The document offers a commentary on Jeremiah 25, focusing on the prophecy delivered during the fourth year of King Jehoiakim, reflecting the onset of Babylon's dominance under King Nebuchadnezzar. It emphasizes the themes of impending judgment against Judah for their unrepentance and the foretelling of a seventy-year captivity. The text outlines Jeremiah's lengthy prophetic ministry and God's persistent exhortations for repentance, signaling significant historical and theological implications for Judah and surrounding nations.

1. JEREMIAH 25 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Seventy Years of Captivity
1 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the
people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim
son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first
year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
BARNES, "The fourth year - See Dan_1:1 note. This invasion of Judaea, in which
Daniel was carried captive to Babylon, was according to the date of the years the fourth,
but according to the actual time the third, year of the Jewish king. Nebuchadnezzar was
not yet fully king, but associated with his father Nabopalassar.
CLARKE, "The word that came to Jeremiah - to the fourth year - This
prophecy, we see, was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and the chapter that
contains it is utterly out of its place. It should be between chapters 35 and 36.
The defeat of the Egyptians by Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish, and the subsequent
taking of Jerusalem, occurred in this year, viz., the fourth year of Jehoiakim.
The first year of Nebuchadrezzar - This king was associated with his father two
years before the death of the latter. The Jews reckon his reign from this time, and this
was the first of those two years; but the Chaldeans date the commencement of his reign
two years later, viz., at the death of his father.
GILL, "The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of
Judah,.... Not only in the city of Jerusalem, but in the whole land of Judea. This
prophecy concerns them all; their repentance and reformation, to which they are
exhorted; or their invasion, desolation, and captivity, with which they are threatened.
Before the prophet was sent to the king of Judah only, Jer_22:1; now to all the people:
in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; in the latter
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2. part of the third, and beginning of the fourth year of his reign; see Dan_1:1;
this was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon: in which he began to
reign with his father, for he reigned two years with him; who is the Nabopolassar of
Ptolemy. This was in the year of the world 3397, and before Christ 607, according to
Bishop Usher (f).
HENRY 1-4, "We have here a message from God concerning all the people of Judah
(Jer_25:1), which Jeremiah delivered, in his name, unto all the people of Judah, Jer_
25:2. Note, That which is of universal concern ought to be of universal cognizance. It is
fit that the word which concerns all the people, as the word of God does, the word of the
gospel particularly, should be divulged to all in general, and, as far as may be, addressed
to each in particular. Jeremiah had been sent to the house of the king (Jer_22:1), and he
took courage to deliver his message to them, probably when they had all come up to
Jerusalem to worship at one of the solemn feasts; then he had them together, and it was
to be hoped then, if ever, they would be well disposed to hear counsel and receive
instruction.
This prophecy is dated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim and the first of
Nebuchadrezzar. It was in the latter end of Jehoiakim's third year that Nebuchadrezzar
began to reign by himself alone (having reigned some time before in conjunction with
his father), as appears, Dan_1:1. But Jehoiakim's fourth year was begun before
Nebuchadrezzar's first was completed. Now that that active, daring, martial prince
began to set up for the world's master, God, by his prophet, gives notice that he is his
servant, and intimates what work he intends to employ him in, that his growing
greatness, which was so formidable to the nations, might not be construed as any
reflection upon the power and providence of God in the government of the world.
Nebuchadrezzar should not bid so fair for universal monarchy (I should have said
universal tyranny) but that God had purposes of his own to serve by him, in the
execution of which the world shall see the meaning of God's permitting and ordering a
thing that seemed such a reflection on his sovereignty and goodness.
Now in this message we may observe the great pains that had been taken with the
people to bring them to repentance, which they are here put in mind of, as an
aggravation of their sin and a justification of God in his proceedings against them.
