Jeremiah 25 Study Notes: Seventy Years and the Cup of Wrath
Jeremiah reminds Judah that it ignored twenty-three years of warnings, so the LORD will send Nebuchadnezzar, His servant, and Babylon will rule the nations for seventy years before it is punished in turn. Jeremiah then passes the cup of God’s wrath to Jerusalem and the nations, and the rulers are called to lament.
General
Babylon was the nation God used to judge Judah. Why did the LORD say He would also punish Babylon (Jeremiah 25:12-14)?
Answer: Because of its own guilt, repaid according to its deeds and works
The LORD said He would hold Babylon’s king and land accountable for their sin (25:12). Other powerful nations and rulers would in turn make slaves of them, and God would pay them back for what they had done (25:14). Even though God had used Babylon to judge Judah, Babylon was still responsible for the wrong it did. Later in the book the LORD says He will repay Babylon for every wrong it did in Zion (51:24; see also 50:29). Isaiah said the same about Assyria: after using it, God would punish its proud and boastful heart (Isaiah 10:12). Paul states that God judges each person by what he has done (Romans 2:6).
- Jeremiah 25:12-14 (BSB)“But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation. I will bring upon that land all the words I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’””The LORD will punish Babylon for its guilt and repay it according to its deeds.
- Jeremiah 51:24 (BSB)“Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.”The LORD promises to repay Babylon for all the evil it did in Zion.
- Jeremiah 50:29 (BSB)“Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”Babylon is to be repaid according to its deeds for defying the LORD.
- Isaiah 10:12 (BSB)“So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.”God punished Assyria’s arrogance after using it against Jerusalem.
- Romans 2:6 (BSB)“God “will repay each one according to his deeds.””God repays each one according to what he has done.
Theological
Although Babylon is the LORD’s instrument against Judah, on what basis does He say He will judge it (Jeremiah 25:12-14)?
Answer: Because of its own guilt, repaid according to its deeds and works
The instrument of judgment is itself judged: the LORD will call Babylon’s king and the Chaldeans to account (25:12), and other mighty nations and rulers will make slaves of them as He pays them back for their conduct (25:14). That God ordained Babylon’s role does not lessen Babylon’s guilt for its own deeds; the book later spells out the repayment for the evil done in Zion (51:24; 50:29). Isaiah gives the same pattern for Assyria, punished for its arrogant heart once God’s work through it was done (Isaiah 10:12). Paul states the same principle for every person: God will judge each one by what he has done (Romans 2:6).
- Jeremiah 25:12-14 (BSB)“But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation. I will bring upon that land all the words I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.’””The LORD will punish Babylon for its guilt and repay it according to its deeds.
- Jeremiah 51:24 (BSB)“Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.”The LORD promises to repay Babylon for all the evil it did in Zion.
- Jeremiah 50:29 (BSB)“Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.”Babylon is to be repaid according to its deeds for defying the LORD.
- Isaiah 10:12 (BSB)“So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.”God punished Assyria’s arrogance after using it against Jerusalem.
- Romans 2:6 (BSB)“God “will repay each one according to his deeds.””God repays each one according to what he has done.
General
What did the LORD tell Jeremiah to take from His hand and make the nations drink (Jeremiah 25:15-16)?
Answer: A cup of wrath that would make the nations reel as He sent war
The LORD told Jeremiah to take from His hand a cup filled with wine that stood for His anger and make every nation to which He sent him drink it. They would stagger and lose their senses as He sent war among them (25:15-16). Jeremiah obeyed: he accepted the cup and gave it to each nation to which he was sent (25:17). The cup is a picture of God’s judgment: the nations would be overwhelmed, as a drunk person reels and falls. Other passages use the same picture. A psalm says the LORD holds a cup that every evildoer on earth must drink (Psalm 75:8), and Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem drinking the cup of the LORD’s fury (Isaiah 51:17). Revelation also uses a related image of the cup of God’s wrath (Revelation 14:10).
- Jeremiah 25:15-17 (BSB)“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.” So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me,”The LORD hands Jeremiah the cup of His wrath, and Jeremiah gives it to the nations.
- Psalm 75:8 (BSB)“For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.”The LORD holds a cup of judgment that every wicked person on earth must drain.
