the earnest desire that this people should turn and live. Personal and particular reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a national deliverance; and every one must turn from his own evil way. Yet all was to no purpose. They would not take the right and only method to turn away the wrath of God.

Verses 8-14 The fixing of the time during which the Jewish captivity should last, would not only confirm the prophecy, but also comfort the people of God, and encourage faith and prayer. The ruin of Babylon is foretold: the rod will be thrown into the fire when the correcting work is done. When the set time to favour Zion is come, Babylon shall be punished for their iniquity, as other nations have been punished for their sins. Every threatening of the Scripture will certainly be accomplished.

Verses 15-29 The evil and the good events of life are often represented in Scripture as cups. Under this figure is represented the desolation then coming upon that part of the world, of which Nebuchadnezzar, who had just began to reign and act, was to be the instrument; but this destroying sword would come from the hand of God. The desolations the sword should make in all these kingdoms, are represented by the consequences of excessive drinking. This may make us loathe the sin of drunkenness, that the consequences of it are used to set forth such a woful condition. Drunkenness deprives men of the use of their reason, makes men as mad. It takes from them the valuable blessing, health; and is a sin which is its own punishment. This may also make us dread the judgments of war. It soon fills a nation with confusion. They will refuse to take the cup at thy hand. They will not believe Jeremiah; but he must tell them it is the word of the Lord of hosts, and it is in vain for them to struggle against Almighty power. And if God's judgments begin with backsliding professors, let not the wicked expect to escape.

Verses 30-38 The Lord has just ground of controversy with every nation and every person; and he will execute judgment on all the wicked. Who can avoid trembling when God speaks in displeasure? The days are fully come; the time fixed in the Divine counsels, which will make the nations wholly desolate. The tender and delicate shall share the common calamity. Even those who used to live in peace, and did nothing to provoke, shall not escape. Blessed be God, there is a peaceable habitation above, for all the sons of peace. The Lord will preserve his church and all believers in all changes; for nothing can separate them from his love.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 25

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Judea by the king of Babylon; and also of Babylon itself, after the Jews' captivity of seventy years; and likewise of all the nations round about. The date of this prophecy is in Jer 25:1; when the prophet puts the Jews in mind of the prophecies that had been delivered unto them by himself and others, for some years past, without effect, Jer 25:2-7; wherefore they are threatened with the king of Babylon, that he should come against them, and strip them of all their desirable things; make their land desolate, and them captives for seventy years, Jer 25:8-11; at the expiration of which he in his turn shall be punished, and the land of Chaldea laid waste, and become subject to other nations and kings, Jer 25:12-14; and by a cup of wine given to all the nations round about, is signified the utter ruin of them, and who are particularly mentioned by name, Jer 25:15-26; which is confirmed by beginning with the city of Jerusalem, and the destruction of that, Jer 25:27-29; wherefore the prophet is bid to prophesy against them, and to declare the Lord's controversy with them, and that there should be a slaughter of them from one end of the earth to the other, Jer 25:30-33; upon which the shepherds, kings, and rulers of them, are called to lamentation and howling, Jer 25:34-38.