Jeremiah 25 Study Notes

25:1-38 This chapter describes a critical year in the history of the Near East. In this year, 605 BC, Jeremiah dictated his prophecies to his scribe Baruch (36:1-6), the battle of Carche-mish unfolded, and Nebuchadnezzar ascended the throne of Babylon (see notes at 36:1; 45:1-5).

25:1 That the first year of King Nebuchadnezzar paralleled the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah is not in conflict with Dn 1:1, which says Nebuchadnezzar laid siege in Jehoiakim’s “third year.” The two countries used different methods of reckoning the initiation of a king’s reign. Judah used the accession-year principle, where the portion of the calendar year that remained when the king came to power was called his first year of reign. Babylon used the non-accession-year principle, where the first year of reign was calculated only with the advent of the new calendar year (hence, a king who took the throne on January 2 would begin his first year of reign on January 1 of the next calendar year).

25:2-4 Jeremiah had ministered in Judah for twenty-three years, but he had to conclude that the people had not obeyed. Jeremiah was not the only prophet sent by God during this time (Uriah, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk). In spite of his efforts, four times in vv. 3-8 Judah’s disobedience is emphasized. The thirteenth year of King Josiah was 626 BC.

25:5-7 The imperatives turn and live are highlighted, but little success resulted from these urgent messages from God.

25:8-9 All the families of the north meant Babylon’s allies or the many nations and tribes within the Babylonian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar is called my servant three times in Jeremiah (v. 9; 27:6; 43:10), just as King Cyrus of Persia was called God’s servant or shepherd in Is 44:28; 45:1. Both were called by God as instruments of his plan to completely destroy Judah and the surrounding nations. “Completely destroy” is related to the Hebrew noun cherem, where the enemy was “put under the ban” and set apart for destruction.

25:10 This verse is the poetic equivalent of v. 11. See 7:34; 16:9.

25:11 The seventy years is often regarded as a round number, but here it is the literal period of time between 606/605 BC when Daniel was taken captive, and 536 BC when Zerubbabel led the first group of resettlers back to Judah.

25:12-14 At the end of the seventy years, God would punish the king of Babylon and that nation, not for carrying out his will but for their own sins (50:11-13). The LXX inserts Jeremiah’s oracles against the nations (chaps. 46-51) after the words in this book.

25:15-16 The cup of the wine of wrath is a common biblical image indicating God’s wrath (49:12; 51:7; Ps 60:3; Is 51:17,22; Ezk 23:31; Hab 2:16; Rv 14:8,10; 16:19; 18:6). The prophet did not physically take the cup to all the nations, but all nations would experience that cup in the tragedies of the future.

25:17-18 The Lord’s wrath would begin with Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah.

25:19-22 All the nations listed in chaps. 46-51, except Damascus, are included in this section. Judah heads the list and then comes Pharaoh of Egypt, perhaps because he instigated the alliance of Judah against Babylon. The list runs from south to north.

25:20 The land of Uz is mentioned in Jb 1:1. It was probably east of Edom. The remnant of Ashdod is singled out because Pharaoh Psammetik I of Egypt (663-609 BC) took the city after a twenty-nine-year siege.

25:23-24 Dedan and Tema are both in northwest Arabia, but Buz is unknown. For all those who clip the hair on their temples, see 9:26.

25:25 The location of Zimri is unknown, though the name appears in Nm 25:14 and elsewhere. Elam and Media were east of the Tigris River.

25:26 Sheshach is probably a cipher code for Babylon, written in what the Hebrews called atbash, where letters of the Hebrew alphabet are substituted for their opposite (see note at 51:1). Here the letters bet-bet-lamed of Babylon are changed to shin-shin-khet.

25:27-28 These verses are similar to vv. 15-17.

25:29 The Lord asked, How could the nations possibly go unpunished? The same principles that governed Judah must also govern the world.

25:30-33 The imagery changes from a cup of wine to a lion. This signals the Lord’s voice from on high. It changes again to an image of the Lord treading out grapes in the winepress (Is 63:3; Rv 14:19-20; 19:15), and once more to the image of a huge storm as nation after nation succumbs to Babylon’s advances.

25:34-38 Three times in these verses Jeremiah used the shepherd metaphor and then switched over to describe the nations’ impending disaster. They will be shattered like a precious vase. The nations will be shattered by the one who is Lord over all the earth.