Jeremiah 25

1 The word that has been to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah—it [is] the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon—

After Jehoiakim had been ruling Judah for almost four years, Yahweh gave me this message for all the people of Judah. It was during the year that King Nebuchadnezzar started to rule in Babylon.

2 Which Jeremiah the prophet has spoken concerning all the people of Judah, even to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

I spoke this message to all the people in Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah:

3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and to this day—this twenty-third year—the word of YHWH has been to me, and I speak to you, rising early and speaking, and you have not listened;

“Yahweh has been giving me messages for 23 years. He started giving me messages when Josiah, the son of Amon, had been ruling Judah for almost 13 years. And I have faithfully told you those messages, but you have not paid any attention to them.

4 and YHWH has sent all His servants to you, the prophets, rising early and sending, and you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear, saying,

Many times Yahweh has sent to you the prophets who served him, but you have not listened to them or paid any attention to what they said.

5 Please turn back, each from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell on the ground that YHWH has given to you and to your fathers from age to age,

Each time their message was this: ‘Turn from all your evil behavior [MET], from all the evil things that you have continually been doing. If you do that, you will be able to stay in this land that Yahweh gave to you and to your ancestors, [to belong to you] forever.

6 and you do not go after other gods to serve them, and to bow yourselves to them, nor do you provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I do no evil to you;

Do not cause Yahweh to become angry by serving and worshiping idols that you have made with your hands. If you do not cause him to be angry, he will not punish/harm you.’

7 and you have not listened to Me,” a declaration of YHWH, “so as to provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands for evil to you.

And Yahweh says, ‘But you would not pay attention to the messages that I [gave to those prophets]. You caused me to become extremely angry by [your worshiping idols] that you had made with your own hands. That resulted in my punishing you.

8 Therefore, thus said YHWH of Hosts: Because that you have not obeyed My words,

So [now, I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say that because you have not paid attention to what I said,

9 behold, I am sending, and have taken all the families of the north—a declaration of YHWH—even to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and have brought them in against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations, and have devoted them, and appointed them for an astonishment, and for a hissing, and for continuous ruins.

I will gather all [the armies of] the nations that will come from the northeast. I have appointed King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to lead them. I have appointed him to do my work for me. I will bring those [armies] to attack this land and nearby countries. I will completely destroy them, and cause them to be places that people are horrified about, and that people will (ridicule/act contemptuously toward), places that will be ruined forever.

10 And I have destroyed from them the voice of rejoicing, and the voice of joy, voice of bridegroom and voice of bride, noise of millstones, and the light of lamps.

I will cause happy singing and laughing to cease in your land. There will no longer be brides and bridegrooms talking [joyfully]. There will not be the sound of people grinding [grain] with millstones. There will be no lamps lit [in your houses].

11 And all this land has been for a desolation, for an astonishment, and these nations have served the king of Babylon seventy years.

All of this land will become a desert where no one will live. And [the people of] Israel and of the nearby countries will [will be exiled to Babylonia and] (work for/be slaves of) the kings of Babylon for seventy years.

12 And it has come to pass, at the fullness of seventy years, I charge against the king of Babylon, and against that nation,” a declaration of YHWH, “their iniquity, and against the land of the Chaldeans, and have appointed it for continuous desolations.

Then, after [they have been in Babylonia for] seventy years, I will punish the King of Babylonia and his people for the sins that they have committed. I will cause Babylonia to become a wasteland/desert forever.

13 And I have brought in on that land all My words that I have spoken against it, all that is written in this scroll, that Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.

I will cause them to experience all the terrible things that Jeremiah has written about—all the punishments that he predicted will happen to all those nations.

14 For laid service on them—also them—have many nations and great kings, and I have given repayment to them according to their doing, and according to the work of their hands.”

The leaders of many nations will cause the people of Babylonia to become their slaves, like the people of Babylonia caused my people to become slaves. I will punish them like they deserve for [having caused my people to suffer].’”

15 For thus said YHWH, God of Israel, to me: “Take the wine cup of this fury out of My hand, and you have caused all the nations to drink it to whom I am sending you;

Then Yahweh, the God [we] Israelis [worship], gave me [a vision. In the vision he was holding a cup of wine]. He said, “Take from me this cup that is full of [wine that represents] punishment [MTY]. I will cause all [the leaders of] the nations to which I will send you to drink [some of] the wine in this cup.

16 and they have drunk, and shaken themselves and shown themselves [to be] foolish, because of the sword that I am sending among them.”

When they drink [the wine], they will stagger and act like crazy people, because [they will realize that] I will (massacre many of their people/cause many of their people to be killed) [MTY] with swords.”

17 And I take the cup out of the hand of YHWH, and cause all the nations to drink to whom YHWH sent me:

So, [in the vision, ] I took that cup [full of wine] from Yahweh, and I took it to all the nations to which he sent me, and caused [the leaders of those] nations to drink [some of that wine].

18 Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, And its kings, its heads, To give them to ruin, to astonishment, To hissing, and to reviling, as [at] this day;

[I went to] Jerusalem and the [other] towns in Judah, and the king and [the other] officials drank [some of the wine] from that cup. And, starting from that day, they all [eventually] were removed from having authority, and became [people whom others] (ridiculed/acted contemptuously towards), who were despised, and cursed.