I. Jeremiah, for his part, had been a constant preacher among them twenty-three
years; he began in the thirteenth year of Josiah, who reigned thirty-one years, so that he
prophesied about eighteen or nineteen years in his reign, then in the reign of Jehoahaz,
and now four years of Jehoiakim's reign. Note, God keeps an account, whether we do or
no, how long we have enjoyed the means of grace; and the longer we have enjoyed them
the heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. These three years (these
three and twenty years) have I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree. All this while, 1. God
had been constant in sending messages to them, as there was occasion for them: “From
that time to this very day the word of the Lord has come into me, for your use.” Though
they had the substance of the warning sent them already in the books of Moses, yet,
because those were not duly regarded and applied, God sent to enforce them and make
them more particular, that they might be without excuse. Thus God's Spirit was striving
with them, as with the old world, Gen_6:3. 2. Jeremiah had been faithful and
industrious in delivering those messages. He could appeal to themselves, as well as to
God and his own conscience, concerning this: I have spoken to you, rising early and
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3. speaking. He had declared to them the whole counsel of God; he had taken a great deal
of care and pains to discharge his thrust in such a manner as might be most likely to win
and work upon them. What men are solicitous about and intent upon they rise up early
to prosecute. It intimates that his head was so full of thoughts about it, and his heart so
intent upon doing good, that it broke his sleep, and made him get up betimes to project
which way he might take that would be most likely to do them good. He rose early, both
because he would lose no time and because he would lay hold on and improve the best
time to work upon them, when, if ever, they were sober and sedate. Christ came early in
the morning to preach in the temple, and the people as early to hear him, Luk_21:38.
Morning lectures have their advantages. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning.
II. Besides him, God had sent them other prophets, on the same errand, Jer_25:4. Of
the writing prophets Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk, were a little before him, and
Zephaniah contemporary with him. But, besides those, there were many other of God's
servants the prophets who preached awakening sermons, which were never published.
And here God himself is said to rise early and send them, intimating how much his heart
also was upon it, that this people should turn and live, and not go on and die, Eze_
33:11.
JAMISON, "Jer_25:1-38. Prophecy of the seventy years’ captivity; and after that
the destruction of Babylon, and of all the nations that oppressed the Jews.
fourth year of Jehoiakim — called the third year in Dan_1:1. But probably
Jehoiakim was set on the throne by Pharaoh-necho on his return from Carchemish
about July, whereas Nebuchadnezzar mounted the throne January 21, 604 b.c.; so that
Nebuchadnezzar’s first year was partly the third, partly the fourth, of Jehoiakim’s. Here
first Jeremiah gives specific dates. Nebuchadnezzar had previously entered Judea in the
reign of his father Nabopolassar.
K&D 1-2, "The prediction of this chapter is introduced by a full heading, which
details with sufficient precision the time of its composition. Jer_25:1. "The word that
came (befell) to (‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ for ‫ל‬ ֶ‫)א‬ Jeremiah concerning the whole people of Judah, in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that is, the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon; Jer_25:2. Which Jeremiah the prophet spake to
the whole people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying." - All the
discourses of Jeremiah delivered before this time contain either no dates at all, or only
very general ones, such as Jer_3:6 : In the days of Josiah, or: at the beginning of the
reign of Jehoiakim (Jer_26:1). And it is only some of those of the following period that
are so completely dated, as Jer_28:1; Jer_32:1; Jer_36:1; Jer_39:1, etc. The present
heading is in this further respect peculiar, that besides the year of the king of Judah's
reign, we are also told that of the king of Babylon. This is suggested by the contents of
this prediction, in which the people are told of the near approach of the judgment which
Nebuchadnezzar is to execute on Judah and on all the surrounding nations far and near,
until after seventy years judgment fall on Babylon itself. The fourth year of Jehoiakim is
accordingly a notable turning-point for the kingdom of Judah. It is called the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, because then, at the command of his old and decrepit
father Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar had undertaken the conduct of the war against
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4. Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, who had penetrated as far as the Euphrates. At Carchemish he
defeated Necho (Jer_46:2), and in the same year he came in pursuit of the fleeing
