25:8 “Therefore, the Lord who rules over all 16 says, ‘You have not listened to what I said. 17 25:9 So I, the Lord, affirm that 18 I will send for all the peoples of the north 19 and my servant, 20 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy 21 this land, its inhabitants, and all the nations that surround it 22 and make them everlasting ruins. 23 I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn. 24 25:10 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. 25 I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. 26 25:11 This whole area 27 will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’ 28
25:12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation 29 for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon 30 an everlasting ruin. 31 I, the Lord, affirm it! 32 25:13 I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 33 25:14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation 34 too. I will repay them for all they have done!’” 35
25:15 So 36 the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. 37 “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. 38 Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it. 25:16 When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro 39 and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.” 40
25:17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath. 41 25:18 I made Jerusalem 42 and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. 43 I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object 44 of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. 45 Such is already becoming the case! 46 25:19 I made all of these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; 47 his attendants, his officials, his people, 25:20 the foreigners living in Egypt; 48 all the kings of the land of Uz; 49 all the kings of the land of the Philistines, 50 the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; 51 25:21 all the people of Edom, 52 Moab, 53 Ammon; 54 25:22 all the kings of Tyre, 55 all the kings of Sidon; 56 all the kings of the coastlands along the sea; 57 25:23 the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, 58 all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples; 59 25:24 all the kings of Arabia who 60 live in the desert; 25:25 all the kings of Zimri; 61 all the kings of Elam; 62 all the kings of Media; 63 25:26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath, 64 the king of Babylon 65 must drink it.
25:27 Then the Lord said to me, 66 “Tell them that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 67 says, 68 ‘Drink this cup 69 until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. 70 For I will send wars sweeping through you.’ 71 25:28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord who rules over all says 72 ‘You most certainly must drink it! 73 25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. 74 So how can you possibly avoid being punished? 75 You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, 76 affirm it!’ 77
25:30 “Then, Jeremiah, 78 make the following prophecy 79 against them:
‘Like a lion about to attack, 80 the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven;
from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly.
He will roar mightily against his land. 81
He will shout in triumph like those stomping juice from the grapes 82
against all those who live on the earth.
25:31 The sounds of battle 83 will resound to the ends of the earth.
For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. 84
He will pass judgment on all humankind
and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ 85
The Lord so affirms it! 86
25:32 The Lord who rules over all 87 says,
‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another. 88
A mighty storm of military destruction 89 is rising up
from the distant parts of the earth.’
25:33 Those who have been killed by the Lord at that time
will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other.
They will not be mourned over, gathered up, or buried. 90
Their dead bodies will lie scattered over the ground like manure.
25:34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!
Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! 91
The time for you to be slaughtered has come.
You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery. 92
25:35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide. 93
The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.
25:36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders.
Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks.
They are wailing because the Lord
is about to destroy their lands. 94
25:37 Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste 95
by the fierce anger of the Lord. 96
25:38 The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair. 97
So their lands will certainly 98 be laid waste
by the warfare of the oppressive nation 99
and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”
1 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
2 sn The year referred to would be 627
3 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
4 tn The words “what he said” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
5 tn For the idiom involved here see the notes at 7:13 and 11:7.
6 tn The vav consecutive with the perfect in a past narrative is a little unusual. Here it is probably indicating repeated action in past time in keeping with the idiom that precedes and follows it. See GKC 332 §112.f for other possible examples.
7 tn Heb “inclined your ear to hear.” This is idiomatic for “paying attention.” It is often parallel with “listen” as here or with “pay attention” (see, e.g., Prov 4:20; 51:1).
8 tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”
9 tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.
10 tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.
11 tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.
12 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
13 tn Heb “Oracle of the
14 tn This is a rather clear case where the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lÿma’an) introduces a consequence and not a purpose, contrary to the dictum of BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן note 1. They have not listened to him in order to make him angry but with the result that they have made him angry by going their own way. Jeremiah appears to use this particle for result rather than purpose on several other occasions (see, e.g., 7:18, 19; 27:10, 15; 32:29).
15 tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.
16 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
17 tn Heb “You have not listened to my words.”
18 tn Heb “Oracle of the
19 sn The many allusions to trouble coming from the north are now clarified: it is the armies of Babylon which included within it contingents from many nations. See 1:14, 15; 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; 13:20 for earlier allusions.