- Isaiah 51:17 (BSB)“Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.”Jerusalem is pictured as having drained the LORD’s cup of anger from His hand.
- Revelation 14:10 (BSB)“he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”Revelation pictures God’s anger as unmixed wine in His cup of judgment.
Theological
What does the cup the LORD hands Jeremiah represent, and what effect does it have on the nations (Jeremiah 25:15-16)?
Answer: A cup of wrath that would make the nations reel as He sent war
The cup of wrath (25:15) pictures God’s judgment as an intoxicating drink that leaves the nations staggering and senseless before the sword He sends (25:16), and Jeremiah carries out the commission, handing the cup to every nation to which the LORD sends him (25:17). The image is common in the prophets and Psalms: the LORD holds a cup that every evildoer on earth must drain (Psalm 75:8), and Jerusalem is said to have drunk from His hand the goblet of His anger (Isaiah 51:17). Revelation draws on related imagery of God’s undiluted anger poured into a cup (Revelation 14:10). Judgment is a portion measured out and handed to the nations by the LORD Himself.
- Jeremiah 25:15-17 (BSB)“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.” So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me,”The LORD hands Jeremiah the cup of His wrath, and Jeremiah gives it to the nations.
- Psalm 75:8 (BSB)“For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.”The LORD holds a cup of judgment that every wicked person on earth must drain.
- Isaiah 51:17 (BSB)“Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.”Jerusalem is pictured as having drained the LORD’s cup of anger from His hand.
- Revelation 14:10 (BSB)“he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”Revelation pictures God’s anger as unmixed wine in His cup of judgment.
General
Jerusalem and Judah’s towns come first in the list of those who drink the cup. What reasoning did the LORD give to any nation that refused to drink it (Jeremiah 25:18, 28-29)?
Answer: Jerusalem would drink first, so no other nation could expect to escape
Jeremiah gave the cup first to Jerusalem and Judah’s towns, along with their kings and leaders (25:18). If any nation refused to drink, Jeremiah was to tell them they must drink it. The LORD was already starting His judgment on the very city called by His Name, so they could not expect to escape punishment (25:28-29). If God did not spare His own people when they sinned, other nations had no reason to think they would escape. Ezekiel was told that judgment would start at God’s sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6), and Peter wrote that judgment begins with God’s own family (1 Peter 4:17).
- Jeremiah 25:18 (BSB)“to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;”Jerusalem and the cities of Judah are the first to drink the cup.
- Jeremiah 25:28-29 (BSB)“If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’”Nations that refuse are told they must drink, since judgment begins with the LORD’s own city.
- Ezekiel 9:6 (BSB)“Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”In Ezekiel’s vision judgment begins at God’s sanctuary.
- 1 Peter 4:17 (BSB)“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”Peter says judgment begins with the family of God.
Theological
How does the order in which the cup is passed, beginning with Jerusalem, answer the nations that refuse to drink (Jeremiah 25:18, 28-29)?
Answer: Jerusalem would drink first, so no other nation could expect to escape
The cup passes first to Jerusalem and Judah’s towns with their kings and leaders (25:18). To nations that would refuse it, the LORD answers that drinking is compulsory: if He is beginning disaster with the city called by His Name, they cannot hope to go unpunished (25:28-29). Covenant privilege brings greater accountability, and judgment on the household of God becomes the pledge of judgment on all. As parallels, Ezekiel’s vision begins the judgment at the sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6), and Peter states a similar principle for the church: judgment starts with God’s own household (1 Peter 4:17).
- Jeremiah 25:18 (BSB)“to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;”Jerusalem and the cities of Judah are the first to drink the cup.
- Jeremiah 25:28-29 (BSB)“If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’”Nations that refuse are told they must drink, since judgment begins with the LORD’s own city.
- Ezekiel 9:6 (BSB)“Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”In Ezekiel’s vision judgment begins at God’s sanctuary.
- 1 Peter 4:17 (BSB)“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”Peter says judgment begins with the family of God.
General
Because Judah had not obeyed, the LORD said He would summon the peoples of the north. What did He call Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 25:8-9)?