Egyptians to Judah, took Jerusalem, and made King Jehoiakim tributary. With the first
taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, i.e., in 606 b.c.,
begins the seventy years' Babylonian bondage or exile of Judah, foretold by Jeremiah in
Jer_25:11 of the present chapter. Nebuchadnezzar was then only commander of his
father's armies; but he is here, and in 2Ki_24:1; Dan_1:1, called king of Babylon,
because, equipped with kingly authority, he dictated to the Jews, and treated them as if
he had been really king. Not till the following year, when he was at the head of his army
in Farther Asia, did his father Nabopolassar die; whereupon he hastened to Babylon to
mount the throne; see on Dan_1:1 and 1 Kings 24:1. - In Jer_25:2 it is again specified
that Jeremiah spoke the word of that Lord that came to him to the whole people and to
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem (‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ for ‫ל‬ ֶ‫א‬ again). There is no cogent reason for
doubting, as Graf does, the correctness of these dates. Jer_36:5 tells us that Jeremiah in
the same year caused Baruch to write down the prophecies he had hitherto delivered, in
order to read them to the people assembled in the temple, and this because he himself
was imprisoned; but it does not follow from this, that at the time of receiving this
prophecy he was prevented from going into the temple. The occurrence of Jer 36 falls in
any case into a later time of Jehoiakim's fourth year than the present chapter. Ew., too,
finds it very probable that the discourse of this chapter was, in substance at least,
publicly delivered. The contents of it tell strongly in favour of this view.
It falls into three parts. In the first, Jer_25:3-11, the people of Judah are told that he
(Jeremiah) has for twenty-three years long unceasingly preached the word of the Lord to
the people with a view to their repentance, without Judah's having paid any heed to his
sayings, or to the exhortations of the other prophets, so that now all the kings of the
north, headed by Nebuchadnezzar, will come against Judah and the surrounding
nations, will plunder everything, and make these lands tributary to the king of Babylon;
and then, Jer_25:12-14, that after seventy years judgment will come on the king of
Babylon and his land. In the second part, Jer_25:15-29, Jeremiah receives the cup of the
Lord's wrath, to give it to all the people to drink, beginning with Jerusalem and the cities
of Judah, proceeding to the Egyptians and the nationalities in the west and east as far as
Elam and Media, and concluding with the king of Babylon. Then in the third part, vv.
30-38, judgment to come upon all peoples is set forth in plain statement. - The first part
of this discourse would have failed of its effect if Jeremiah had only composed it in
writing, and had not delivered it publicly before the people, in its main substance at
least. And the two other parts are so closely bound up with the first, that they cannot be
separated from it. The judgment made to pass on Judah by Nebuchadnezzar is only the
beginning of the judgment which is to pass on one nation after another, until it
culminates in judgment upon the whole world. As to the import of the judgment of the
Babylonian exile, cf. the remm. in the Comm. on Daniel, Introd. §2. The announcement
of the judgment, whose beginning was now at hand, was of the highest importance for
Judah. Even the proclamations concerning the other peoples were designed to take
effect in the first instance on the covenant people, that so they might learn to fear the
Lord their God as the Lord of the whole world and as the Ruler of all the peoples, who by
judgment is preparing the way for and advancing the salvation of the whole world. The
ungodly were, by the warning of what was to come on all flesh, to be terrified out of their
security and led to turn to God; while by a knowledge beforehand of the coming
affliction and the time it was appointed to endure, the God-fearing would be
strengthened with confidence in the power and grace of the Lord, so that they might
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5. bear calamity with patience and self-devotion as a chastisement necessary to their well-
being, without taking false views of God's covenant promises or being overwhelmed by
their distresses.
CALVIN, "his prophecy no doubt preceded the vision which we have just explained,
and which had just been presented to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim died, and when
Zedekiah reigned in the place of Jeconiah; who, being the last king, was substituted
for his nephew Jeconiah. But related now is the prophecy which Jeremiah was
bidden to proclaim in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; and he reigned, as we shall
hereafter see, eleven years. We hence conclude that his book is composed of various
addresses, but that the order of time has not always been preserved. Now the sum of
the whole is, that when God found that the people could not be amended and
restored to a right mind by any warnings, he denounced final ruin both on the Jews
and on all the neighboring nations: but why he included the heathens we shall
hereafter see.
