Jeremiah 25

Seventy Years of Captivity

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (this was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

²which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

³From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years, the LORD’s word has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; but you have not listened.

⁴The LORD has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them (but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear),

⁵saying, “Return now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forever more.

⁶Don’t go after other gods to serve them or worship them, and don’t provoke me to anger with the work of your hands; then I will do you no harm.”

⁷“Yet you have not listened to me,” says the LORD, “that you may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.”

⁸Therefore the LORD of Armies says: “Because you have not heard my words,

⁹behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” says the LORD, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around. I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

¹¹This whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

¹²“It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says the LORD, “for their iniquity. I will make the land of the Chaldeans desolate forever.

¹³I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

¹⁴For many nations and great kings will make bondservants of them, even of them. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God's Wrath

¹⁵For the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.

¹⁶They will drink, and reel back and forth, and be insane, because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷Then I took the cup at the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom the LORD had sent me:

¹⁸Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, with its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is today;

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

²⁰and all the mixed people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

²¹Edom, Moab, and the children of Ammon;

²²and all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;

²³Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have the corners of their beard cut off;

²⁴and all the kings of Arabia, all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness;

²⁵and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;

²⁶and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the surface of the earth. The king of Sheshach will drink after them.

²⁷“You shall tell them, ‘The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Drink, and be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.”’

²⁸It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall tell them, ‘The LORD of Armies says: “You shall surely drink.

²⁹For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You will not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of Armies.”’

The Lord Roars from on High

³⁰“Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and tell them, “‘The LORD will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation. He will mightily roar against his fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹A noise will come even to the end of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with the nations. He will enter into judgment with all flesh. As for the wicked, he will give them to the sword,”’ says the LORD.”

³²The LORD of Armies says, “Behold, evil will go out from nation to nation, and a great storm will be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.”

³³The slain of the LORD will be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They won’t be lamented. They won’t be gathered or buried. They will be dung on the surface of the ground.

³⁴Wail, you shepherds, and cry. Wallow in dust, you leader of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions have fully come, and you will fall like fine pottery.

³⁵The shepherds will have no way to flee. The leader of the flock will have no escape.

³⁶A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the leader of the flock, for the LORD destroys their pasture.

³⁷The peaceful folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

³⁸He has left his covert, as the lion; for their land has become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppression, and because of his fierce anger.

Previous Jeremiah 24

Next Jeremiah 26

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, Jeremiah delivers a comprehensive prophecy of judgment after twenty-three years of ignored warnings. God announces that Judah and surrounding nations will serve Babylon for seventy years due to their persistent disobedience and idolatry. The chapter culminates with the symbolic vision of the cup of God's wrath, which all nations must drink as divine judgment falls upon them through military conquest.

Context

This pivotal chapter marks the transition from Jeremiah's earlier calls for repentance to the inevitable reality of exile, setting the stage for the temple's destruction in subsequent chapters.

Key Themes

Outline

1-7
Twenty-Three Years of Rejected Warnings Jeremiah recounts his prophetic ministry and Judah's persistent refusal to heed God's calls for repentance.
8-11
Seventy Years of Babylonian Servitude God announces that Nebuchadnezzar will conquer Judah and surrounding nations for seventy years of exile.
12-14
Babylon's Ultimate Judgment After seventy years, God will punish Babylon and make the Chaldean land desolate forever.
15-29
The Cup of Divine Wrath Jeremiah receives a symbolic cup of God's wrath to offer to all nations, beginning with Jerusalem and Judah.
30-38
The Lord's Universal Judgment A poetic oracle describes God's judgment as a roaring lion bringing destruction from heaven to earth.

Seventy Years of Captivity

25:1–25:14

prophecy speech solemn

Jeremiah prophesies seventy years of Babylonian captivity as punishment for Judah's persistent disobedience and refusal to heed God's warnings through His prophets.

person_contrast

Jeremiah's precise "seventy years" prophecy uniquely combines mathematical specificity with divine judgment, making this the only Old Testament passage to quantify exile duration before its fulfillment.

The Cup of God's Wrath

25:15–25:29

prophecy vision wrathful

God commands Jeremiah to offer a symbolic cup of wrath to all nations, beginning with Jerusalem, demonstrating His universal judgment and sovereignty over all kingdoms.

person_contrast

Jeremiah's role shifts dramatically from weeping prophet to divine executioner, wielding God's cup of wrath against nations in a rare prophetic reversal of his typical intercessory stance.

The Lord Roars from on High

25:30–25:38

prophecy wrathful

The LORD roars from heaven in judgment against all nations and their leaders, bringing destruction like a great storm across the earth. This oracle depicts divine wrath against the wicked with imagery of slaughter, scattered bodies, and terrified shepherds unable to escape.

structural

Jeremiah uniquely combines the divine roar motif (found in Amos 1:2 and Joel 3:16) with grape-treading imagery, transforming celebratory harvest language into a terrifying depiction of universal judgment.

Insight Character Study

Jeremiah's role shifts dramatically from weeping prophet to divine executioner, wielding God's cup of wrath against nations in a rare prophetic reversal of his typical intercessory stance.

Insight Literary Structure