20 sn Nebuchadnezzar is called the
21 tn The word used here was used in the early years of Israel’s conquest for the action of killing all the men, women, and children in the cities of Canaan, destroying all their livestock, and burning their cities down. This policy was intended to prevent Israel from being corrupted by paganism (Deut 7:2; 20:17-18; Josh 6:18, 21). It was to be extended to any city that led Israel away from worshiping God (Deut 13:15) and any Israelite who brought an idol into his house (Deut 7:26). Here the policy is being directed against Judah as well as against her neighbors because of her persistent failure to heed God’s warnings through the prophets. For further usage of this term in application to foreign nations in the book of Jeremiah see 50:21, 26; 51:3.
22 tn Heb “will utterly destroy them.” The referent (this land, its inhabitants, and the nations surrounding it) has been specified in the translation for clarity, since the previous “them” referred to Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.
23 sn The Hebrew word translated “everlasting” is the word often translated “eternal.” However, it sometimes has a more limited time reference. For example it refers to the lifetime of a person who became a “lasting slave” to another person (see Exod 21:6; Deut 15:17). It is also used to refer to the long life wished for a king (1 Kgs 1:31; Neh 2:3). The time frame here is to be qualified at least with reference to Judah and Jerusalem as seventy years (see 29:10-14 and compare v. 12).
24 tn Heb “I will make them an object of horror and a hissing and everlasting ruins.” The sentence has been broken up to separate the last object from the first two which are of slightly different connotation, i.e., they denote the reaction to the latter.
25 sn Compare Jer 7:24 and 16:9 for this same dire prediction limited to Judah and Jerusalem.
26 sn The sound of people grinding meal and the presence of lamps shining in their houses were signs of everyday life. The
27 tn Heb “All this land.”
28 sn It should be noted that the text says that the nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years, not that they will lie desolate for seventy years. Though several proposals have been made for dating this period, many ignore this fact. This most likely refers to the period beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat of Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish in 605
29 tn Heb “that nation.”
30 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the use of the term “Chaldeans.”
31 tn Heb “I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, oracle of the
32 tn Heb “Oracle of the
33 tn Or “I will bring upon it everything that is to be written in this book. I will bring upon it everything that Jeremiah is going to prophesy concerning all the nations.” The reference to “this book” and “what Jeremiah has prophesied against the nations” raises issues about the editorial process underlying the current form of the book of Jeremiah. As the book now stands there is no earlier reference to any judgments against Babylon or any book (really “scroll”; books were a development of the first or second century
34 tn Heb “make slaves of them.” The verb form here indicates that the action is as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). For the use of the verb rendered “makes slaves” see parallel usage in Lev 25:39, 46 (cf. BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3).
35 tn Heb “according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.” The two phrases are synonymous; it would be hard to represent them both in translation without being redundant. The translation attempts to represent them by the qualifier “all” before the first phrase.
36 tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) which is probably being used in the sense that BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c notes, i.e., the causal connection is somewhat loose, related here to the prophecies against the nations. “So” seems to be the most appropriate way to represent this.
37 tn Heb “Thus said the
38 sn “Drinking from the cup of wrath” is a common figure to represent being punished by God. Isaiah had used it earlier to refer to the punishment which Judah was to suffer and from which God would deliver her (Isa 51:17, 22) and Jeremiah’s contemporary Habakkuk uses it of Babylon “pouring out its wrath” on the nations and in turn being forced to drink the bitter cup herself (Hab 2:15-16). In Jer 51:7 the
39 tn There is some debate about the meaning of the verb here. Both BDB 172 s.v. גָּעַשׁ Hithpo and KBL 191 s.v. גָּעַשׁ Hitpol interpret this of the back and forth movement of staggering. HALOT 192 s.v. גָּעַשׁ Hitpo interprets it as vomiting. The word is used elsewhere of the up and down movement of the mountains (2 Sam 22:8) and the up and down movement of the rolling waves of the Nile (Jer 46:7, 8). The fact that a different verb is used in v. 27 for vomiting would appear to argue against it referring to vomiting (contra W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:674; it is “they” that do this not their stomachs).
40 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among them.” Here, as often elsewhere in Jeremiah, the sword is figurative for warfare which brings death. See, e.g., 15:2. The causal particle here is found in verbal locutions where it is the cause of emotional states or action. Hence there are really two “agents” which produce the effects of “staggering” and “acting insane,” the cup filled with God’s wrath and the sword. The sword is the “more literal” and the actual agent by which the first agent’s action is carried out.
