Jeremiah 25

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, which is the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

2 this spoke Jeremiah the prophet 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, which are twenty-three years, the word of the LORD has come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and giving notice; but ye have not hearkened.

4 And the LORD has sent unto you all his slaves the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear,

5 when 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 has given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

6 and do not go 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.

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 the hosts: Because ye have not heard my words,

9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north wind, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my slave, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

10 And I will cause them to lose 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 lamp.

11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these Gentiles shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished, that I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that people their own evil, said the LORD and upon the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations.

13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have spoken against it, with all that is written in this book, prophesied by Jeremiah against all the Gentiles.

14 For many Gentiles 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.

15 For thus hath the LORD God of Israel said unto me: Take the wine cup of this fury from my hand and cause all the Gentiles, to whom I send thee, to drink of it.

16 And they shall drink and be moved and become mad, before the sword that I will send among them.

17 Then took I the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the Gentiles to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me,

18 unto Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah and to its kings and to its princes, that I might place them into desolation, into astonishment, and into hissing, and into a curse, as this day,

19 unto Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his slaves and to his princes and to all his people,

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

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

22 and to all the kings of Tyre and to all the kings of Zidon and to all the kings of the isles which are of that side of the sea,

23 and to Dedan, and to Tema and to Buz and to all that are in the utmost corners,

24 and to all the kings of Arabia and to all the kings of the mingled peoples, the Arabia that dwells in the desert,

25 and to all the kings of Zimri and to all the kings of Elam and to all the kings of the Medes,

26 and to all the kings of the north wind, those of far and those of near, one with another and to all the kingdoms of the earth, which are upon the face of the earth and the king of Sheshach {Babylon} shall drink after them.

27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said; Drink and be drunken, and vomit and fall, and ye shall not rise in the presence of the sword which I send among you.

28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from thine hand to drink, then thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said: Ye must certainly drink.

29 For, Behold, I begin to bring evil upon the city which is called by my name, and should ye only be absolved? Ye shall not be absolved, for I bring the sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, said the LORD of the hosts.

30 Therefore, thou shalt prophesy against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high and from the habitation of his holiness he shall utter his voice; in fury he shall roar upon his habitation; he shall sing the song of those that tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 The noise came even to the ends of the earth; for it is judgment of the LORD with the Gentiles; he is the Judge of all flesh; he will give those that are wicked to the sword, said the LORD.

32 Thus saith the LORD of the hosts, Behold, the evil goes forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

33 And the slain of the LORD shall be in 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 as dung upon the ground.

34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the dust, ye principals of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like an enticing vessel.

35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor for the principals of the flock to escape.

36 The voice of the cry of the shepherds and a howling of the principals of the flock shall be heard! For the LORD has spoiled their pasture.

37 And the quiet pastures shall be cut off by the fierce anger of the LORD.

38 He has forsaken his habitation, as the young lion; for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor and because of his fierce anger.

Jeremiah 25 Commentary

Chapter 25

The Jews rebuked for not obeying calls to repentance. (1-7) Their captivity during seventy years is expressly foretold. (8-14) Desolations upon the nations shown by the emblem of a cup of wrath. (15-29) The judgments again declared. (30-38)

Verses 1-7 The call to turn from evil ways to the worship and service of God, and for sinners to trust in Christ, and partake of his salvation, concerns all men. God keeps an account how long we possess the means of grace; and the longer we have them, the heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. Rising early, points out the earnest desire that this people should turn and live. Personal and particular reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a national deliverance; and every one must turn from his own evil way. Yet all was to no purpose. They would not take the right and only method to turn away the wrath of God.

Verses 8-14 The fixing of the time during which the Jewish captivity should last, would not only confirm the prophecy, but also comfort the people of God, and encourage faith and prayer. The ruin of Babylon is foretold: the rod will be thrown into the fire when the correcting work is done. When the set time to favour Zion is come, Babylon shall be punished for their iniquity, as other nations have been punished for their sins. Every threatening of the Scripture will certainly be accomplished.

Verses 15-29 The evil and the good events of life are often represented in Scripture as cups. Under this figure is represented the desolation then coming upon that part of the world, of which Nebuchadnezzar, who had just began to reign and act, was to be the instrument; but this destroying sword would come from the hand of God. The desolations the sword should make in all these kingdoms, are represented by the consequences of excessive drinking. This may make us loathe the sin of drunkenness, that the consequences of it are used to set forth such a woful condition. Drunkenness deprives men of the use of their reason, makes men as mad. It takes from them the valuable blessing, health; and is a sin which is its own punishment. This may also make us dread the judgments of war. It soon fills a nation with confusion. They will refuse to take the cup at thy hand. They will not believe Jeremiah; but he must tell them it is the word of the Lord of hosts, and it is in vain for them to struggle against Almighty power. And if God's judgments begin with backsliding professors, let not the wicked expect to escape.

Verses 30-38 The Lord has just ground of controversy with every nation and every person; and he will execute judgment on all the wicked. Who can avoid trembling when God speaks in displeasure? The days are fully come; the time fixed in the Divine counsels, which will make the nations wholly desolate. The tender and delicate shall share the common calamity. Even those who used to live in peace, and did nothing to provoke, shall not escape. Blessed be God, there is a peaceable habitation above, for all the sons of peace. The Lord will preserve his church and all believers in all changes; for nothing can separate them from his love.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 25

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Judea by the king of Babylon; and also of Babylon itself, after the Jews' captivity of seventy years; and likewise of all the nations round about. The date of this prophecy is in Jer 25:1; when the prophet puts the Jews in mind of the prophecies that had been delivered unto them by himself and others, for some years past, without effect, Jer 25:2-7; wherefore they are threatened with the king of Babylon, that he should come against them, and strip them of all their desirable things; make their land desolate, and them captives for seventy years, Jer 25:8-11; at the expiration of which he in his turn shall be punished, and the land of Chaldea laid waste, and become subject to other nations and kings, Jer 25:12-14; and by a cup of wine given to all the nations round about, is signified the utter ruin of them, and who are particularly mentioned by name, Jer 25:15-26; which is confirmed by beginning with the city of Jerusalem, and the destruction of that, Jer 25:27-29; wherefore the prophet is bid to prophesy against them, and to declare the Lord's controversy with them, and that there should be a slaughter of them from one end of the earth to the other, Jer 25:30-33; upon which the shepherds, kings, and rulers of them, are called to lamentation and howling, Jer 25:34-38.