He then says, that this prophecy was committed to him in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim; and he adds, that the same year was the first of King Nebuchadnezar
This seems inconsistent with other places, where the third of Jehoiakim is
mentioned for the fourth year; and hence a long time is allotted for the first year of
Nebuchadnezar. But a solution of this is not difficult, if we consider that
Nebuchadnezar suddenly returned into Chaldea to settle his affairs at home, when
the report of his father’s death was brought to him; for he feared, lest in his absence
a tumult should arise, as it often happened. He was therefore anxious to secure his
own affairs; and having settled things at home, he brought Jehoiakim into
subjection, and in the fourth year of his reign he compelled him to open his
treasures, and also led away captive those whom he wished. And it was at this time
that Daniel and his companions were led away into exile, and the precious vessels of
the Temple were removed. As to the first year of Nebuchadnezar’s reign, he reigned
first with his father; and then when he reigned alone, the beginning of a new reign is
justly mentioned as the first year. Though then he was made king, yet as he did not
exercise the chief power until his father’s death, it was not until that event that he
was really king; this is the reason why mention is made of his first year. But we
ought especially to notice what the Prophet says, — that the word came to him, not
for his own sake, but that he might be the public herald of God. It now follows, —
COFFMAN, "Verse 1
JEREMIAH 25
PROPHECY OF THE SEVENTY YEARS OF CAPTIVITY
This remarkable chapter records the prophecy of Jeremiah which came at the end
of twenty-three years of his ministry, during which he had continuously pleaded
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6. with Judah for their repentance and whole-hearted return unto the worship of their
true God. Judah never heeded him.
The message here was stark and terrible. Judah's day of grace had expired; the
longsuffering mercy of God could no longer postpone the deserved judgment of the
rebellious nation; the calamity stored up for the Chosen People could no longer be
averted or postponed; the time of judgment was at hand!
The chapter falls into three divisions: (1) The judgment of Judah and the eventual
doom of Babylon (Jeremiah 25:1-14), (2) the cup of God's wrath upon the nations
(Jeremiah 25:15-29), and (3) the judgment of the whole world (Jeremiah 25:30-38).
In the first division, we have the sensational prophecy that the captivity of Israel
would last seventy years. This amazing prophecy foretold the exact duration of the
Babylonian exile; and, "There was no possible way for Jeremiah to have known a
thing like that except by the direct revelation of Almighty God."[1]
We are aware of the glib manner in which many present day scholars speak of this
prophecy of seventy years being a "round number," not meaning seventy years at
all, but "a very long time." But such comments are worthless, being only the best
that unbelievers can come up with in the form of denial. As Keil noted, "The term of
seventy years mentioned is not a so-called `round number,' but a chronologically
exact prediction of the Chaldean supremacy over Judah."[2] Oh yes, we are aware
that an exact calculation of the "seventy years" embraces the time from the battle of
Carchemish in 605 B.C. to the 1st year of Cyrus, some sixty-seven years; but the
additional three years were required for the establishment of the first wave of
returnees; and besides that, as Dummelow pointed out, "The Jews, because of their
love of round numbers, would have considered the number seventy here as standing
for any approximation of that number."[3]
However, Keil pointed out that, "The captivity should be reckoned from the first
year of Jehoiachim (606 B.C.), till the first year of the sole supremacy of Cyrus over
Babylon (536 B.C.), a period of exactly seventy years, this number being confirmed
by the dates given by both profane and Scriptural historians."[4] Many
commentators miss the point here, namely, that the "captivity" should be dated
from the first year of Jehoiachim, not the third or fourth year. With the first day of
the accession of Jehoiachim, Judah was no longer an independent nation.