41 tn The words “the wine of his wrath” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor (see vv. 15-16). They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
42 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
43 tn The words “I made” and “drink it” are not in the text. The text from v. 18 to v. 26 contains a list of the nations that Jeremiah “made drink it.” The words are supplied in the translation here and at the beginning of v. 19 for the sake of clarity. See also the note on v. 26.
44 tn Heb “in order to make them a ruin, an object of…” The sentence is broken up and the antecedents are made specific for the sake of clarity and English style.
45 tn See the study note on 24:9 for explanation.
46 tn Heb “as it is today.” This phrase would obviously be more appropriate after all these things had happened as is the case in 44:6, 23 where the verbs referring to these conditions are past. Some see this phrase as a marginal gloss added after the tragedies of 597
47 sn See further Jer 46:2-28 for the judgment against Egypt.
48 tn The meaning of this term and its connection with the preceding is somewhat uncertain. This word is used of the mixture of foreign people who accompanied Israel out of Egypt (Exod 12:38) and of the foreigners that the Israelites were to separate out of their midst in the time of Nehemiah (Neh 13:3). Most commentators interpret it here of the foreign people who were living in Egypt. (See BDB 786 s.v. I עֶרֶב and KBL 733 s.v. II עֶרֶב.)
49 sn The land of Uz was Job’s homeland (Job 1:1). The exact location is unknown but its position here between Egypt and the Philistine cities suggests it is south of Judah, probably in the Arabian peninsula. Lam 4:21 suggests that it was near Edom.
50 sn See further Jer 47:1-7 for the judgment against the Philistines. The Philistine cities were west of Judah.
51 sn The Greek historian Herodotus reports that Ashdod had been destroyed under the Pharaoh who preceded Necho, Psammetichus.
52 sn See further Jer 49:7-22 for the judgment against Edom. Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah.
53 sn See further Jer 48:1-47 for the judgment against Moab.
54 sn See further Jer 49:1-6 for the judgment against Ammon.
55 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
56 sn Tyre and Sidon are mentioned within the judgment on the Philistines in Jer 47:4. They were Phoenician cities to the north and west of Judah on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Lebanon.
57 sn The connection with Tyre and Sidon suggests that these were Phoenician colonies. See also Isa 23:2.
58 sn Dedan and Tema are mentioned together in Isa 21:13-14 and located in the desert. They were located in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula south and east of Ezion Geber. Buz is not mentioned anywhere else and its location is unknown. Judgment against Dedan and Tema is mentioned in conjunction with the judgment on Edom in Jer 47:7-8.
59 tn For the discussion regarding the meaning of the terms here see the notes on 9:26.
60 tc Or “and all the kings of people of mixed origin who.” The Greek version gives evidence of having read the term only once; it refers to the “people of mixed origin” without reference to the kings of Arabia. While the term translated “people of mixed origin” seems appropriate in the context of a group of foreigners within a larger entity (e.g. Israel in Exod 12:38; Neh 13:3; Egypt in Jer 50:37), it seems odd to speak of them as a separate entity under their own kings. The presence of the phrase in the Hebrew text and the other versions dependent upon it can be explained as a case of dittography.
61 sn The kingdom of Zimri is mentioned nowhere else, so its location is unknown.
62 sn See further Jer 49:34-39 for judgment against Elam.
63 sn Elam and Media were east of Babylon; Elam in the south and Media in the north. They were in what is now western Iran.
64 tn The words “have drunk the wine of the
65 tn Heb “the king of Sheshach.” “Sheshach” is a code name for Babylon formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. On this principle Hebrew שׁ (shin) is substituted for Hebrew ב (bet) and Hebrew כ (kaf) is substituted for Hebrew ל (lamed). On the same principle “Leb Kamai” in Jer 51:1 is a code name for Chasdim or Chaldeans which is Jeremiah’s term for the Babylonians. No explanation is given for why the code names are used. The name “Sheshach” for Babylon also occurs in Jer 51:41 where the term Babylon is found in parallelism with it.
66 tn The words “Then the
67 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
68 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
69 tn The words “this cup” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor and the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
70 tn Heb “Drink, and get drunk, and vomit and fall down and don’t get up.” The imperatives following drink are not parallel actions but consequent actions. For the use of the imperative plus the conjunctive “and” to indicate consequent action, even intention see GKC 324-25 §110.f and compare usage in 1 Kgs 22:12; Prov 3:3b-4a.
