A prediction about being exiled for 70 years

25 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 I spoke this message to all the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah: 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.

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. 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. 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.’

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.

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

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. 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. 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.’ ”