Seventy Years of Captivity
Jer 25:1 The word 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.
Jer 25:2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem:
Jer 25:3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah 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, but you have not listened.
Jer 25:4 And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.
Jer 25:5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever.
Jer 25:6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
Jer 25:7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
Jer 25:8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words,
Jer 25:9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar 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 them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
Jer 25:10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.
Jer 25:11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Jer 25:12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the LORD, “and will make it desolate forever.
Jer 25:13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations.
Jer 25:14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
Jer 25:15 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
Jer 25:16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”
Jer 25:17 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it:
Jer 25:18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn, a curse—as they are today;
Jer 25:19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people,
Jer 25:20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod);
Jer 25:21 Edom, Moab and Ammon;
Jer 25:22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
Jer 25:23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places;
Jer 25:24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the wilderness;
Jer 25:25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media;
Jer 25:26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak will drink it too.
Jer 25:27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.’
Jer 25:28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it!
Jer 25:29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.’
Jer 25:30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: “‘The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.
Jer 25:31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,'” declares the LORD.
Jer 25:32 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”
Jer 25:33 At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.
Jer 25:34 Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall like the best of the rams.
Jer 25:35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
Jer 25:36 Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.
Jer 25:37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 25:38 Like a lion he will leave his lair, and their land will become desolate because of the sword of the oppressor and because of the LORD’s fierce anger.
1 Jeremiah reproving the Jews’ disobedience to the prophets, 8 foretells the seventy years’ captivity, 12 and after that, the destruction of Babylon. 15 Under the type of a cup of wine he foreshowed the destruction of all nations. 34 The howling of the shepherds.
Seventy Years of Captivity
Jer 25:1 The word 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.
Fourth year of Jehoiakim. The message of ch. 25 is placed in the year immediately following the taking of the first Jewish captives to Babylon (see on Dan. 1:1). This message given in the 4th year of Jehoiakim, either 605 or 604 b.c., would seem to have preceded the prophet’s parable of the potter’s vessel (see Jer. 18; 19; PK 431).
First year. Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to his father’s throne in the summer of 605 b.c., which would be his accession year. His year 1 would be the next full calendar year, beginning, by Jewish reckoning, in the fall of 605, and in the Babylonian calendar in the spring of 604.
Jer 25:3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah 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, but you have not listened.
The Jewish civil year 628/627 b.c. (see on ch. 1:2).
The 23rd of Jeremiah’s personal ministry, not necessarily a calendar or regnal year; probably an example of anniversary reckoning from his first message, perhaps late in Josiah’s 13th year. Only thus could the 23rd year extend into Nebuchadnezzar’s 1st year. (Some count it inclusively to his accession year.)
Again and again. An idiom indicating persevering endeavor (see on ch. 7:13).
Jer 25:5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever.
This appeal for repentance, conversion, and obedience expressly sets forth the mission of the true prophet (see 2 Kings 17:13; Eze. 18:30–32).
For ever and ever. If the Israelites had fulfilled their divine destiny, their settlement in the land would have been permanent.
Jer 25:7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
Jer 25:8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words,
Jer 25:9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar 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 destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
Jer 25:10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.
Not only would these sounds of joy (see on ch. 7:34) be heard no more, but also “the sound of the millstones,” the grinding of corn by women (Ex. 11:5; Matt. 24:41), and “the light of the candle” would cease. The picture presented in Jer. 25:10 is one depicting the complete dissolution of family life, both as to its seasons of rejoicing and as to its daily routine (see Rev. 18:22, 23).
Jer 25:11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Seventy years. This mention of the 70-year period includes the nations immediately surrounding Judah (see v. 9), whereas ch. 29:10 refers to the captivity of Judah only. However, the LXX renders this last clause, “and they shall serve among the Gentiles seventy years,” which agrees with ch. 29:10 in applying the 70 years to the Jews only.
This period of 70 years has generally been equated with the 70-year period of Jewish captivity (ch. 29:10). Both periods may be reckoned from 605 b.c. to 536 b.c. inclusive.
Jer 25:12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the LORD, “and will make it desolate forever.
I will punish. This prophecy against Babylon began to be fulfilled when “the Medes and Persians” captured the city, killed Belshazzar, and ended the Neo-Babylonian Empire (Dan. 5:17–31). Although Babylon was used by God to chastise His own people, this did not relieve the Babylonians from punishment for their own iniquities (see Jer. 50; 51; cf. Isa. 10:5–16).
The king of Babylon.