Answer: My servant, the one the LORD would send against Judah and its neighbors
Because the people had not obeyed, the LORD said He would send for all the peoples of the north and for Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon’s king, whom He called His servant, and bring him against Judah and the nations around it (25:8-9). Nebuchadnezzar was a foreign king, yet God called him His servant because God was using him to carry out His judgment. The LORD uses the same title for him elsewhere (27:6). Isaiah had said the same kind of thing about Assyria, which God used as the rod of His anger even though Assyria’s own aim was to destroy many nations (Isaiah 10:5-7). God rules over kings and steers their hearts as He wills (Proverbs 21:1). Still, Babylon stayed responsible for its own evil, as 25:12-14 shows.
- Jeremiah 25:8-9 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”The LORD says He will send for His servant Nebuchadnezzar to come against Judah and the nations.
- Jeremiah 27:6 (BSB)“So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.”The LORD again calls Nebuchadnezzar My servant and gives the lands into his authority.
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”Assyria served as the rod of God’s anger while intending only its own conquest.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”A king’s heart is in the LORD’s hand, and He turns it as He wills.
Theological
How does the LORD designate Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah 25:8-9, and what does the title reveal about His rule over the nations?
Answer: My servant, the one the LORD would send against Judah and its neighbors
The LORD calls Nebuchadnezzar My servant (25:9; compare 27:6): a pagan king pursuing his own conquests is nonetheless the instrument of His judgment on Judah and its neighbors. Divine sovereignty and human agency operate together without competing. Isaiah says the same of Assyria, the rod in God’s hand whose own intention was the ruin of many nations (Isaiah 10:5-7), and Proverbs states the principle that the LORD steers a ruler’s heart (Proverbs 21:1). God ordains the event; Babylon acts from its own motives and is held fully accountable for them (25:12-14).
- Jeremiah 25:8-9 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”The LORD says He will send for His servant Nebuchadnezzar to come against Judah and the nations.
- Jeremiah 27:6 (BSB)“So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.”The LORD again calls Nebuchadnezzar My servant and gives the lands into his authority.
- Isaiah 10:5-7 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets. But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.”Assyria served as the rod of God’s anger while intending only its own conquest.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”A king’s heart is in the LORD’s hand, and He turns it as He wills.
General
The LORD said the land would become a ruin and the nations would be subject to Babylon for a period of seventy years. What did He say would happen once that period was over (Jeremiah 25:11-12)?
Answer: The LORD would bring Babylon’s ruler and people to account
The LORD said the whole land would become an empty waste and these nations would be subject to Babylon’s ruler for seventy years (25:11). When that period ended, He would call Babylon’s king and the Chaldean nation to account for their sin and leave their land desolate forever (25:12). Babylon’s power had a limit set by God. Jeremiah later told the exiles that when the seventy years assigned to Babylon were over, the LORD would bring them back (29:10). Daniel later read Jeremiah’s prophecy and understood from it how long Jerusalem would lie in ruins (Daniel 9:2), and Chronicles speaks of the seventy years as fulfilling what the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36:21).
- Jeremiah 25:11-12 (BSB)“And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”The nations serve Babylon seventy years, after which the LORD punishes Babylon.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.”Jeremiah tells the exiles that after Babylon’s seventy years the LORD will restore them.
- Daniel 9:2 (BSB)“in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”Daniel understood from Jeremiah’s word that the desolation would last seventy years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 (BSB)“So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah.”Chronicles ties the seventy years to the word of the LORD through Jeremiah.
Theological
According to Jeremiah 25:11-12, what follows the completion of the seventy years of service to Babylon?
Answer: The LORD would bring Babylon’s ruler and people to account
The LORD sets the limit of Babylon’s dominion: the nations will be subject to Babylon’s ruler for seventy years (25:11), and when they end He will call that king and the Chaldean nation to account for their guilt, making their land a perpetual waste (25:12). The same span frames the promise of return in Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles (29:10). Later Scripture treats the word as fixed and fulfilled: Daniel discerns from Jeremiah’s prophecy the length of Jerusalem’s ruin (Daniel 9:2), and Chronicles links the seventy years to the word spoken through Jeremiah (2 Chronicles 36:21). The empire that judged Judah serves only for a season God has measured.
