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 which came upon Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, —the same, was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

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

which word Jeremiah the prophet spake concerning all the people of Judah, and against 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 son of Amon king of Judah even until this day, the which is the twenty-third year, hath the word of Yahweh come unto me; and I have spoken unto you, betimes, speaking, yet have ye not hearkened.

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 Yahweh sent unto you all, his servants the prophets, betimes sending, though ye hearkened not, neither inclined ye your ear to 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.

saying, —Return I pray you every one from his wicked way and from the wickedness of your doings, So shall ye remain on the soil which Yahweh hath given to you and to your fathers, —even from age to age;

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.’

But do not go away after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, —So shall ye not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will not bring calamity upon 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.

Howbeit ye hearkened not unto me, Declareth Yahweh, —that ye might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands unto your own hurt.

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

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, —Because ye have not heard 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 me! sending and fetching all the families of the North, Declareth Yahweh and Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon my servant, And I will bring them in against this land and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations, round about, —And I will devote them to destruction, and make them an astonishment and a hissing, and age-abiding 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 banish from among them—The voice of joy, 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 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.

So shall all this land become a desolation, an astonishment, And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon, 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 it shall some to pass—When the seventy years are fulfilled, I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, Declareth Yahweh their iniquity, and upon the land of the Chaldeans, —and I will turn it into age-abiding 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.

So will I bring upon that land, All my words which I have spoken against it, —Even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath 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 many nations and great kings have used, even them, as slaves, So will I recompense to them—According to their deed and According to the work of their own 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, said Yahweh, God of Israel unto me, Take this cup of indignation wine out of my hand, —and cause all the nations unto whom I am sending thee, to drink 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.”

Yea they shall drink and reel to and fro and act as madmen, because of the sword which I am sending between 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].

So I took the cup out of the hand of Yahweh, —and caused all the nations unto whom Yahweh had sent me to drink:

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.

[to wit said he] —Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and her kings her princes, —making them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a contempt, as at 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,

Pharaoh king of Egypt and his servants and his princes, 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 all the Bedawin, and all the kings of the land of Uz, —and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, even 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],

Edom 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 Zidon, —and the kings of the Coastland, that is beyond 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].

Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all the clipt-beards;

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 Bedawin, who dwell 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 the Medes;

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 all the kings of the North, the near and the far every man with his brother, and all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; And the king of Sheshach, 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.

Therefore shalt thou say unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts God of Israel, —Drink ye and be drunken, and vomit, and fall and rise not, —because of the sword which I am sending between 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 it shall be when they shall refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Ye shall certainly 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 lo! with the city on which my Name hath been called, am I making a beginning of sending calamity, And shall, ye, be held, guiltless? Ye shall not be held guiltless: For a sword, am I proclaiming against all the inhabitants of the earth, Declareth Yahweh 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.

Thou, therefore, shalt prophesy against them all these words, —and shalt say unto them—Yahweh, from on high, will roar Yea from his holy habitation, will utter his voice, He will, roar mightily over his home, With a shout as of them who tread the winepress, will he answer unto 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.’

There hath come in a tumult as far as the end of the earth, For a controversy, hath Yahweh with the nations, Himself, hath entered into judgment with all flesh, —As for the lawless, he hath delivered them to the sword Declareth Yahweh.

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, saith Yahweh of hosts, Lo calamity! going forth from nation to nation, —And a great tempest, shall bestirred up, out of the remote parts 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.

Then shall the slain of Yahweh in that day, be from one end of the earth, even unto the other end of the earth, —They shall not be lamented, nor gathered together nor buried, As dung, on the face of the ground, shall they serve.

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].

Howl ye shepherds and make outcry, And roll in the dust ye illustrious of the flock, Because your days for being slaughtered, are fulfilled, —Therefore will I break you in pieces, and ye shall fall like a precious vessel!

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

Then shall place of refuge vanish from the shepherds, And escape from the illustrious of the flock.

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

The voice of the outcry of the shepherds! Yea the howling of the illustrious of the flock!—Because Yahweh is laying waste the grounds where they fed.

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

Then shall be silenced the prosperous pastures, —Because of the fierceness of the anger of Yahweh.

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 hath left as a lion his covert, For their land hath become a horror, Because of the fierceness of oppression and Because of the fierceness of his anger.