As one of Israel’s chief enemies in OT times, Babylon became a fitting symbol, in the book of Revelation, of apostate Christianity in its opposition to God’s remnant people (see on Rev. 14:8; 17:5; 18:2). In large part the symbols of the book of Revelation are drawn from the experiences of literal Israel in ancient times or are based on the symbolic messages of the OT prophets (see AA 585).
For this reason, when the symbols of the book of Revelation are studied, it is important that a most careful consideration be given to their counterparts in OT history and prophecy. Only against such a background do the symbols of the Revelation take on the full meaning Inspiration intended them to convey.
Several aspects of the punishment of literal Babylon as set forth in Jer. 25 are of value in connection with the study of the punishment of mystical Babylon as set forth in Rev. 16 to 19 (see on Isa. 14:4). Note the following:
Revelation 16 to 19
1. “I will take from them the voice of mirth . . . bridegroom . . . bride . . . millstones . . . candle” (v. 10).
1. “The voice of harpers . . . a millstone . . . a candle . . . the bride- groom . . . the bride shall be no more heard in thee” (18:22, 23).
2. “I will punish the king of Babylon” (v. 12).
2. “Great Babylon came in remembrance before God” (16:19; cf. 17:1; 18:7, 8).
3. “I will recompense them according to their deeds” (v. 14).
3. “Reward her . . . according to her works” (18:6).
4. “The wine cup of this fury” (v. 15).
4. “The cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (16:19).
5. “A sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth” (v. 29).
5. “The remnant were slain with the sword” (19: 21).
“A sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations” (19:15).
6. “The Lord shall roar from on high and utter his voice from his holy habitation; . . . he shall give a shout” (v. 30).
6. “There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne” (16:17).
7. “The Lord hath a controversy with the nations” (v. 31).
7. “He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (16:16).
“In righteousness he doth judge and make war” (19:11; see also 17:14; 19:15, 19).
8. “Evil shall go forth from nation to nation” (v. 32).
8. “The spirits of devils, working miracles, . . . go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world” (16:14).
9. “The slain of the Lord” (v. 33).
9. “The remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse” (19:21).
Jer 25:7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
Jer 25:8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words,
Jer 25:14 They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”
14. Serve themselves of them. Literally, “make servants of them.” In divine retribution, the Babylonians, then the leading nation of the world, would in turn become the slaves of their conquerors.
Jer 25:15 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
15. Take the wine cup. See Ps. 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22; Rev. 14:10.
Jer 25:16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”
16. They shall drink. A graphic portrayal of the panic and terror experienced by the various nations as the Babylonian conqueror advances upon them. The wine of God’s wrath (see v. 15) will intoxicate them, as it were, with dread and despair (see Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 51:7; Hab. 2:16; cf. Rev. 14:10; 17:4; 18:3).
Jer 25:17 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it:
17. Took I the cup. That is, the prophet did this in figure by pouring out his prophecies against these nations.
Jer 25:18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of horror and scorn, a curse—as they are today;
18. Judah. Jeremiah begins the recital of the divine judgments, with a prophecy of the chastisement pronounced upon his own people for their iniquity, and then he passes on to that to be inflicted upon other nations (see 1 Peter 4:17).
Astonishment. Literally, “a horror” (see on ch. 5:30).
Hissing. An expression of derision.
Jer 25:19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials and all his people,
19. Pharaoh. The king of Egypt at this time was Necho II (610–595 b.c.), who was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish.
Jer 25:20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod);
20. Mingled people. Or, “mixed multitude” (see Jer. 50:37; cf. Ex. 12:38; Neh. 13:3). Possibly an allusion to the Ionians and Carians whom Psamtik I, the father of Necho II, had settled in Egypt, and who were used in the Egyptian army as auxiliary troops (see Herodotus ii. 152, 154; see also on Dan. 2:39).
Uz. As to the location of this land, see on Job 1:1.
Land of the Philistines. This includes the four cities that immediately follow: Ashkelon, Azzah (the same as Gaza), Ekron, and Ashdod.
Remnant of Ashdod. Possibly an allusion to the fact that the Egyptian king Psamtik I captured Ashdod after a siege of 29 years (see Herodotus ii. 157).
Jer 25:22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
22. Isles. Heb. ’i, “island,” “coastland,” or “shore.” The islands and coasts of the Mediterranean Sea are referred to (see on Isa. 49:1).
Jer 25:23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant places;
23. Dedan. See on Eze. 25:13.
Buz. The location is uncertain. It is thought by some to have been in Arabia.
Are in the utmost corners. That is, those who cut their hair in a certain manner (see on ch. 9:26).