- Jeremiah 25:11-12 (BSB)“And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”The nations serve Babylon seventy years, after which the LORD punishes Babylon.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.”Jeremiah tells the exiles that after Babylon’s seventy years the LORD will restore them.
- Daniel 9:2 (BSB)“in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.”Daniel understood from Jeremiah’s word that the desolation would last seventy years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21 (BSB)“So the land enjoyed its Sabbath rest all the days of the desolation, until seventy years were completed, in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken through Jeremiah.”Chronicles ties the seventy years to the word of the LORD through Jeremiah.
General
At the end of the chapter, who are told to wail and lie in the dirt, and why (Jeremiah 25:34-38)?
Answer: The rulers, pictured as shepherds whose pasture the LORD was destroying
The chapter ends by calling the shepherds and chief sheep of the flock, meaning the rulers of the nations, to wail and lie in the dirt, because their day of slaughter had come (25:34). They would find no way to escape (25:35). Their cry would rise because the LORD was destroying their pasture, and quiet meadows were silenced by His burning anger (25:36-37). Like a lion leaving its den, He had come out against them (25:38). Earlier, Jeremiah had pronounced woe on the shepherds who scattered God’s flock (23:1-2), and Ezekiel likewise said God was against the shepherds (Ezekiel 34:10).
- Jeremiah 25:34-36 (BSB)“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.”The shepherds and leaders of the flock are called to wail as the LORD destroys their pasture.
- Jeremiah 25:38 (BSB)“He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”The LORD has come out like a lion from its den.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.”The LORD had already pronounced woe on the shepherds who scattered His flock.
- Ezekiel 34:10 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’”God declares Himself against the shepherds and rescues His flock from them.
- Jeremiah 4:7 (BSB)“A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and lie uninhabited.”Earlier the destroyer of nations was pictured as a lion leaving its lair.
Theological
Whom does Jeremiah 25:34-38 summon to lament, and what image explains their ruin?
Answer: The rulers, pictured as shepherds whose pasture the LORD was destroying
The closing lament addresses the shepherds and the chief sheep of the flock, the rulers of the nations, summoning them to wail because their day of slaughter has come (25:34) and flight has failed them (25:35). The LORD is laying waste their pasture, and the peaceful folds are silenced by His fierce anger (25:36-37); He has come out like a lion from its den (25:38), the image of 4:7 now applied to God Himself. The LORD who pronounced woe on Judah’s shepherds for scattering His flock (23:1-2), and who declared through Ezekiel that He is against the shepherds (Ezekiel 34:10), now calls the rulers of the nations to account.
- Jeremiah 25:34-36 (BSB)“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.”The shepherds and leaders of the flock are called to wail as the LORD destroys their pasture.
- Jeremiah 25:38 (BSB)“He has left His den like a lion, for their land has been made a desolation by the sword of the oppressor, and because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”The LORD has come out like a lion from its den.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (BSB)““Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.”The LORD had already pronounced woe on the shepherds who scattered His flock.
- Ezekiel 34:10 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’”God declares Himself against the shepherds and rescues His flock from them.
- Jeremiah 4:7 (BSB)“A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to lay waste your land. Your cities will be reduced to ruins and lie uninhabited.”Earlier the destroyer of nations was pictured as a lion leaving its lair.
General
True or False: After all the other kingdoms drank the cup of wrath, Sheshach’s king would be the one ruler allowed to skip it (Jeremiah 25:26).
Answer: False
This is false. After the cup had gone around to every kingdom in the world, near and far, Sheshach’s king would drink it as well (25:26). Later in the book, Sheshach is named alongside Babylon in a lament over Babylon’s capture (51:41), so the king who brought judgment on others would himself face judgment last. This matches the promise that after the seventy years God would call Babylon’s king to account (25:12) and the warning that He would punish Babylon as He had punished Assyria (50:18).
- Jeremiah 25:26 (BSB)“all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too.”After all the kingdoms of the earth, the king of Sheshach drinks the cup too.
- Jeremiah 51:41 (BSB)“How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!”The lament over Babylon’s capture names Sheshach alongside Babylon.
- Jeremiah 25:12 (BSB)“But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”The LORD promised to punish the king of Babylon after the seventy years.
