Jeremiah 25

1 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.

The word that came to Jeremiah about all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah. The same is the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

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

And the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:

3 “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.

“From the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, even until this day, which is the twenty-third year, the word of the Lord has been given to me, and I have spoken to you, rising while it was still night, and speaking, and yet you have not listened.

4 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.

And the Lord has sent to you all his servants, the prophets, rising at first light, and sending, and yet you have not listened, and you have not inclined your ears, so that you would hear,

5 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.

when he said: Return, each one from his evil way, and from your wicked thoughts. And you shall dwell in the land, which the Lord has given to you and to your fathers, from ancient times and even forever.

6 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.’

And do not choose to go after strange gods, so that you would serve them and adore them. And do not provoke me to wrath by the works of your hands. And then I will not afflict you.

7 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.

And yet you have not listened to me, says the Lord, and so you have provoked me to anger with the works of your hands, to your own harm.”

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

Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Since you have not listened to my words,

9 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.

behold, I will send for and take all the associates of the north, says the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will lead them over this land, and over its inhabitants, and over all the nations that are around it. And I will destroy them, and I will set them in the midst of stupor and hissing, and continual desolations.

10 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].

And I will perish from them the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstone and the light of the lamp.

11 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.

And this entire land will be in desolation and in stupor. And all these nations will serve the king of Babylon, for seventy years.

12 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.

And when the seventy years have been completed, I will visit their iniquity upon the king of Babylon, and upon that nation, and upon the land of the Chaldeans, says the Lord. And I will set it in continual desolations.

13 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.

And I will lead over that land all my words, which I have spoken against it, all that has been written in this book, everything whatsoever that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

14 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].’”

For they have served them, though these were populous nations and great kings. And I will repay them according to their works and according to the deeds of their hands.”

15 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.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take the chalice of the wine of this fury from my hand. And you shall cause all the nations, to which I will send you, to drink from it.

16 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.”

And they will drink, and be stirred up, and become maddened, before the face of the sword that I will send among them.”

17 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].

And I received the chalice from the hand of the Lord, and I caused all the nations, to which the Lord has sent me, to drink from it:

18 [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.

Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings, and its leaders, so that I gave them over to desolation, and stupor, and hissing, and a curse, just as it is this day.

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

“But as for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his leaders, and all his people,

20 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].

and the entire populace in general: all the kings of the land of the south, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,

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

and Idumea, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon,

22 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].

and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the land of the islands that are across the sea,

23 [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].

and Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all those who have shaved off their hair,

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

and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the west, who live in the desert,

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

and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media,

26 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].

and likewise, all the kings of the north from near to far, each one facing his brother, and all the kingdoms upon the face of the earth, and the king of Sesac: all these shall drink after them.

27 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.

And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, and be inebriated, and vomit, and fall down. And you shall not rise up before the face of the sword that I will send among you.

28 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.

And if they refuse to receive the cup from your hand and to drink, you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Certainly, you shall drink!

29 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.’

For behold, I am beginning to afflict the city in which my name has been invoked, and will you be innocent and immune? You will not be immune! For I will call the sword over all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts.

30 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.

And you shall prophesy to them all these words, and you shall say to them: The Lord will roar from on high, and he will utter his voice from his holy habitation. When roaring, he will roar over the place of his beauty. He will call out, like those who chant in rhythm as they trample the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 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.’

The sound of it will penetrate even to the ends of the earth. For the Lord is entering into judgment with the nations. He himself is entering into judgment with all flesh. I have delivered the impious to the sword, says the Lord.”

32 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.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, an affliction will go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind will go forth from the ends of the earth.

33 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.

And the slain of the Lord will be, on that day, from one end of the earth, even to the other end. They will not be mourned, and they will not be gathered, and they will not be buried. They will lie upon the face of the earth like dung.

34 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].

Wail, O shepherds, and cry out! And sprinkle yourselves with ashes, O nobles of the flock! For the days have been completed that lead to your slaughter and your destruction. And you will fall like precious vessels.

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

And escape will flee from the shepherds, and safety will flee from the nobility of the flock.”

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

There is a voice of outcry from the shepherds, and a wailing among the nobles among the flock! For the Lord has laid waste to their pastures.

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

And the fields of peace have been silenced before the face of the fury of the Lord.

38 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.’”

He has abandoned those he sheltered like a lion. For the earth has become a desolation before the face of the anger of the dove, and before the face of the fury of the Lord.