Jer 25:24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the wilderness;
24. The mingled people. See on v. 20.
Jer 25:25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media;
25. Zimri. The name of a country found nowhere else in or out of the Bible. Some believe it to relate to Zimran, Abraham’s eldest son by Keturah (Gen. 25:1, 2), and that its position here indicates an Arabian nomad tribe southeast of Palestine. Others consider it a cryptic name for Elam.
Elam. See on Gen. 10:22.
Jer 25:26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak will drink it too.
26. Sheshach. Considered by some to be a cryptic name for Babylon, arrived at by a device known as atbash (see on ch. 51:1). When decoded the consonants sh-sh-k equal b-b-l, the Hebrew form of Babylon. Others think Sheshach may represent the Akkadian Shishkú, a name for Babylon appearing in late royal lists.
Drink after them. After forcing the other nations to drink the cup of defeat, Babylon herself would in turn have the same experience.
Jer 25:27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.’
27. Drink ye, and be drunken. Jeremiah seems to revert to vs. 15, 16 (see comments there), depicting the dread and despair to come upon men through the sorrows of international strife.
Spue. A striking representation of the giving up, or disgorging, of spoils that had been taken in war.
Jer 25:29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.’
29. I begin to bring evil. Again, as in v. 18, the picture of divine judgment opens with a view of the chastisement of the Israelites (see 1 Peter 4:17). If Jerusalem cannot escape the Chaldean invasion, surely the surrounding nations cannot. Therefore they, as well as Judah, will be wise if they submit to the Babylonian yoke (see Jer. 49:12).
Jer 25:30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: “‘The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.
30. Shall roar. Verses 30–33 summarize, by dramatic figure, the message of ch. 25. Earlier the prophet had noted the judgments to fall upon Judah and upon all the nations round about her (v. 9), and finally upon Babylon (v. 12). Now, in summary, God is represented as roaring forth from His habitation to punish all nations.
These words will meet another fulfillment in the closing conflict of the nations immediately preceding the second coming of Christ (see GC 656, 657; PP 340).
Upon his habitation. Literally, “against his pasture ground” (see Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2).
Shout. Compare 1 Thess 4:16.
Jer 25:31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,'” declares the LORD.
31. A controversy. Heb. rib, “strife,” or “a case at law.” The picture is that of God sitting in judgment upon the wicked nations.
To the sword. The symbol of destruction by war. In the final conflict of nations the wicked will perish by various means (see GC 657).
Jer 25:32 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”
32. A great whirlwind. For comment see on ch. 23:19.
Coasts of the earth. That is, from the remote parts of earth (see ch. 6:22).
Jer 25:33 At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.
33. The slain of the Lord. See Isa. 34:1–4; 66:15, 16, 24; GC 657.
Not be lamented. Not to receive the respect of the usual burial service would add to the dishonour of their punishment.
Jer 25:34 Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall like the best of the rams.
34. Ye shepherds. The ones who were false leaders of the people of God’s pasture (see on ch. 23:1). The same woe is uttered against the false religious leaders, who, in the last days, have caused the people to trust in a lie (GC 655).
Wallow. Literally, “roll.” “Roll” may be followed by the supplied words “in the ashes” (as in the KJV), or some other expression may be added which fits the context, such as “on the ground,” or “in the dust.” The act was an expression of mourning and grief.
Principal. Literally, “the mighty ones,” that is, the chieftains and captains of the people.
Pleasant vessel. The LXX renders this clause, “and ye shall fall as the choice rams.”
Jer 25:35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
35. Principal. For comment see on v. 34.
Jer 25:36 Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.
36. Shall be heard. Omitting these supplied words seems to strengthen the force of the sentence, which pictures Jeremiah as actually hearing “the cry” and the “howling” of the leaders of the people.
Jer 25:37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
37. Habitations. Or, literally, “pasture grounds” (see on v. 30).
Jer 25:38 Like a lion he will leave his lair, and their land will become desolate because of the sword of the oppressor and because of the LORD’s fierce anger.
38. As the lion. The “Lamb of God” is also “the Lion of the tribe of Juda” (Rev. 5:5). A “lion” recalls not only a picture of kingly majesty but also a graphic representation of destructive power, such as that which the Lord will use when He performs His “strange act” of destroying the wicked (see on Isa. 28:21). Here Jeremiah takes up again the figure of v. 30, which typifies the Lord’s “fierce anger” as the roaring of a lion (see Amos 3:8) that leaves his “covert” in the forest to seek his prey.
Fierceness. Heb. charon, “burning”; always in the sense of “anger,” and used only of God in the OT.
Oppressor. Heb. yonah, the participle of yanah, “to oppress.”