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, And his heads, and all his people,

[In the vision I went to] Egypt [and gave some of the wine] to the king and his officials and many of his people,

20 And all the mixed people, And all the kings of the land of Uz, And all the kings of the land of the Philistines, And Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, And the remnant of Ashdod,

and to foreigners who were living there. [In the vision I also went to] Uz land and to Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod [cities and gave some of the wine] to the kings [of those places].

21 Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon,

[Then in the vision I went to the] Edom, Moab, and Ammon [people-groups],

22 And all the kings of Tyre, And all the kings of Sidon, And the kings of the island that [is] beyond the sea,

and to Tyre and Sidon [cities] and to areas across the [Mediterranean] Sea, and [gave some of the wine] to the kings [of those places].

23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, And all cutting the corners [of the beard],

[In the vision I then went] to Dedan, Tema, and Buz [cities in Arabia] and to other distant places (OR, places where people cut their hair short), [and gave some of the wine to leaders in those areas].

24 And all the kings of Arabia, And all the kings of the mixed people, Who are dwelling in the wilderness,

[In the vision I also went to other places in] Arabia and to the [kings of tribes] in the desert

25 And all the kings of Zimri, And all the kings of Elam, And all the kings of Media,

and to the kings of the Zimri, Elam, and Media [people-groups],

26 And all the kings of the north, The near and the far off to one another, And all the kingdoms of the earth, That [are] on the face of the ground, And King Sheshach drinks after them.

and to kings in countries to the north that are near [to Israel] and to countries that are far [from Israel], one after the other— [I went to] all the kingdoms in the world [HYP]. And finally, [in my vision I went to] Babylon, and gave [some of] the wine to the king of Babylon—the wine [that symbolized that Yahweh would punish the people of Babylon because he was angry with them] [MTY].

27 “And you have said to them, Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: Drink, indeed drink abundantly, And vomit, and fall, and do not rise, Because of the sword that I am sending among you.

Then [in the vision Yahweh said to me], “Tell them that this is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says: ‘Drink [from this cup some of the wine that represents the punishment that I will give you]. Drink [a lot of it] and become drunk and vomit. You will fall down and not get up again, because I will cause you to be killed in wars [MTY] that I will send to you.

28 And it has come to pass, When they refuse to receive the cup out of your hand to drink, That you have said to them, Thus said YHWH of Hosts: You certainly drink.

If any of those to whom you give this wine [MTY] refuse to drink it, tell them that the Commander of the armies of angels says that they must drink it.

29 For behold, in the city over which My Name is called, I am beginning to bring ruin, And are you entirely acquitted? You are not acquitted, for I am proclaiming a sword, For all inhabitants of the land,” A declaration of YHWH of Hosts.

I am starting to cause the people of my own city to experience disaster. [Do you think that] you should not be punished [RHQ]? No, you will surely be punished [LIT] because I am causing there to be wars in all the nations on the earth. [That will surely happen because] I, the Commander of the armies of angels, have said it.’

30 “And you, you prophesy all these words to them, and have said to them: YHWH roars from the high place, And gives forth His voice from His holy habitation, He surely roars for His habitation, A shout as those treading [the grapes], God answers all the inhabitants of the land,

Now tell them all those things that I have said, and also say this to them: ‘Yahweh will [shout to them] from his holy dwelling [in heaven] [MTY] and [it will sound like] the roar of a lion. He will shout like [SIM] people shout when they are treading on grapes [to make juice for wine]; he will shout to everyone on the earth.

31 A rumbling has come to the end of the earth, For YHWH has a controversy with nations, He has executed judgment for all flesh, He has given the wicked to the sword,” A declaration of YHWH.

Even people in very remote places around the earth will hear him shouting, because he will say why he will judge and punish all the nations. He will cause the wicked people to be slaughtered with swords. [That will surely happen because] Yahweh has said it.’

32 Thus said YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, evil is going out from nation to nation, And a great whirlwind is stirred up from the sides of the earth.

Then tell them that this is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: ‘Listen to this! There will be disasters in one nation after another. [I am preparing to punish them like] [MET] a great storm that starts in the most distant places on the earth.

33 And the pierced of YHWH have been in that day, From the end of the earth even to the end of the earth, They are not lamented, nor gathered, nor buried, For they are dung on the face of the ground.

When that happens, [the corpses of] those whom I have [caused to be] slaughtered will fill the earth from the east to the west. And no one will mourn for them, and no one will gather their corpses to bury them. They will be [scattered] on the ground like manure.

34 Howl, you shepherds, and cry, And roll yourselves, you majestic of the flock, For your days have been full For slaughtering, and [for] your scatterings, And you have fallen as a desirable vessel.

You [evil] leaders, weep and moan! You who should take care of my people, [fall down and] roll in the dust/dirt. It is time for you to be slaughtered; you will fall down and be shattered like a fragile vase [shatters when it falls to the ground].

35 And refuge has perished from the shepherds, And escape from the majestic of the flock.

You will not find any place to hide, there will be no place to which you can escape.

36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, And a howling of the majestic of the flock, For YHWH is spoiling their pasture.

[People will] listen to your leaders crying when [I], Yahweh, am ruining your nation.

37 And the peaceable habitations have been cut down, Because of the fierceness of the anger of YHWH.

Your peaceful meadows will become a wasteland/desert because I will be extremely angry.

38 He has forsaken His covert as a young lion, Surely their land has become a desolation, Because of the oppressing fierceness, And because of the fierceness of His anger!”

I will leave [my dwelling like] [SIM] a lion leaves its den [to attack other animals], and I will cause your land to become desolate when I, because I am very angry [with you], cause [your enemies to slaughter you with their] swords.’”