Jeremiah 25-28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Babylonian Captivity Foretold
25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah (that was the first year of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon),(A) 2 which the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened.(B) 4 And though the Lord persistently sent you all his servants the prophets, you have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear(C) 5 when they said, “Turn now, every one of you, from your evil way and wicked doings, and you will remain on the land that the Lord has given to you and your ancestors from of old and forever;(D) 6 do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.” 7 Yet you did not listen to me, says the Lord, and so you have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.(E)
8 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting disgrace.[a](F) 10 And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.(G) 11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.(H) 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them also, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.(I)
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 For thus 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 it.(J) 16 They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.(K)
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing and of cursing, as they are today;(L) 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 all the mixed people;[b] all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;(M) 21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;(N) 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;(O) 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have shaved temples;(P) 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed peoples[c] that live in the desert;(Q) 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Sheshach[d] shall drink.(R)
27 Then you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink; get drunk and vomit; fall and rise no more because of the sword that I am sending among you.(S)
28 And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: You must drink! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts.(T)
30 You, therefore, shall prophesy to them all these words and say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold
and shout like those who tread grapes
against all the inhabitants of the earth.(U)
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the guilty he will put to the sword,
says the Lord.(V)
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
See, disaster is spreading
from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirring
from the farthest parts of the earth!
33 Those slain by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented or gathered or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground.(W)
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions,[e]
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.(X)
35 Flight shall fail the shepherds,
and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.
36 Listen! The cry of the shepherds
and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is despoiling their pasture,
37 and the peaceful folds are devastated
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion he has left his den,
for their land has become a waste
because of the cruel anger
and because of his fierce anger.
Jeremiah’s Prophecies in the Temple
26 At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came from the Lord:(Y) 2 Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord; speak to them all the words that I command you; do not hold back a word.(Z) 3 It may be that they will listen and will turn from their evil way, that I may change my mind about the disaster that I intend to bring on them because of their evil doings.(AA) 4 You shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you(AB) 5 and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently—though you have not heeded(AC)— 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.(AD)
7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!(AE) 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.(AF)
10 When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord.(AG) 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”(AH)
12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “It is the Lord who sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard.(AI) 13 Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will change his mind about the disaster that he has pronounced against you.(AJ) 14 But as for me, here I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”(AK)
16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 And some of the elders of the land arose and said to all the assembled people, 18 “Micah of Moresheth, who prophesied during the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’(AL)
19 “Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord change his mind about the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster on ourselves!”(AM)
20 There was another man prophesying in the name of the Lord, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words exactly like those of Jeremiah.(AN) 21 And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death, but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt.(AO) 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent[f] Elnathan son of Achbor and men with him to Egypt,(AP) 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
24 But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over into the hands of the people to be put to death.(AQ)
The Sign of the Yoke
27 In the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah[g] son of Josiah of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord.(AR) 2 Thus the Lord said to me: Make for yourself yoke straps and bars and put them on your neck.(AS) 3 Send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah.(AT) 4 Give them this charge for their masters: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the people and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever I please.(AU) 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him even the wild animals of the field to serve him.(AV) 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.(AW)
8 But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this king, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, then I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the Lord, until I have completed its destruction by his hand.(AX) 9 You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers,[h] your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.”(AY) 10 For they are prophesying a lie to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land; I will drive you out, and you will perish.(AZ) 11 But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, says the Lord, to till it and to live there.(BA)
12 I spoke to King Zedekiah of Judah in the same way: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.(BB) 13 Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?(BC) 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.(BD) 15 I have not sent them, says the Lord, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out, and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.(BE)
16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, “The vessels of the Lord’s house will soon be brought back from Babylon,” for they are prophesying a lie to you.(BF) 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? 18 If indeed they are prophets and the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.(BG) 19 For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city,(BH) 20 which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem(BI)— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall stay, until the day when I give attention to them, says the Lord. Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.(BJ)
Hananiah Opposes Jeremiah and Dies
28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying,(BK) 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.(BL) 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.(BM) 4 I will also bring back to this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”(BN)
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles.(BO) 7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.(BP) 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.(BQ) 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”(BR)
10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it.(BS) 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: This is how I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” At this, the prophet Jeremiah went his way.(BT)
12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:(BU) 13 Go, tell Hananiah, Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars only to forge iron bars in place of them!(BV) 14 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations so that they may serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they shall indeed serve him; I have even given him the wild animals.(BW) 15 And the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you made this people trust in a lie.(BX) 16 Therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to send you off the face of the earth. Within this year you will be dead, for you have spoken rebellion against the Lord.”(BY)
17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.