UST JER Chapter 25

◄ JER 25 ► ║ ═ ©

25 Yahweh gave this message to me, Jeremiah, about all the people of Judah. This happened during the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah ruled as king of Judah, which was also the first year that Nebuchadnezzar ruled as king of Babylon. 2 I, Jeremiah, a prophet of Yahweh, spoke this message to all the people of Judah and to all the people living in Jerusalem. I said, 3 “For twenty-three years Yahweh has been giving me messages —from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled as king of Judah until today. I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.

4 Yahweh also, repeatedly, sent to you all his other prophets who serve him, but you did not heed their warnings. You refused to pay attention. 5 Those prophets said, ‘Each of you must stop your evil habits and stop doing evil things. If you do that, you will be able to continue living in this land that Yahweh gave to you and to your ancestors to be yours forever. 6 Do not cause me, Yahweh to become angry by serving and worshiping idols that you have made with your hands. If you do not do those things, I will not cause harmful things to happen to you.’

7 Yahweh says, ‘Yet you refused to pay attention to the messages that I gave my prophets, and as a result you made me very angry by worshiping the idols that you made. That caused harmful things to happen to you.

8 Therefore, Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says this: Because you have not paid attention to what I said to you through my prophets, 9 know that I am about to summon all the people groups who live north of you’ —this is what I,Yahweh say — ‘I will also summon my servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and against the people living in it and against the people of all of these surrounding nations and I will completely destroy them. I will make them an object of horror and scorn, and they will stay in ruins forever. 10 I will cause happy singing and laughing to cease in your land. There will no longer be bridegrooms or brides talking joyfully. No one will hear the grinding of millstones, and there will not be people lighting lamps in the evening. 11 This entire land will become an empty ruin, and the people of these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

12 Then, when seventy years have passed, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for the wrong things they have done’ —this is what Yahweh says. ‘I will also punish the land of the Chaldeans and make it an empty ruin forever. 13 I will cause them to experience everything that I have said I would do to it —everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations, everything that my servant wrote in this book. 14 The people of many nations and powerful kings will then force the Babylonians to serve them, like the people of Babylonia caused my people to become slaves. I will give the Babylonians what they deserve for the things they have done.’ ”

15 Then Yahweh, the God of us Israelites, gave me a vision. In the vision he was holding a cup of wine. He said this to me: “Take this cup from my hand. The wine in it represents the punishment I am about to send. Go and make all the nations drink from it—all the nations to which I am sending you. 16 When they drink it, they will stagger and will act like crazy people because of the wars that I am going to send against them.” 17 So I took the cup from Yahweh, and I made the people of all the nations to which Yahweh had sent me, drink from it. 18 First I went to Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, and the king and the officials. And, starting from that day, they all eventually lost their positions of authority and became people whom others ridiculed, and they became the object of peoples curses. 19 In the vision I then went to Egypt and gave some of the wine to Pharaoh king of Egypt, along with his servants, his officials, and all his people, 20 and all the foreigners living in Egypt. In the vision I also went to the land of Uz and gave some of the wine to all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines —those in Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the few people remaining in Ashdod. 21 I also gave some of the wine to the people of Edom, Moab, and the to the Ammonites. 22 I also gave some of the wine to all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands across the sea. 23 In the vision I then went to the people of Dedan, Tema, and Buz and gave them some of the wine, and all those who cut their hair short on the sides. 24 I also gave all the kings of Arabia some of the wine, and all the kings of the foreign people who live in the wilderness. 25 I also gave all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media some of the wine. 26 I also gave all the kings of the north some of the wine, both those near and those far away from Israel, one after another —I went to all the kingdoms on the earth. And finally in my vision, I went to the king of Babylon and gave him the wine that symbolized that Yahweh would punish the people of Babylon because he was angry with them and he shall drink it after the other kings.

27 “Then in the vision Yahweh said to me, tell them, 'Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, the God of Israel, says this: Drink and become drunk and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the wars that I am sending against you.’ 28 If any of them refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, ‘Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says this: You absolutely must drink! 29 Pay attention! I am already starting to cause the people of my own city to experience disaster and I will certainly punish you! I will punish you, for I am causing there to be wars in all the nations on the earth” —this is what Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says.

30 “Now prophesy all these words to them and say to them,

‘Yahweh will shout loudly from heaven above,

from the holy place where he lives he will raise his voice.

He will shout loudly against the people of his own land, so loudly that it will sound like the roar of a lion.

He will shout to everyone on the earth, like people shout triumphantly when they are treading on grapes to make juice for wine.

31 Even people in the farthest places on earth will hear the sound of his shouting,

because Yahweh will bring charges against the nations.

He will say why he will judge and punish people from all nations.

He will cause enemies to kill wicked people with swords’ ” —this is what Yahweh says.

32 Tell them that Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, says this:

“Pay attention! There will be disasters in one nation after another.

I am preparing to punish them like a great storm

that starts in the most distant places on the earth.

33 On that day, the people whom Yahweh kills

will lie everywhere, from one end of the earth to the other.

No one will mourn for them. No one will gather them up

or bury them. Their bodies will rot on the ground like manure.

34 Cry and wail, you leaders who are supposed to take care of my people like shepherds care for their flock!

You should fall down and roll in the dust, you leaders who should take care of my people as if they were your flock and you were their shepherd!

The time has come for your enemies to slaughter you and scatter you.

I will allow things to happen to you that will ruin you, like a precious vessel is ruined that falls to the ground and is shattered.

35 The leaders who are supposed to be caring for my people

will have nowhere to hide

and no way to escape.

36 People will hear your leaders, who are supposed to be caring for my people like a shepherd cares for his flock, crying out and wailing

because I, Yahweh, am ruining your nation.

37 I will allow your enemies to destroy your peaceful fields,

because I, Yahweh, am very angry.

38 I, Yahweh have left my dwelling place, like a lion leaves his lair to attack other animals,

and I will cause your land to become an empty ruin

because of the fierceness of your enemies

and because Yahweh is fiercely angry with you.”