We find no fault whatever with Keil's calculations; and, additionally, the sacred
Scriptures themselves refer to this prophecy as having an "exact fulfillment." 2
Chronicles 36:20-23 states that God required Israel's captivity to last seventy years
in order that the violation of the divine requirement that the land should enjoy a
sabbath every seven years might be confirmed and "made up" by Israel. In the 490
year time period between the accession of king Saul and the Babylonian captivity,
Israel did not observe the commanded sabbaths for the land. The inspired writer of
2Chronicles stated categorically that the captivity lasted seventy years, "Until the
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7. land had enjoyed its sabbaths: for as long as it lay desolate, it kept sabbaths, to
fulfill the threescore and ten years" (2 Chronicles 36:21). Too bad they had never
heard of all those round numbers! One year out of every seven for 490 years equals
exactly "seventy years."
Also, notice in this connection that Daniel the prophet (Daniel 9:2), in the first year
of the Median king Darius, took note of the seventy years which God, according to
the prophet Jeremiah, would accomplish for the desolation of Jerusalem.
"Furthermore, Daniel's seventy prophetic weeks are based upon the seventy years
of the captivity (Daniel 9:2,24)."[5]
For all of these valid reasons, we reject as worthless the speculations that would rob
this remarkable prophecy of its specific meaning. We are aware that "many current
scholars" agree that the prophecy means only "a very long time"; but, it is a
foregone certainty that when "many scholars" agree on some such an
interpretation, only one of them is doing any thinking, and the rest are merely going
along with the crowd. It is also probable that in such a concurrence of denial, there
may not be very many believers.
Jeremiah 25:1-3
"The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth
year of Jehoiachim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the
people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: From the thirteenth
year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even unto this day, these three and
twenty years, the word of Jehovah hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you,
rising up early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened."
"The fourth year of Jehoiachim ..." (Jeremiah 25:1). Daniel gives this date as "the
third year of Jehoiachim" (Jeremiah 1:1); but this is not a conflict. "There were two
methods of reckoning `the year' of kings of the Near East during that period, as
proved by archeology."[6] The year of accession to the throne was not counted in
one of the methods. (See my discussion of this "alleged contradiction" in Vol. 4 of
the Major Prophets Series of my commentaries, pp. 17,18.) By the Babylonian
method of calculating, it was the third year of Jehoiachim, and this reckoning was
followed by Daniel. The Jewish calculation gave the year as the fourth of
Jehoiachim. Both statements are correct.
The duration of twenty-three years up to this point in Jeremiah's ministry was made
up of nineteen years of the reign of Josiah and four years of the reign of Jehoiachim,
including the three-months reign of Jehoahaz.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people
of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that [was]
the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
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8. Ver. 1. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim.] See on Jeremiah 1:2. Above twenty years
had Jeremiah spent his worthy pains upon them, illi vero ne teruntio quidem
meliores facti sunt, but they were nothing the better; here, therefore, is their doom
most deservedly denounced.
That was the first year.] This first year of Nebuchadnezzar, reigning alone after his
father’s death, fell out part of Jehoiakim’s third, and part of the fourth. [Daniel 1:1]
WHEDON, " INTRODUCTORY, Jeremiah 25:1-3.
1. This chapter is dated with unusual exactness, not only the year of Jehoiakim king
of Judah, but also that of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, being specified. Other
examples of dates similarly complete are Jeremiah 26:1; Jeremiah 28:1; Jeremiah
32:1; Jeremiah 39:1, etc. The mention of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon marks
the overshadowing influence of this great eastern power. Fourth year of Jehoiakim,
etc. — In Daniel 1:1, the third year of Jehoiakim is identified with the first year of
Nebuchadnezzar. The explanation of this discrepancy — which is so slight as to be
really a confirmation — is, that the fourth year of Jehoiakim was but partly
coincident with the first year of Nebuchadrezzar. Hales, in his Chronology, makes
Jehoiakim’s reign commence July, 607 B.C., and Nebuchadrezzar’s in January, 604
B.C. It hence appears that the prophecy dates in that memorable year which was the
turning point in the history of the East. The decisive battle of Carchemish
established the ascendency of Babylonian Syria and Palestine, and sealed the fate of
the Jewish nation. Immediately thereafter Jerusalem was taken, and her principal
inhabitants carried away captive. Shortly after this capture of Jerusalem, by the
death of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to the throne, January, 604 B.C.
