Jeremiah 25

¹ The word that was addressed to Jeremiah about al the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakimson of Josiah, king of Judah (that is to say the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon).

² The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed it before al the people of Judah and al the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

³ 'For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until today, theword of Yahweh has been addressed to me and I have never tired of speaking to you (but you have not listened.

⁴ Furthermore, Yahweh has untiringly sent you al his servants the prophets, but you have not listened orpaid attention).

⁵ The message was this, "Turn back, each one of you, from your evil behaviour and your evil actions,and you wil go on living on the soil Yahweh long ago gave to you and your ancestors for ever.

⁶ (And do not fol ow other gods to serve and worship them, do not provoke me with things youyourselves have made, and then I shall not harm you.)

⁷ But you have not listened to me (Yahweh declares, so that you have now provoked me with things youyourselves have made, and thus harmed yourselves)."

⁸ 'So-this is what Yahweh Sabaoth says, "Since you have not listened to my words,

⁹ I shal now send for al the families of the north (Yahweh declares, that is, for Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon, my servant) and bring them down on this country and its inhabitants (and on al these surroundingnations); I shal curse them with utter destruction and make them an object of horror, of scorn, and ruin them for ever.

¹⁰ From them I shall banish the shouts of rejoicing and mirth, the voices of bridegroom and bride, thesound of the handmil and the light of the lamp;

¹¹ and this whole country will be reduced to ruin and desolation, and these nations will be enslaved tothe king of Babylon for seventy years.

¹² (But when the seventy years are over, I shall punish the king of Babylon and that nation, Yahwehdeclares, for the wrong they have done, that is, the country of the Chaldaeans, and make it desolate for ever),

¹³ and against that country I shal perform al the words with which I have threatened it, that is,everything written in this book." '

¹⁴ What Jeremiah prophesied against al the nations. ('For these in their turn are to be enslaved topowerful nations and great kings, and I shal pay them back as their deeds and handiwork deserve.')

¹⁵ For Yahweh, the God of Israel, said this to me, 'Take this cup of the wine of wrath and make al thenations to whom I send you drink it;

¹⁶ they wil drink and reel and lose their wits, because of the sword I am sending among them.'

¹⁷ I took the cup from Yahweh's hand and made al the nations to whom Yahweh sent me drink it

¹⁸ (Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and its chief men, to make them a ruin, an object ofhorror and derision and a curse, as is the case today):

¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his chief men and al his people,

²⁰ with the whole conglomeration of peoples there (al the kings of the country of Uz); al the kings of thecountry of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and what is stil left of Ashdod;

²¹ Edom, Moab and the Ammonites;

²² (all) the kings of Tyre, (all) the kings of Sidon, the kings of the island across the sea;

²³ Dedan, Tema, Buz, al the people with shaven temples;

²⁴ al the kings of Arabia (and all the kings of the conglomeration of peoples) who live in the desert

²⁵ (all the kings of Zimri), all the kings of Elam, and al the kings of Media;

²⁶ al the kings of the north, near and far, one after another: in short, all the kingdoms on the face of theearth. (As for the king of Sheshak, he wil drink last of all.)

²⁷ 'You wil say to them, "Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Drink! Get drunk! Vomit! Fall,never to rise again, before the sword that I am sending among you!"

²⁸ If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, you wil say to them, "Yahweh Sabaoth saysthis: You must drink!

²⁹ Look, for a start, I am bringing disaster on the city that bears my name, so are you likely to gounpunished? You certainly wil not go unpunished, for next I shal summon a sword against al the inhabitants ofthe land, Yahweh declares."

³⁰ 'For your part, you are to prophesy al these words to them. Say to them: "Yahweh roars from on high,he thunders from his holy dwel ing-place, loudly he roars at his own fold, shouts aloud like those who tread thegrape at all the inhabitants of the land.

³¹ The noise resounds to the remotest parts of the earth. For Yahweh is indicting the nations, arraigningal humanity for judgement; the wicked he assigns to the sword, Yahweh declares.

³² Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Look, disaster is spreading from nation to nation, a mighty tempest isrising from the far ends of the earth.

³³ "Those slaughtered by Yahweh that day wil be scattered across the world from end to end. No dirgewil be raised for them; no one wil gather them or bury them; they will stay lying on the surface like dung.

³⁴ "Howl, shepherds, shriek, roll on the ground, you lords of the flock, for your days have come to beslaughtered and to be scattered, and like a choice vase you will fal .

³⁵ No refuge then for the shepherds, no escape for the lords of the flock!

³⁶ Listen! A shriek from the shepherds, a howl from the lords of the flock! For Yahweh has laid theirpasture waste,

³⁷ the peaceful sheepfolds are reduced to silence owing to Yahweh's furious anger.

³⁸ The lion has left his lair and their country is a wasteland now, owing to the devastating fury, owing tohis furious anger." '