1
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon;
2
The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,
3
From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even
unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD
hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking;
but ye have not hearkened.
4
And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising
early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to
hear.
5
They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the
evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you
and to your fathers for ever and ever:
This is the word that came to Jeremiah:
6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and
provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no
hurt.
God said,
I told you that if you didn't worship other gods [1]
or make things with your hands, I wouldn't hurt you.
7
Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke
me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
8
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my
words,
But you didn't listen to me.
9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the
LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring
them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof,
and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an
astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
So I'm sending Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, to destroy you.
Everyone who sees the desolation will hiss and be astonished.
10 Moreover 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 candle.
The good times are over for you.
11
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
The whole land will be desolate for seventy years. [2]
12
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that
I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their
iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual
desolations.
When the seventy years are over, I'll punish Nebuchadrezzar and destroy Babylon. [3]
13
And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced
against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath
prophesied against all the nations.
14
For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and
I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works
of their own hands.
I'll do all the things that Jeremiah has prophesied and that are written in this book.
The wine cup of God's fury
15
For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this
fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink
it.
God said,
I'll force all nations to drink from the wine of my fury.
16
And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that
I will send among them.
They'll drink from the cup and go mad.
And I'll send a sword to kill them all.
17
Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to drink,
unto whom the LORD had sent me:
Jeremiah said,
So I took the cup from God's hand and went to each nation and forced them to drink it.
18
To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the
princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and
a curse; as it is this day;
I started with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah to make them a desolation, astonishment, hissing, and
a curse, as it is to this day.
19
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his
people;
Then I went to Egypt and forced the Pharaoh and all his people.
20
And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all
the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and
Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
21
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,
22
And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of
the isles which are beyond the sea,
23
Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners,
24
And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that
dwell in the desert,
25
And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings
of the Medes,
I continued travelling to every kingdom on earth, forcing each
king to drink from the cup of God's wrath.
26
And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and
all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the
king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
The last king I visited was the king of Sheshach (Babylon), forcing him to drink from the same cup.
27
Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink
ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the
sword which I will send among you.
God told me to say this to each king:
Drink and get drunk, vomit, and fall down. [4]
Because I will send an army to destroy you.
28
And it shall be, if
they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto
them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
God said to Jeremiah,
If they refuse to drink from the cup, say to them,
God says you must drink.
29
For, lo, I begin to
bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be
utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword
upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
God said (to no one in particular),
I'll bring evil on this city.
I'll send a sword to kill everyone on earth.
30
Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar
from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall
mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they
that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
I'll roar from on high and give a shout, while I trample all the people on earth, as though
I were treading grapes. [5]
31
A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a
controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are
wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
A noise will be heard everywhere on earth, while God pleads with all flesh, killing wicked people with a sword.
They shall be dung upon the ground
32
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to
nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the
earth.
Evil will go from nation to nation, along with a great whirlwind.
33
And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor
buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Dead bodies will cover the ground from one end of the earth to the other.
No one will mourn for them.
They'll be like dung on the face of the earth. [6]
34
Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye
principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your
dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Howl, cry, wallow in ashes, because the day of your slaughter is here.
35
And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the
flock to escape.
No one will be able to escape.
36
A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of
the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.
There'll be a lot of howling going on.
37
And the peaceable habitations are cut down
because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Peaceful homes will be completely destroyed by God.
38
He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate
because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
God will make the land desolate in his anger.
Notes
- Go not after other gods. (v.6)
How many gods are there?
- Seventy years (v.11)
Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years. Yet it lasted from the fall of
Jerusalem in 586 BCE to the fall of Babylon in 538 BCE, a period of only 48 years.
- I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation. (v.12)
God says he is going to punish Nebuchadnezzar and the
Babylonians for what they have done to his people -- even though God Himself is the one who made them
attack and enslave Judah! As part of the punishment God will take their land "make it perpetual desolations."
A false prophecy, since Babylon (present-day Iraq) is quite occupied.
- Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall.
(v.27)
God will force "all the kingdoms of the world" to drink "and be drunken." Then he'll kill "all the inhabitants of
the earth" with a sword.
What the Bible says about alcohol
- The LORD shall roar ... he shall give a shout, as they
that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. (v.30)
God is really getting into all of this
killing. He roars, he mightily roars, and shouts. He "pleads with all flesh" while a whirlwind roars and a noise can be heard
everywhere on earth.
- The slain of the LORD shall be ... from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall
not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. (v.33)
God will kill so many people that the entire
earth will be covered with their dead bodies. No one is to mourn them or even
bury them; "they shall be dung upon the ground."
DWB: How many more will God kill?
- Howl.
- Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and
of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. 25:34
- Dwindling in Unbelief
- What the Bible says about alcohol (Jeremiah 25:15-16, 27-28)