- Jeremiah 50:18 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.”The LORD will punish the king of Babylon as He punished the king of Assyria.
Theological
True or False: According to Jeremiah 25:26, Sheshach’s king is the one ruler exempt from the cup of wrath.
Answer: False
This is false. Once every kingdom in the world has drunk, Sheshach’s king must drink after them (25:26). The book pairs Sheshach with Babylon in the taunt over its capture (51:41), so the empire that served as God’s instrument must drink the same cup as the nations it conquered. This agrees with the announced reckoning with Babylon’s king after the seventy years (25:12) and with the later oracle that the LORD will punish Babylon as He punished Assyria (50:18). No power is above the judgment of the God who used it.
- Jeremiah 25:26 (BSB)“all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too.”After all the kingdoms of the earth, the king of Sheshach drinks the cup too.
- Jeremiah 51:41 (BSB)“How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!”The lament over Babylon’s capture names Sheshach alongside Babylon.
- Jeremiah 25:12 (BSB)“But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.”The LORD promised to punish the king of Babylon after the seventy years.
- Jeremiah 50:18 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.”The LORD will punish the king of Babylon as He punished the king of Assyria.
General
True or False: The LORD said that those slain on the day of His judgment would be gathered up and given an honorable burial (Jeremiah 25:32-33).
Answer: False
This is false. The LORD described disaster spreading from one nation to the next like a great storm rising from the far parts of the earth (25:32). Those He struck down would lie everywhere across the earth, without anyone to mourn, gather, or bury them, as worthless as refuse left on the soil (25:33). To be left unburied was a sign of deep disgrace. Jeremiah used the same picture earlier for Judah (8:2; 16:4).
- Jeremiah 25:32-33 (BSB)“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.”Disaster spreads like a storm, and the slain lie unmourned and unburied.
- Jeremiah 8:2 (BSB)“They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.”Jeremiah had warned that the bones of Judah’s idolaters would lie ungathered and unburied.
- Jeremiah 16:4 (BSB)““They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.””The same picture of the unmourned and unburied is applied to Judah.
Theological
True or False: Jeremiah 25:32-33 promises that those the LORD strikes down in that judgment will be lamented and properly buried.
Answer: False
This is false. Disaster passes from one people to the next like a great tempest from the remotest parts of the earth (25:32), and those the LORD strikes down lie scattered across the whole world, unlamented, ungathered, and unburied, like refuse on the ground (25:33). Lack of burial marks the extremity of covenant curse and disgrace; Jeremiah had pronounced the same end on idolatrous Judah (8:2; 16:4), and here it extends to the nations.
- Jeremiah 25:32-33 (BSB)“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.”Disaster spreads like a storm, and the slain lie unmourned and unburied.
- Jeremiah 8:2 (BSB)“They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.”Jeremiah had warned that the bones of Judah’s idolaters would lie ungathered and unburied.
- Jeremiah 16:4 (BSB)““They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.””The same picture of the unmourned and unburied is applied to Judah.
General
True or False: The LORD said that the sounds and sights of everyday life, including wedding celebrations, the grinding of grain, and lamplight in homes, would be taken away from the land (Jeremiah 25:10).
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD said He would take away from the land every happy and glad sound, the voices of wedding couples, the noise of millstones grinding grain, and the glow of lamps (25:10). These are signs of normal life: weddings, daily bread, and people at home in the evening. Their absence pictures a land left empty (25:11). Jeremiah gave this same warning earlier (7:34; 16:9). Later, the LORD promised that wedding voices would be heard again when He restored the land (33:10-11).
- Jeremiah 25:10 (BSB)“Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.”The LORD lists the everyday sounds and sights He will remove from the land.
- Jeremiah 7:34 (BSB)“I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.””The temple sermon gave the same warning about the voices of bride and bridegroom.
- Jeremiah 16:9 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.”The LORD repeats that He will remove these sounds in the people’s own days.
- Jeremiah 33:10-11 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: In this place you say is a wasteland without man or beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted—inhabited by neither man nor beast—there will be heard again the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.”In restoration the LORD promises that these sounds will be heard again.