Thus is the general date of this prophecy most memorable; marking the battle of
Carchemish, the capture of Jerusalem, the beginning of the seventy years’ captivity,
the accession of Nebuchadnezzar to the Babylonian throne, and the permanent
ascendency of the power of the Euphrates over that of the Nile: for never again does
Egypt resume her old place among the great nations of the earth.
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:1. The word that came to Jeremiah— This chapter contains a
new discourse, different from that which precedes and follows it. The prophesy that
it contains is prior in time to that in the former chapter, and posterior to that in the
26th. At the commencement of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah denounced
the evils which this prince was to bring upon Judah and the neighbouring states.
The prophet reproves the Jews for their disregard of the divine calls to repentance;
Jeremiah 25:1-7. He foretells their subjugation, together with that of the
neighbouring nations, to the king of Babylon for seventy years, and the fall of the
Babylonish empire at that period; Jeremiah 25:8-14. The same is foreshewn under
the symbol of the cup of God's wrath, with which Jeremiah is sent to all the nations,
which are enumerated at large, to make them drink of it to their utter subversion;
Jeremiah 25:15-29. And the like prophesy is the third time repeated in a strain of
sublime and poetic imagery; Jeremiah 25:30—to the end.
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9. PETT, "Verse 1
‘The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,)’
This is the first oracle to be so accurately dated, and it indicates that the oracle came
to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim which was the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar. Thus it was around 604 BC. Egypt were now licking their wounds
after Carchemish and Hamath, and Jehoakim would have had to submit to
Nebuchadrezzar and would be paying tribute. It was no doubt in the light of this
that Jeremiah came to the feast and spoke these words.
Daniel dates it in the third year of Jehoiakim but that was because he was excluding
the accession year according to Babylonian practise (the ‘first year’ always being the
second year because the accession year was only a partial year.). Jeremiah was
including the accession year.
Verses 1-38
Subsection 8). Jeremiah Summarises His Ministry Before The People And After
Declaring What Is To Come On Judah Proclaims The Judgment Of YHWH That Is
Coming On All Nations (Jeremiah 25:1-38).
This final subsection of Section 1 commences with ‘The word that came to Jeremiah
concerning all the people of Judah --’ (Jeremiah 25:1), and contains Jeremiah’s own
brief summary, given to the people in a sermon, describing what has gone before
during the previous twenty three years of his ministry. It [provides a suitable
conclusion to the whole Section but is also in preparation for what is to follow. He
warns them that because they have not listened to YHWH’s voice the land must
suffer for ‘seventy years’ in subjection to Babylon, but he then goes on to bring out
that YHWH’s wrath will subsequently be visited on Babylon, and not only on them,
but on ‘the whole world’. For YHWH will be dealing with all the nations in
judgment, something which will be expanded on in chapters 46-51. There is at this
stage no mention of restoration, (except as hinted at in the seventy year limit to
Babylon’s supremacy), and the chapter closes with a picture of the final desolation
which is to come on Judah as a consequence of YHWH’s anger.
PULPIT, "Verses 1-38
EXPOSITION
This chapter may be illustrated by a comparison of it with Jeremiah 46:1-28. There
Jeremiah exults ever the destruction of a nation (Egypt) which was one of the chief
enemies of God's people, and on hearing or reading the inspired eloquence of the
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10. prophet the heart of a Jew could not but be moved with the liveliest sympathy. But
it is another strain which meets us in this chapter, and one which to a Jew would
certainly neutralize the favorable feelings which prophecies like that referred to
must have awakened. Here Jeremiah announces that the last moment of grace for
Judah is past, and the time for judgment come. The long-suffering of Jehovah has
been exhausted; the fall of the commonwealth cannot any longer be delayed. Such
was the strange destiny of the prophet; he was sent to "pull down" and "to build,"
but the destructive element (as Jeremiah 1:10 suggests) was largely predominant.
