The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 25
Chapter XXV · Vol. III, pp. 1261–1262
1 Jeremiah reproving the Jews' disobedience to the prophets, 8 foretelleth the seventy years' captivity, 12 and after that, the destruction of Babylon. 15 Under the type of a cup of wine he foreshoweth the destruction of all nations. 34 The howling of the shepherds.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, ain the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year1 of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
2 The which Jeremiah the prophet spake bunto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,
3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is, the three and twentieth year,2 the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, crising early and speaking; dbut ye have not hearkened.
2 Of Jeremiah's prophesying.
c Ec.9.10. ch.7.13,15; 11.7,&c.;29.19;26.5;44.4;32.33. 2 Ch.36.15.
d Ps.81.13. Is.55.2. Jn.8.47. ver.4,7; ch.11.7,8; 13.10,11; 16.12; 17.23; 18.12; 19.15;22.21;7.24,26. Zec.7.11,12.
4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants3 the eprophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.
3 Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Urijah (ch. 26. 20), and, no doubt, many others prophesied within the time. For it is not to be supposed that all who prophesied wrote their words; but were like the apostles, who all preached, while only a few left any written record.—C.
e ch.26.20. Zep.1.1,&c. 2 Ch.36.15. Is.1.16-19.
5 They said, gTurn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers hfor ever and ever:
g 2 Ki.17.13. ch.18.11; 35.15. Eze.33.11. Jonah 3.8. Is.55.7. Ho.14.1. Ps.37.27. Lu.13.3,5.
h Ge.17.8. Ps.105.10,11. ch.7.7;17.25.
6 Andi go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
i Ex.20.3,23. De.6.14;11.28. 1 Ki.14.22;11.10. ch.7.6,9.
7 Yetj ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.
j ver.3. De.32.15-21. Is.i.ii.lix. Pr.8.36.
8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
9 Behold, kI will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, lmy servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
k Le.26.25-37. De.28.49,25-64; 32.21-26. Is.5.26-30; 22.1-7; xxiv.; 28.14-22; 29.1,6; 39.7. ch.1.14,15;4.7,16; 5.15-17; 6.1-6,22-26; 8.16;9.9-22; 10.17,18; 12.7-12; 13.20; 15.1-8; 16.2-13; 19.8; ver.18-26. Hab.i.
l Pr.21.1. ch.27.6;43.10. Eze.29.18,20. Is.10.5;44.28.
10 Moreover I will take from them4 the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the nvoice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, othe sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.5
4 Heb. cause to perish from them.
n ch.7.34;16.9;33.11. Is.24.7,8. Eze.26.13. Ho.2.11. Re.18.22,23.
o Ec.12.2-4.
5 This is a beautiful, graphic, and terrible picture of utter desolation. No sound of human voice or human industry by day: no cheerful twinkle of light from fire or candle by night. The absence of inhabitants from habitable lands, and especially from habitable cities, is far more striking and impressive than mere ruins.—P.
11 And pthis whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 6seventy 7years.
p Le.26.34,35.
6 Beginning 606, 2 Ki.14.1. Ending 536, Zec.7.5. Is.23.15,17. ver.12.
7 These are to be computed from the fourth year of Jehoiakim when Daniel and others were carried captive, that is, enslaved (Da. 1. 1-6), to the first year of Cyrus, when he issued an order for their return, Ezr.1.1-4.—C.
12 And it shall come to pass, qwhen seventy years are accomplished, that I will rpunish8 the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it sperpetual desolations.
q 2 Ch.26.21,22. Ezr.1.1,2. ch.29.10. Da.9.2.
r De.32.35-42. Is.xiii.xiv.xxi.xlvi.xlvii. ch.l.li. Da.iv.v. Hab.ii.
8 Heb. visit upon.
A.M. cir. 3397. B.C. cir. 607.
13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
14 For tmany nations9 and great kings1 shall serve themselves of them2 also: uand I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.
t ch.27.7;34.9. Is.41.2,3;43.3,4; 13.4; 45.1-3. Da.5.28. ch.50.9,41; 5.11,27. Is.14.2.
9 The Medes, Persians, and the mingled nations forming their empire.—C.
1 Cyrus, Darius, and their successors, were, in the estimate of history, 'great kings.'—C.
2 Serve themselves of them. Shall render them tributary, carry away their riches, and enslave them, as they were wont to enslave others.—C.
u Is.14.4-6,17,20. ch.51.24; 50.11,15,17,28,34, &c.
15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me, Take the vwine-cup of this fury at my hand, xand cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
16 And they shall drink, yand be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
y De.28.34,37,65-67. ch.51.7. Re.16.9,11.
