CHAPTER 25
This 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.
So
the prophet
Jeremiah
spoke
to
all
the people
of Judah
and all
the residents
of Jerusalem
as follows:
“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.
And 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 prophets told you,
‘Turn
now,
each
of you,
from your evil
ways
and evil
deeds,
and you can dwell
in
the land
that
the LORD has given
to you
and to your fathers
forever
and
ever.
Do not
follow
other
gods
to serve
them and to worship them,
and do not
provoke Me to anger
with the works
of your hands.
Then I will do you no
harm.’
‘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.’
behold,
I will summon
all
the families
of the north,
declares
the LORD,
and I will send for
My servant
Nebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon.
I will bring them
against
this
land,
against
its residents,
and against
all
the
surrounding
nations.
So I will completely destroy
them and make them
an object of horror
and contempt,
an everlasting
desolation.
Moreover, 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.
And this
whole
land
will become
a desolate
wasteland,
and these
nations
will serve
the king
of Babylon
for seventy
years.
But 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.
I will bring
upon
that
land
all
the words
I have pronounced
against it,
all
that is written
in this
book,
which
Jeremiah
prophesied
against
all
the nations.
For
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.’”
This 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.
And they will drink
and stagger
and go out of their minds,
because of
the sword
that
I
will send
among them.”
So 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,
to make
them
a ruin,
an object of horror
and contempt
and cursing,
as they are this
day—
Jerusalem
and the cities
of Judah,
its kings
and officials;
all
the mixed tribes;
all
the kings
of Uz;
all
the kings
of the Philistines:
Ashkelon,
Gaza,
Ekron,
and the remnant
of Ashdod;
all
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.
Then you are to tell
them,
‘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.’
If
they refuse
to take
the cup
from your hand
and drink it,
you are to tell
them,
‘This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
You most certainly must
drink it!
For
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
against
all
the inhabitants
of the earth,
declares
the LORD
of Hosts.'
So 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 shout,
against
all
the inhabitants
of the earth.
The tumult
will resound
to
the ends
of the earth
because
the LORD
brings a charge
against the nations.
He
enters into judgment
on all
mankind
and puts
the wicked
to the sword,’
declares
the LORD.”
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
“Behold!
Disaster
is spreading
from nation
to
nation;
a mighty
storm
is rising
from the ends
of the earth.”
Those 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.
Wail,
you shepherds,
and cry out;
roll in the dust,
you leaders
of the flock.
For
the days
of your slaughter
have come;
you will fall
and be shattered
like fine
pottery.
Hear the
cry
of the shepherds,
the wailing
of the leaders
of the flock,
for
the LORD
is destroying
their pasture.
He has left
His den
like a lion,
for
their land
has been made
a desolation
by
the sword
of the oppressor,
and because
of His fierce
anger.