Specially predominant is it in this important chapter, in which the prophet begins to
fulfill the mission to the heathen with which twenty-three years ago he had been
entrusted. One by one, "all the nations" directly or indirectly connected with Israel
are called up to hear their punishment. There is no indulgence, no respite; only a
gleam of hope in the promised final destruction of the tyrant-city Babylon (verses
12-14). The prophecy falls naturally into three parts, verses 15-29 forming the
center. The date assigned to this chapter in the first verso is remarkable; it is the
fatal year of the battle of Carchemish, which brought Syria and Palestine within the
grasp of Babylon.
Jeremiah 25:1
The first year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of
Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem:
GILL, "The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of
Judah,.... Perhaps at one of the three feasts, at which all the males appeared in
Jerusalem; for it cannot be thought that he went up and down throughout all parts of the
land to deliver this prophecy, but to as many of them as he found in Jerusalem in any
place, at any time; and none so likely as what is mentioned:
and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: to whom he had an opportunity of
speaking frequently:
saying; as follows:
10

11. K&D 1-2, "The prediction of this chapter is introduced by a full heading, which
details with sufficient precision the time of its composition. Jer_25:1. "The word that
came (befell) to (‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ for ‫ל‬ ֶ‫)א‬ Jeremiah concerning the whole people of Judah, in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that is, the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon; Jer_25:2. Which Jeremiah the prophet spake to
the whole people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying." - All the
discourses of Jeremiah delivered before this time contain either no dates at all, or only
very general ones, such as Jer_3:6 : In the days of Josiah, or: at the beginning of the
reign of Jehoiakim (Jer_26:1). And it is only some of those of the following period that
are so completely dated, as Jer_28:1; Jer_32:1; Jer_36:1; Jer_39:1, etc. The present
heading is in this further respect peculiar, that besides the year of the king of Judah's
reign, we are also told that of the king of Babylon. This is suggested by the contents of
this prediction, in which the people are told of the near approach of the judgment which
Nebuchadnezzar is to execute on Judah and on all the surrounding nations far and near,
until after seventy years judgment fall on Babylon itself. The fourth year of Jehoiakim is
accordingly a notable turning-point for the kingdom of Judah. It is called the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, because then, at the command of his old and decrepit
father Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar had undertaken the conduct of the war against
Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, who had penetrated as far as the Euphrates. At Carchemish he
defeated Necho (Jer_46:2), and in the same year he came in pursuit of the fleeing
Egyptians to Judah, took Jerusalem, and made King Jehoiakim tributary. With the first
taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, i.e., in 606 b.c.,
begins the seventy years' Babylonian bondage or exile of Judah, foretold by Jeremiah in
Jer_25:11 of the present chapter. Nebuchadnezzar was then only commander of his
father's armies; but he is here, and in 2Ki_24:1; Dan_1:1, called king of Babylon,
because, equipped with kingly authority, he dictated to the Jews, and treated them as if
he had been really king. Not till the following year, when he was at the head of his army
in Farther Asia, did his father Nabopolassar die; whereupon he hastened to Babylon to
mount the throne; see on Dan_1:1 and 1 Kings 24:1. - In Jer_25:2 it is again specified
that Jeremiah spoke the word of that Lord that came to him to the whole people and to
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem (‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ for ‫ל‬ ֶ‫א‬ again). There is no cogent reason for
doubting, as Graf does, the correctness of these dates. Jer_36:5 tells us that Jeremiah in
the same year caused Baruch to write down the prophecies he had hitherto delivered, in
order to read them to the people assembled in the temple, and this because he himself
was imprisoned; but it does not follow from this, that at the time of receiving this
prophecy he was prevented from going into the temple. The occurrence of Jer 36 falls in
any case into a later time of Jehoiakim's fourth year than the present chapter. Ew., too,
finds it very probable that the discourse of this chapter was, in substance at least,
publicly delivered. The contents of it tell strongly in favour of this view.