17 Thenz took I the cup at the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to drink,3 unto whom the LORD had sent me:
z ver.28,30; ch.xv.xvi.&c., xlvi.-li.
3 God sent Jeremiah (ver. 15), not personally, but prophetically, so he 'made them drink' prophetically; that is, by the denunciation of God's terrible judgments.—C.
18 To wit, aJerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, tob make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; cas it is this day;
20 Ande all the mingled people,4 and all the kings of the land of gUz, and all the kings5 of the land of the hPhilistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
21 Edom,i and jMoab, and the children of Ammon,
i Is.21.11;xxxiv.;63.1. Ps.137.7. ch.27.3; xlviii.; 49.7-22. La.4.21,22. Eze.25.12-14; xxxv. &c.
j Is.xv.xvi.; 25.10. Am.2.1-3; 1.13-15. ch.xlviii.; 49.1-6. Eze.xxv. Zep.2.8-11.
22 And kall the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,6
24 And all the kings of Arabia, nand all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,
n Eze.30.5.
25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of oElam, and all the kings of the Medes,
o ch.49.34-49. Is.13.17, with Ge.10.2,22.
26 And all the kings of the north,9 far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world,1 which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of 2Sheshach3 shall drink after them.
9 Syria, Armenia, &c., ch.50.9; 49.23-27. Am.1.3-5. Is.17.1-3.
1 That is, all the kingdoms of, or connected with, the Babylonian monarchy; as, in after days, the Roman empire was called 'all the world,' Lu.2.1, viz. all the Roman world.—C.
2 Babylon, ch.51.41. See on ver.12.
3 Sheshach was an ancient king of Babylon, who, according to a favourite custom of the heathen, was deified and worshipped after his death. It is, accordingly, used as a name for Babylon.—C.
27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drinkp ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
28 And it shall be if they refuse4 to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, qThus saith the LORD of hosts, Ye shall certainly drink.
4 If the nations disbelieve and despise the divine warning.—C.
A.M. cir. 3397. B.C. cir. 607.
q Is.14.24,27; 46.10,11. ch.4.28;49.20;50.43; 51.29.
29 For, lo, rI begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name;5 and sshould ye be utterly unpunished?6 Ye shall not be unpunished: tfor I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
r 1 Pe.4.17. Lu.23.31. Eze.9.6. ch.49.12. Da.9.12.
5 Heb. upon which my name is called.
s 1 Pe.4.17,18. ch.49.12. Pr.11.31. Eze.9.6. Ob.16. Lu.23.31. ver.9,18.
6 Ye who have taught that idolatry and wickedness, which I punish in the children of my covenant; shall ye go unpunished who are, to me, not only 'aliens and strangers,' but inveterate enemies? Col.1.21.—C.
t Eze.38.21.
30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall 7roar8 from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; uhe shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes,9 against all the inhabitants of the earth.
7 Inflict dreadful judgments, Is.42.13. 2 Ch.30.27. Joel 2.11; 3.16. Am.1.2;3.8. Ho.5.14;13.7. Eze.v.-vii.
8 The emblem is a lion roaring for his prey. See ver.38.—C.
u ch.48.33. Is.16.9; 63.3,4,6. Joel 3.11-13. Re.19.15;14.18-21. Ps.78.65. Mi.7.10.
9 Is not the meaning of this emblem that judgment would be executed as a harvest work upon nations who had ripened for destruction?—C.
31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth: vfor the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, xevil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
x Is.5.26-30; 30.27,28,30. ch.23.19; 30.23; 5.15; ver.9,18-26. Zep.3.8.
33 Andy the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: zthey shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
y Re.14.19,20. Is.66.16. Zep.2.12,13. ver.18-26. Is.xxiv.xxxiv.; 42.25. ch.12.12.
z ch.16.4; 8.2; 9.21,22. Ps.83.10.
34 Howl,a ye shepherds,1 and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter2 and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall blike a pleasant 3vessel.4
35 cAnd 5the shepherds shalld have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to 6escape.
c ch.2.8; 23.1; 6.3. Eze.34.2,16. Ho.5.1. Zep.3.3,4. Na.3.18.
5 Heb. flight shall perish from the shepherds, and escaping from, &c.
d Ps.50.21,22. Am.2.14. Mal.4.1. ch.48.44; 52.8-11,24-27.
6 All the nations shall be so infected with one common mania (see ver. 16), and so convulsed with one common revolution, that the exile of one kingdom will be unable to find refuge in another.—C.
36 Ae voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their 7pasture.
38 He8 hath forsaken his covert,9 as the lion: for their land is desolate,1 because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
8 Nebuchadnezzar, Ps.76.2. Zec.2.13. ch.4.7; 49.19; ver.9; or God, ch.12.7;13.14.
9 When the lion leaves his covert in search of prey, he returns to it again, and the flocks are safe. But if he forsake his covert, he returns not to it, and neither shepherd nor flock may repose. The emblem is intended to represent a series of judgments, continuing without abatement or intermission.—C.