Theological
True or False: In Jeremiah 25:10 the LORD describes the judgment as removing the ordinary signs of daily life, from wedding joy to millstones and lamplight.
Answer: True
This is true. The judgment is pictured as the silencing of ordinary life: happy and glad sounds, the voices of wedding couples, the grinding of millstones, and the lamp’s light all vanish (25:10), leaving a desolate waste (25:11). The same formula appears earlier (7:34; 16:9), and its reversal becomes a sign of restoration, when the LORD promises that these voices will return to the land (33:10-11).
- Jeremiah 25:10 (BSB)“Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.”The LORD lists the everyday sounds and sights He will remove from the land.
- Jeremiah 7:34 (BSB)“I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.””The temple sermon gave the same warning about the voices of bride and bridegroom.
- Jeremiah 16:9 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.”The LORD repeats that He will remove these sounds in the people’s own days.
- Jeremiah 33:10-11 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: In this place you say is a wasteland without man or beast, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted—inhabited by neither man nor beast—there will be heard again the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD, saying: ‘Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good; His loving devotion endures forever.’ For I will restore the land from captivity as in former times, says the LORD.”In restoration the LORD promises that these sounds will be heard again.
General
Jeremiah was to say that the LORD would roar from heaven and shout against everyone on earth like those treading grapes. Why would this uproar sound across the whole world (Jeremiah 25:30-31)?
Answer: Because He had a case to bring against the nations and was judging all people
Jeremiah was to prophesy that the LORD would roar from heaven, thunder from His holy dwelling, and shout like people stomping grapes, against everyone living in the world (25:30). The noise would sound across the whole world because the LORD had a case, like a lawsuit in court, to bring against the nations, and He would judge all humanity and give the wicked over to the sword (25:31). Other prophets also pictured the LORD roaring when He speaks in judgment (Amos 1:2; Joel 3:16), and Hosea spoke of the LORD having a case against His people (Hosea 4:1). God is the rightful Judge of the whole world, and He judges it with justice (Psalm 96:13).
- Jeremiah 25:30-31 (BSB)“So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth. The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD.”The LORD’s roar reaches the earth’s ends because He brings a charge against the nations.
- Amos 1:2 (BSB)“He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.””Amos also pictures the LORD roaring when He comes in judgment.
- Joel 3:16 (BSB)“The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”Joel pictures the LORD roaring from Zion, shaking heaven and earth, while sheltering His people.
- Hosea 4:1 (BSB)“Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!”Hosea uses the same courtroom idea of the LORD having a case against the land.
- Psalm 96:13 (BSB)“before the LORD, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.”The LORD comes to judge the world in righteousness.
Theological
What reason does Jeremiah 25:30-31 give for the LORD’s roar resounding across the whole world?
Answer: Because He had a case to bring against the nations and was judging all people
The oracle broadens to universal judgment. From heaven the LORD roars and shouts like grape-treaders against everyone who dwells in the world (25:30), because He has a lawsuit against the nations, and He judges all humanity and hands the wicked over to death in battle (25:31). The courtroom language presents the judgment as just, a verdict on guilt rather than an outburst. The roar of the LORD appears in Amos 1:2 and Joel 3:16, Hosea uses the same legal idea of the LORD’s case against the land (Hosea 4:1), and the Psalms celebrate His coming as the righteous Judge of the world (Psalm 96:13).
- Jeremiah 25:30-31 (BSB)“So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth. The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD.”The LORD’s roar reaches the earth’s ends because He brings a charge against the nations.
- Amos 1:2 (BSB)“He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.””Amos also pictures the LORD roaring when He comes in judgment.
- Joel 3:16 (BSB)“The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”Joel pictures the LORD roaring from Zion, shaking heaven and earth, while sheltering His people.
- Hosea 4:1 (BSB)“Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!”Hosea uses the same courtroom idea of the LORD having a case against the land.
- Psalm 96:13 (BSB)“before the LORD, for He is coming—He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.”The LORD comes to judge the world in righteousness.
General
According to Jeremiah 25:4-6, what message had the LORD’s servants the prophets brought to Judah again and again?
