Jeremiah 25
New King James Version

Seventy Years of Desolation

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah,^(A)in the fourth year of^(B)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (whichwasthe 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, saying:³^(C)“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, thisisthe twenty-third year in which the word of theLordhas come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking,^(D)but you have not listened.⁴And theLordhas sent to you all His servants the prophets,^(E)rising early and sendingthem,but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear.⁵They said,^(F)‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that theLordhas given to you and your fathers forever and ever.⁶Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’⁷Yet you have not listened to Me,” says theLord, “that you might^(G)provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

⁸“Therefore thus says theLordof hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words,⁹behold, I will send and take^(H)all the families of the north,’ says theLord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,^(I)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and^(J)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.¹⁰Moreover I will^[a]take from them the^(K)voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride,^(L)the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.¹¹And this whole land shall be a desolationandan astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy^(M)years.

¹²‘Then it will come to pass,^(N)when^[b]seventy years are completed,thatI will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says theLord;^(O)‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation.¹³So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.¹⁴^(P)(For many nations^(Q)and great kings shall^(R)be served by them also;^(S)and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”

Judgment on the Nations

¹⁵For thus says theLordGod of Israel to me: “Take this^(T)wine cup of^[c]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.¹⁶And^(U)they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷Then I took the cup from theLord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom theLordhad sent me:¹⁸Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them^(V)a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and^(W)a curse, asit isthis day;¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people;²⁰all the mixed multitude, all the kings of^(X)the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the^(Y)Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and^(Z)the remnant of Ashdod);²¹^(AA)Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon;²²all the kings of^(AB)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands whichareacross the^(AC)sea;²³^(AD)Dedan, Tema, Buz, and allwho arein the farthest corners;²⁴all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the^(AE)mixed multitude who dwell in the desert;²⁵all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of^(AF)Elam, and all the kings of the^(AG)Medes;²⁶^(AH)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world whichareon the face of the earth. Also the king of^[d]Sheshach shall drink after them.

²⁷“Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says theLordof hosts, the God of Israel:^(AI)“Drink,^(AJ)be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’²⁸And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says theLordof hosts: “You shall certainly drink!²⁹For behold,^(AK)I begin to bring calamity on the city^(AL)which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for^(AM)I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says theLordof hosts.’

³⁰“Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

‘TheLordwill^(AN)roar from on high,
And utter His voice from^(AO)His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against^(AP)His fold.
He will give^(AQ)a shout, as those who treadthe grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
³¹A noise will come to the ends of the earth—
For theLordhas^(AR)a controversy with the nations;
^(AS)He will plead His case with all flesh.
He will give thosewho arewicked to the sword,’ says theLord.”

³²Thus says theLordof hosts:

“Behold, disaster shall go forth
From nation to nation,
And^(AT)a great whirlwind shall be raised up
From the farthest parts of the earth.

³³^(AU)And at that day the slain of theLordshall be fromoneend of the earth even to theotherend of the earth. They shall not be^(AV)lamented,^(AW)or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

³⁴“Wail,^(AX)shepherds, and cry!
Roll aboutin the ashes,
You leaders of the flock!
For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;
You shall fall like a precious vessel.
³⁵And the shepherds will have no^[e]way to flee,
Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
³⁶A voice of the cry of the shepherds,
And a wailing of the leaders to the flockwill be heard.
For theLordhas plundered their pasture,
³⁷And the peaceful dwellings are cut down
Because of the fierce anger of theLord.
³⁸He has left His lair like the lion;
For their land is desolate
Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,
And because of His fierce anger.”