1 Heb. a desolation, ver.9,37.
Notes
Ver. 18-25. Beginning at the most distant. The Egyptians, Philistines, Tyrians, Sidonians, Jews, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Arabians, Syrians, dwelt westward of Babylon; and the Elamites or Persians and the Medes on the east side of it. (See Introduction, ch. iv. sect. 1-13.)
Ver. 9. My servant. Whether Nebuchadrezzar became God's servant in heart may be questioned; though his intimacy with Daniel, a man who would keep his religion no secret, together with the declaration of his faith, Da. 4. 34, 37, lead to the conclusion that he was a convert to the truth. Still both he and every potentate is the providential servant of the Most High, fulfilling his purposes of mercy or judgment on the nations they govern or destroy.—The word rendered 'perpetual' implies, Ex. 21. 6, no more than continuation till the jubilee. Like other words, it is modified, not by any change in itself, but by the nature of the subject treated of, and the other words with which it is combined. Here it may be understood as limited to continuation till 'the (prophetic) times of the restitution of all things,' Ac. 3. 21; or it may be taken absolutely and without limit; for the nations whom God did 'utterly destroy,' do now stand and will continue to stand, in the page of history, as 'perpetual' monuments of the 'desolations' occasioned by sin, Ps. 46. 8. C.
Ver. 12. When Jeremiah prophesied, Babylon was the queen of cities and the crown of empires. Situated on a noble river, in the centre of commerce and civilization, no city ever seemed more calculated for perpetual glory. But the Spirit of prophecy pronounced her doom; and all that now remains of 'this great Babylon,' is a few grave-like mounds, the burial-places of her palaces, and one solitary fragment of her idolatrous temple—the witness of God's unerring foreknowledge, and the monument of his righteous judgment. C.
Ver. 15. Drink it. By a common mode of speech the ear is said to drink and to devour, when the mind, through eager curiosity, excited alarm, or other strong emotion, gives earnest heed to what is spoken. C.
Ver. 17. Cup. A full cup is a striking emblem, and consequently a common expression for prosperity; a bitter cup for adversity; a wine-cup, as productive of drunkenness, is an equally intelligible emblem of luxury, ending in irrationality, madness, and ruin. C.
Ver. 18. As it is this day. There is no reason to conclude that these words were added after their fulfilment. For as the prophet says he had 'made all nations drink,' he looks forward to the judgments as already accomplished, and speaks of the future as of the present, because he foresaw it as certain. C.
Ver. 20. Remnant. They are called 'the remnant,' because Ashdod had been besieged by Psammiticus, king of Egypt, during twenty-nine years; and when he at last took it, he found it reduced to a few living skeletons, the sole survivors of the ruin of their city. C.
Ver. 34. Shepherds. This warning address may be to rulers under the emblem of shepherds, who ought to lead and protect the flock; or it may be directed chiefly to those pastoral nations which had not adopted husbandry or manufactures, and whose kings and nobles were literally shepherds, their flocks and herds being their principal riches. See Job 1. 3. C.
Reflections.—God's words, which concern all, ought to be publicly proclaimed. He keeps an exact account of every circumstance relative to our enjoyment and improvement of the means of grace. And they who declare his messages ought to be earnest and diligent in delivering them, that they may at least be free from the blood of all men; and all of them should insist upon the same leading truths of the gospel. But if God's messengers of peace be contemned, his messengers of wrath will soon follow, and make dreadful work. God does not usually strike without warning; but if we will not hear we must perish. When judgment begins at the house of God, it ordinarily makes fearful and overturning work among all, even the mightiest nations around, before it cease. That God, to whom all nations are accountable, can easily, by a small sip of his unbounded wrath, by a stroke of his sword, or the roaring of his voice, terrify, perplex, and destroy them, however numerous, powerful, or secure. And they who have plagued their neighbours, and especially the people of God, shall have their fill of vexation and misery at last.—Men who are ambitious of power generally become troublers and destroyers to the world around. But great earthly pomp and power are of very uncertain, and often of very short, continuance. And no sinners can either withstand or outrun the judgments of God. When wars are once kindled, the higher men are the more is their danger; and even many who had lived harmlessly share in the hardships. But if the ravages of war be so tremendous, what infinitely more fearful work must be the consciousness of having sinned away our opportunity to get to heaven for ever and ever! Let then wars and troubles, however distant, make me to hear and fear, and embrace his new covenant of peace offered in the gospel, that I may at last enter into that peaceful habitation, into which no fire or sword, no violence or destruction, can ever enter.