71 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among you.” See the notes on 2:16 for explanation.
72 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
73 tn The translation attempts to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb which is here an obligatory imperfect. (See Joüon 2:371-72 §113.m and 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Gen 15:13.)
74 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.
75 tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)
76 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
77 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”
78 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to make clear who is being addressed.
79 tn Heb “Prophesy against them all these words.”
80 tn The words “like a lion about to attack” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. The explicit comparison of the
81 sn The word used here (Heb “his habitation”) refers to the land of Canaan which the
82 sn The metaphor shifts from God as a lion to God as a mighty warrior (Jer 20:11; Isa 42:13; Zeph 3:17) shouting in triumph over his foes. Within the metaphor is a simile where the warrior is compared to a person stomping on grapes to remove the juice from them in the making of wine. The figure will be invoked later in a battle scene where the sounds of joy in the grape harvest are replaced by the sounds of joy of the enemy soldiers (Jer 48:33). The picture is drawn in more gory detail in Isa 63:1-6.
83 tn For the use of this word see Amos 2:2; Hos 10:14; Ps 74:23. See also the usage in Isa 66:6 which is very similar to the metaphorical usage here.
84 tn Heb “the
85 tn Heb “give the wicked over to the sword.”
86 tn Heb “Oracle of the
87 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
88 tn Heb “will go forth from nation to nation.”
89 tn The words “of military destruction” have been supplied in the translation to make the metaphor clear. The metaphor has shifted from that of God as a lion, to God as a warrior, to God as a judge, to God as the author of the storm winds of destruction.
90 sn The intent here is to emphasize the large quantity of those who are killed – there will be too many to insure proper mourning rites and proper burial.
91 tn Heb “Wail and cry out, you shepherds. Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.” The terms have been reversed to explain the figure.
92 tn The meaning of this line is debated. The Greek version does not have the words “lie scattered” and it reads the words “like broken pieces of fine pottery” (Heb “like choice vessels”; כִּכְלִי חֶמְדָּה, kikhli khemdah) as “like choice rams” (כְּאֵילֵי חֶמְדָּה, kÿ’ele khemdah); i.e., “the days have been completed for you to be slaughtered and you will fall like choice rams.” The reading of the Greek version fits the context better, but is probably secondary for that very reason. The word translated “lie scattered” (תְּפוֹצָה, tÿfotsah) occurs nowhere else and the switch to the simile of “choice vessels” is rather abrupt. However, this section has been characterized by switching metaphors. The key to the interpretation and translation here is the consequential nature of the verbal actions involved. “Fall” does not merely refer to the action but the effect, i.e., “lie fallen” (cf. BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל 7 and compare Judg 3:25; 1 Sam 31:8). Though the noun translated “lie scattered” does not occur elsewhere, the verb does. It is quite commonly used of dispersing people and that has led many to see that as the reference here. The word, however, can be used of scattering other things like seed (Isa 28:25), arrows (2 Sam 22:15; metaphorical for lightning), etc. Here it follows “slaughtered” and refers to their dead bodies. The simile (Heb “ fallen like choice vessels”) is elliptical, referring to “broken pieces” of choice vessels. In this sense the simile fits in perfectly with v. 33.
93 tn Heb “Flight [or “place of escape”] will perish from the shepherds.”
94 tn Heb “their pastures,” i.e., the place where they “shepherd” their “flocks.” The verb tenses in this section are not as clear as in the preceding. The participle in this verse is followed by a vav consecutive perfect like the imperatives in v. 34. The verbs in v. 38 are perfects but they can be and probably should be understood as prophetic like the perfect in v. 31 (נְתָנָם, nÿtanam) which is surrounded by imperfects, participles, and vav consecutive perfects.
95 tn For this meaning of the verb used here see HALOT 217 s.v. דָּמַם Nif. Elsewhere it refers to people dying (see, e.g., Jer 49:26; 50:30) hence some see a reference to “lifeless.”
96 tn Heb “because of the burning anger of the
97 tn Heb “Like a lion he has left his lair.”
98 tn This is a way of rendering the Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) which is probably here for emphasis rather than indicating cause (see BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 1.e and compare usage in Jer 22:22).
99 tc Heb “by the sword of the oppressors.” The reading here follows a number of Hebrew