Answer: Turn from evil and from other gods, and they would stay in the land
The prophets had urged each person to turn away from wicked conduct. If they did, they could keep living in the land the LORD had given to them and their fathers. They were also told not to follow other gods or anger the LORD with idols made by their hands, and then He would do them no harm (25:5-6). But the people refused to listen, and so they brought harm on themselves (25:7). Jeremiah gave the same call elsewhere (7:5-7; 35:15). Their refusal was not for lack of a clear and gracious offer.
- Jeremiah 25:5-7 (BSB)“The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ ‘But to your own harm, you have not listened to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so you have provoked Me to anger with the works of your hands.’”The prophets’ call to turn and the LORD’s verdict that Judah refused to its own harm.
- Jeremiah 7:5-7 (BSB)“For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another, if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.”The temple sermon set out the same conditions for remaining in the land.
- Jeremiah 35:15 (BSB)“Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.”The LORD repeats that He sent the prophets again and again with this call.
Theological
What call and promise had the prophets repeatedly set before Judah, according to Jeremiah 25:4-6?
Answer: Turn from evil and from other gods, and they would stay in the land
The prophetic message joined a call to repentance with a covenant promise: turn from wicked conduct, refuse to serve foreign gods or provoke the LORD with idols of human making, and you will remain in the land given to your fathers (25:5-6). Judah’s refusal brought harm on itself (25:7). The same offer recurs in the temple sermon (7:5-7) and in the Rechabite contrast (35:15). Judgment comes only after a sincere call to turn has been spurned, so the guilt rests on those who refused.
- Jeremiah 25:5-7 (BSB)“The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ ‘But to your own harm, you have not listened to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘so you have provoked Me to anger with the works of your hands.’”The prophets’ call to turn and the LORD’s verdict that Judah refused to its own harm.
- Jeremiah 7:5-7 (BSB)“For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another, if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.”The temple sermon set out the same conditions for remaining in the land.
- Jeremiah 35:15 (BSB)“Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.”The LORD repeats that He sent the prophets again and again with this call.
General
Jeremiah told Judah’s people that the LORD had been speaking to him for twenty-three years, ever since King Josiah’s thirteenth year. How did he describe his preaching and their response (Jeremiah 25:3)?
Answer: He had spoken repeatedly for many years, yet they did not listen
Jeremiah reminded the people that for twenty-three years, starting in King Josiah’s thirteenth year, the LORD’s word had come to him, and he had spoken to them over and over, but they had not listened (25:3). That starting point matches the beginning of his ministry (1:2). The LORD had also sent many other prophets, with the same result (25:4). God had said much the same earlier in the book: He spoke to them again and again and they would not answer (7:13). Kings likewise records that the LORD had warned both Israel and Judah through every prophet and seer to turn from their wicked ways (2 Kings 17:13).
- Jeremiah 25:3 (BSB)““From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.”Jeremiah reviews twenty-three years of speaking the LORD’s word to a people who would not listen.
- Jeremiah 1:2 (BSB)“The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,”The LORD’s word first came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of Josiah.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (BSB)“And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,”The LORD had already said He spoke again and again but they would not listen.
- 2 Kings 17:13 (BSB)“Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.””The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets to turn from their wicked ways.
Theological
How does Jeremiah summarize the twenty-three years of his ministry since Josiah’s thirteenth year and Judah’s response to it (Jeremiah 25:3)?
Answer: He had spoken repeatedly for many years, yet they did not listen
Jeremiah grounds the coming judgment in a long record of patient warning: from Josiah’s thirteenth year, when his call came (1:2), to the present, twenty-three years, he has spoken persistently and Judah has not listened (25:3). The LORD’s other servants the prophets met the same deafness (25:4). The pattern of repeated warning and refusal runs through the book (7:13) and through Israel’s history as Kings summarizes it (2 Kings 17:13). Judgment falls on a people who have been called again and again; their refusal leaves them without excuse.
- Jeremiah 25:3 (BSB)““From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.”Jeremiah reviews twenty-three years of speaking the LORD’s word to a people who would not listen.
- Jeremiah 1:2 (BSB)“The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,”The LORD’s word first came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of Josiah.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (BSB)“And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,”The LORD had already said He spoke again and again but they would not listen.
- 2 Kings 17:13 (BSB)“Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.””The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets to turn from their wicked ways.