# Jeremiah 25 📖: Seventy Years of Exile
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#💬 Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#📂 Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Seventy Years of Servitude for Failure to Give Heed
[[#Verse 01.]] In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah. (That was the same as the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon.)
[[#Verse 02.]] So the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the people who were living in Jerusalem.
[[#Verse 03.]] “For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah until now, the Lord’s messages have come to me and I have told them to you over and over again. But you would not listen.
[[#Verse 04.]] Over and over again the Lord has sent his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention.
[[#Verse 05.]] He said through them, ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession.
[[#Verse 06.]] Do not pay allegiance to other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. Then I will not cause you any harm.’
[[#Verse 07.]] So, now the Lord says, ‘You have not listened to me. But you have made me angry by the things that you have done. Thus you have brought harm on yourselves.’
[[#Verse 08.]] “Therefore, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘You have not listened to what I said.
[[#Verse 09.]] So I, the Lord, affirm that I will send for all the peoples of the north and my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and all the nations that surround it. I will utterly destroy the land, its inhabitants, and all the surrounding nations and make them everlasting ruins. I will make them objects of horror and hissing scorn.
[[#Verse 10.]] I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses.
[[#Verse 11.]] This whole area will become a desolate wasteland. These nations will be subject to the king of Babylon for seventy years.’
[[#Verse 12.]] “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon an everlasting ruin. I, the Lord, affirm it!
[[#Verse 13.]] I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.
[[#Verse 14.]] For many nations and great kings will make slaves of the king of Babylon and his nation too. I will repay them for all they have done.’”
### Judah and the Nations Will Experience God’s Wrath
[[#Verse 15.]] So the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision: “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it.
[[#Verse 16.]] When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them.”
[[#Verse 17.]] So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand. I made all the nations to whom he sent me drink the wine of his wrath.
[[#Verse 18.]] I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case!
[[#Verse 19.]] I made all these other people drink it: Pharaoh, king of Egypt; his attendants, his officials, his people,
[[#Verse 20.]] the foreigners living in Egypt; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines, the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod;
[[#Verse 21.]] all the people of Edom, Moab, Ammon;
[[#Verse 22.]] all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon; all the kings of the coastlands along the sea;
[[#Verse 23.]] the people of Dedan, Tema, Buz, all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples;
[[#Verse 24.]] all the kings of Arabia who live in the desert;
[[#Verse 25.]] all the kings of Zimri; all the kings of Elam; all the kings of Media;
[[#Verse 26.]] all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms that are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath, the king of Babylon must drink it.
[[#Verse 27.]] Then the Lord said to me, “Tell them that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘Drink this cup until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. For I will send wars sweeping through you.’
[[#Verse 28.]] If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘You most certainly must drink it!
[[#Verse 29.]] For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. So how can you possibly avoid being punished? You will not go unpunished. For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, affirm it!’
[[#Verse 30.]] “Then, Jeremiah, make the following prophecy against them: ‘Like a lion about to attack, the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven;
from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly.
He will roar mightily against his land.
He will shout in triumph, like those stomping juice from the grapes,
against all those who live on the earth.
[[#Verse 31.]] The sounds of battle will resound to the ends of the earth.
For the Lord will bring charges against the nations.
He will pass judgment on all humankind
and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’
The Lord so affirms it!
[[#Verse 32.]] The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,
‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another.
A mighty storm of military destruction is rising up
from the distant parts of the earth.’
[[#Verse 33.]] Those who have been killed by the Lord at that time
will be scattered from one end of the earth to the other.
They will not be mourned over, gathered up, or buried.
Their dead bodies will lie scattered over the ground like manure.
[[#Verse 34.]] Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!
Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people!
The time for you to be slaughtered has come.
You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery.
[[#Verse 35.]] The leaders will not be able to run away and hide.
The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.
[[#Verse 36.]] Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders.
Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks.
They are wailing because the Lord
is about to destroy their lands.
[[#Verse 37.]] Their peaceful dwelling places will be laid waste
by the fierce anger of the Lord.
[[#Verse 38.]] The Lord is like a lion who has left his lair.
So their lands will certainly be laid waste
by the warfare of the oppressive nation
and by the fierce anger of the Lord.”
## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
###### Verse 34.
###### Verse 35.
###### Verse 36.
###### Verse 37.
###### Verse 38.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. The fourth year of Jehoiakim was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (25:1), around 605 BC.
2. That same year Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at the Battle of Carchemish (46:2), making Babylon the leading power.
3. Jeremiah had been preaching for twenty-three years, since the thirteenth year of King Josiah (25:3).
4. The seventy years (25:11-12) are cited by Daniel (Daniel 9:2) and the Chronicler (2 Chronicles 36:21).
5. God calls Nebuchadnezzar "My servant" (25:9; also 27:6; 43:10).
6. The sounds of joy, the bride and groom, the millstones, and the lamp would vanish (25:10). Revelation 18:22-23 uses similar images for the fall of "Babylon."
7. "Sheshach" (25:26) is a code name for Babylon formed by *atbash*, a cipher that swaps the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet with the last and so on.
8. The list of nations (25:18-26) runs from Egypt to the far east, showing God's rule over every kingdom.
9. The Lord roars from on high like a lion (25:30), similar to Amos 1:2 and Joel 3:16.
10. The shepherds and leaders of the flock would wail (25:34), a picture of rulers losing everything.
## 🧠 Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who drank the cup of God's wrath for us (25:15). In Gethsemane Jesus prayed about the cup the Father gave Him (Matthew 26:39), and He drank it so we would not have to.
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 💬 Discussion Questions
1. Jeremiah preached for twenty-three years, and the people did not listen (25:3). What keeps a person faithful when results are slow?
2. God calls Nebuchadnezzar "My servant" (25:9). How does God use even unbelieving rulers to accomplish His purposes?
3. God's cup of wrath passed to every nation (25:15-29). How does this chapter help us understand what Jesus took on at the cross?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- 📖 verse 3: For twenty-three years Jeremiah spoke the Lord's word, but the people did not listen.
- 📖 verses 11-12: The nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years, and then Babylon will be punished.
- 📖 verse 15: Take this cup of the wine of wrath and make all the nations drink it.
## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference
- 🔗 [[Matthew 26#Verse 39.|Matthew 26:39]] - Jesus prays about the cup.
- 🔗 [[Daniel 09#Verse 02.|Daniel 9:2]] - Daniel reads of the seventy years in Jeremiah.
- 🔗 [[2 Chronicles 36#Verse 21.|2 Chronicles 36:21]] - The land enjoys its Sabbath rests for seventy years.
- 🔗 [[Revelation 14#Verse 10.|Revelation 14:10]] - The cup of God's wrath.
- 🔗 [[Revelation 18#Verse 22.|Revelation 18:22-23]] - The silencing of Babylon.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
📝 SOAP: [[Jeremiah 25 - SOAP|God Doesn’t Leave Us in Our Troubles]]
## 📂 Internal Notes