Jeremiah 25:1–38

¹The word that occurred to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Je‧hoi′a‧kim the son of Jo‧si′ah, the king of Judah, that is, the first year of Neb‧u‧chad‧rez′zar the king of Babylon;²which Jeremiah the prophet spoke concerning all the people of Judah and concerning all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:

³“From the thirteenth year of Jo‧si′ah the son of A′mon, the king of Judah, and down to this day, these twenty‐three years the word of Jehovah has occurred to me, and I kept speaking to ​YOU​ people, rising up early and speaking, but ​YOU​ did not listen.⁴And Jehovah sent to ​YOU​ all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them], but ​YOU​ did not listen, neither did ​YOU​ incline ​YOUR​ ear to listen,⁵they saying, ‘Turn back, please, every one from his bad way and from the badness of ​YOUR​ dealings, and continue dwelling upon the ground that Jehovah gave to ​YOU​ and to ​YOUR​ forefathers from long ago and to a long time to come.⁶And do not walk after other gods in order to serve them and to bow down to them, that ​YOU​ may not offend me with the work of ​YOUR​ hands, and that I may not cause calamity to ​YOU.’

⁷“‘But ​YOU​ did not listen to me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘to the intent that ​YOU​ might offend me with the work of ​YOUR​ hands, for calamity to yourselves.’

⁸“Therefore this is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘“For the reason that ​YOU​ did not obey my words,⁹here I am sending and I will take all the families of the north,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even [sending] to Neb‧u‧chad‧rez′zar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of astonishment and something to whistle at and places devastated to time indefinite.¹⁰And I will destroy out of them the sound of exultation and the sound of rejoicing, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the hand mill and the light of the lamp.¹¹And all this land must become a devastated place, an object of astonishment, and these nations will have to serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”’

¹²“‘And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘their error, even against the land of the Chal‧de′ans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite.¹³And I will bring in upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, even all that is written in this book that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.¹⁴For even they themselves, many nations and great kings, have exploited them as servants; and I will repay them according to their activity and according to the work of their hands.’”

¹⁵For this is what Jehovah the God of Israel said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of rage out of my hand, and you must make all the nations to whom I am sending you drink it.¹⁶And they must drink and shake back and forth and act like crazed men because of the sword that I am sending among them.”

¹⁷And I proceeded to take the cup out of the hand of Jehovah and to make all the nations drink to whom Jehovah had sent me:¹⁸namely, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and her kings, her princes, to make them a devastated place, an object of astonishment, something to whistle at and a malediction, just as at this day;¹⁹Phar′aoh the king of Egypt and his servants and his princes and all his people;²⁰and all the mixed company, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Phi‧lis′tines and Ash′ke‧lon and Ga′za and Ek′ron and the remnant of Ash′dod;²¹E′dom and Mo′ab and the sons of Am′mon;²²and all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Si′don and the kings of the island that is in the region of the sea;²³and De′dan and Te′ma and Buz and all those with hair clipped at the temples;²⁴and all the kings of the Arabs and all the kings of the mixed company who are residing in the wilderness;²⁵and all the kings of Zim′ri and all the kings of E′lam and all the kings of the Medes;²⁶and all the kings of the north who are near and far away, one after the other, and all the [other] kingdoms of the earth that are on the surface of the ground; and the king of She′shach himself will drink after them.

²⁷“And you must say to them, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “Drink and get drunk and puke and fall so that ​YOU​ cannot get up because of the sword that I am sending among ​YOU.”’²⁸And it must occur that in case they refuse to take the cup out of your hand to drink, you must also say to them, ‘This is what Jehovah of armies has said: “YOU​ will drink without fail.²⁹For, look! it is upon the city upon which my name is called that I am starting off in bringing calamity, and should ​YOU​ yourselves in any way go free of punishment?”’

“‘YOU​ will not go free of punishment, for there is a sword that I am calling against all the inhabitants of the earth,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies.

³⁰“And as for you, you will prophesy to them all these words, and you must say to them, ‘From on high Jehovah himself will roar, and from his holy dwelling he will give forth his voice. Without fail he will roar upon his abiding place. A shout like that of those treading [the winepress] he will sing out against all the inhabitants of the earth.’

³¹“‘A noise will certainly come clear to the farthest part of the earth, for there is a controversy that Jehovah has with the nations. He must personally put himself in judgment with all flesh. As regards the wicked ones, he must give them to the sword,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.

³²“This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Look! A calamity is going forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest itself will be roused up from the remotest parts of the earth.³³And those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth. They will not be bewailed, neither will they be gathered up or be buried. As manure on the surface of the ground they will become.’

³⁴“Howl, ​YOU​ shepherds, and cry out! And wallow about, ​YOU​ majestic ones of the flock, because ​YOUR​ days for slaughtering and for ​YOUR​ scatterings have been fulfilled, and ​YOU​ must fall like a desirable vessel!³⁵And a place to flee to has perished from the shepherds, and a means of escape from the majestic ones of the flock.³⁶Listen! The outcry of the shepherds, and the howling of the majestic ones of the flock, for Jehovah is despoiling their pasturage.³⁷And the peaceful abiding places have been rendered lifeless because of the burning anger of Jehovah.³⁸He has left his covert just like a maned young lion, for their land has become an object of astonishment because of the maltreating sword and because of his burning anger.”