Seventy Years of Captivity
The Lord had been patient with Jerusalem's rebellion...
The Lord had been patient with Jerusalem's rebellion and refusal to listen, but now it was time for judgment.
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows:
3“From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again,† but you have not listened. 4And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again,† but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.
The Lord asked his people to stop doing...
The Lord asked his people to stop doing evil things that made him angry. If they did, he would not harm them but would give them his promised blessings.
5The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. 6Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’
The people ignored the Lord's rules and continued...
The people ignored the Lord's rules and continued their evil ways by worshiping idols. As a result, the Lord decided to destroy them completely.
7‘But to your own harm, you have not listened to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so you have provoked Me to anger with the works of your hands.’
8Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction† and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.
10Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
The Lord used the Babylonians to judge Judah,...
The Lord used the Babylonians to judge Judah, but they would face consequences for their sins, brutality, and abuse of the defeated. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon, and the people went into captivity. For centuries, many nations and great kings enslaved the Babylonians. The territory did not regain independence until 1932, becoming modern Iraq.
12But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans,† for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.
13I will bring upon that land all the words I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’”
The Cup of God’s Wrath
The Lord is the supreme ruler of all...
The Lord is the supreme ruler of all nations, and their rebellion was about to bring judgment.
To whom I send you: Jeremiah did not travel to each nation in person. The message he delivered from the Lord spread mainly through written material, much of it in the book of Jeremiah, which people have read worldwide.
The Lord is the supreme ruler of all nations, and their rebellion was about to bring judgment.
To whom I send you: Jeremiah did not travel to each nation in person. The message he delivered from the Lord spread mainly through written material, much of it in the book of Jeremiah, which people have read worldwide.
15This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. 16And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me, 18to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;
Many refugees who fled from Judah and nearby...
Many refugees who fled from Judah and nearby countries to Egypt when the Babylonians invaded heard the prophet's message.
Uz was a region on Arabia's northern border. Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod were Philistine cities near the Mediterranean Sea.
Many refugees who fled from Judah and nearby countries to Egypt when the Babylonians invaded heard the prophet's message.
Uz was a region on Arabia's northern border. Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod were Philistine cities near the Mediterranean Sea.
19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people; 20all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
The small nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon...
The small nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east and southeast of the Dead Sea. The Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were to the northwest, along the Mediterranean Sea. The regions across the sea were likely the islands of Cyprus and Crete.
21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; 22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and Zimri were in the...
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and Zimri were in the desert area east of the Jordan Valley, north of Arabia. Elam and Media, located in the highlands east of Babylon, formed the core of the Persian Empire. This empire conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; 26all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach† will drink it too.
These kingdoms had to face the Lord's anger...
These kingdoms had to face the Lord's anger (see study note on Jeremiah 25:15). They could not escape the disaster that would overwhelm them. Jerusalem experienced God's judgment, and the surrounding nations would too.
27“Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’
28If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! 29For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’
First, the Lord spoke through Jeremiah about his...
First, the Lord spoke through Jeremiah about his own land, Judah. Then, Jeremiah delivered God's messages of judgment to everyone on earth.
30So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them:
‘The LORD will roar from on high;He will raise His voice from His holy habitation.He will roar loudly over His pasture;like those who tread the grapes,He will call out with a shoutagainst all the inhabitants of the earth.31The tumult will resound to the ends of the earthbecause the LORD brings a charge against the nations.He brings judgment on all mankindand puts the wicked to the sword,’”declares the LORD.
Disaster...a mighty storm: These words highlight the terrible...
Disaster...a mighty storm: These words highlight the terrible wars that destroyed many nations in the 500s BC.
32This is what the LORD of Hosts says:
“Behold! Disaster is spreadingfrom nation to nation;a mighty storm is risingfrom the ends of the earth.”33Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.
The Cry of the Shepherds
The earth's cruel leaders (shepherds) were harsh rulers...
The earth's cruel leaders (shepherds) were harsh rulers of the nations.
roll in the dust: This is a sign of distress.
The earth's cruel leaders (shepherds) were harsh rulers of the nations.
roll in the dust: This is a sign of distress.