It falls into three parts. In the first, Jer_25:3-11, the people of Judah are told that he
(Jeremiah) has for twenty-three years long unceasingly preached the word of the Lord to
the people with a view to their repentance, without Judah's having paid any heed to his
sayings, or to the exhortations of the other prophets, so that now all the kings of the
north, headed by Nebuchadnezzar, will come against Judah and the surrounding
nations, will plunder everything, and make these lands tributary to the king of Babylon;
and then, Jer_25:12-14, that after seventy years judgment will come on the king of
11

12. Babylon and his land. In the second part, Jer_25:15-29, Jeremiah receives the cup of the
Lord's wrath, to give it to all the people to drink, beginning with Jerusalem and the cities
of Judah, proceeding to the Egyptians and the nationalities in the west and east as far as
Elam and Media, and concluding with the king of Babylon. Then in the third part, vv.
30-38, judgment to come upon all peoples is set forth in plain statement. - The first part
of this discourse would have failed of its effect if Jeremiah had only composed it in
writing, and had not delivered it publicly before the people, in its main substance at
least. And the two other parts are so closely bound up with the first, that they cannot be
separated from it. The judgment made to pass on Judah by Nebuchadnezzar is only the
beginning of the judgment which is to pass on one nation after another, until it
culminates in judgment upon the whole world. As to the import of the judgment of the
Babylonian exile, cf. the remm. in the Comm. on Daniel, Introd. §2. The announcement
of the judgment, whose beginning was now at hand, was of the highest importance for
Judah. Even the proclamations concerning the other peoples were designed to take
effect in the first instance on the covenant people, that so they might learn to fear the
Lord their God as the Lord of the whole world and as the Ruler of all the peoples, who by
judgment is preparing the way for and advancing the salvation of the whole world. The
ungodly were, by the warning of what was to come on all flesh, to be terrified out of their
security and led to turn to God; while by a knowledge beforehand of the coming
affliction and the time it was appointed to endure, the God-fearing would be
strengthened with confidence in the power and grace of the Lord, so that they might
bear calamity with patience and self-devotion as a chastisement necessary to their well-
being, without taking false views of God's covenant promises or being overwhelmed by
their distresses.
CALVIN, "He shews more clearly in this verse what he had just said, — that he was
not taught from above, that he might suppress what he had heard, but that he might
proclaim it as from the mouth of God; and hence he gives himself the honorable title
of a Prophet, as though he had said, that he came furnished with the indubitable
commands of God, and was at the same time honored with the office of a Prophet;
and he came thus, that no one might dare despise his doctrine. Now follows his
sermon, —
3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth
year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until
this very day—the word of the Lord has come to
me and I have spoken to you again and again, but
you have not listened.
12

13. BARNES, "The three and twentieth year - i. e., nineteen under Josiah, and four
under Jehoiakim. This prophecy divides itself into three parts,
(1) the judgment of Judah Jer_25:3-11, and Babylon’s doom Jer_25:12-14;
(2) the wine-cup of fury Jer_25:15-29;
(3) the judgment of the world Jer_25:30-38.
GILL, "From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah,
even unto this day,.... The year in which Jeremiah began to prophesy, Jer_1:2;
(that is, the three and twentieth year); for Josiah reigned one and thirty years; so
that Jeremiah prophesied nineteen years in his reign; and now it was the fourth of
Jehoiakim's, which make twenty three years; so long the prophet had been prophesying
to this people:
the word of the Lord hath come unto me; from time to time, during that space of
twenty three years; and which he diligently, constantly, and faithfully delivered unto
them; as follows:
and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking: as soon as ever he had a
word from the Lord, he brought it to them, and took the most proper and seasonable
time to inculcate it to them; in the morning, and after, he had had a vision or dream in
the night from the Lord;
but ye have not hearkened; they took no notice of it; turned a deaf ear to it; however,
did not obey or act as they were directed and exhorted to.
HENRY, "Yet all was to no purpose. They were not wrought upon to take the right
and only method to turn away the wrath of God. Jeremiah was a very lively affectionate
preacher, yet they hearkened not to him, Jer_25:3. The other prophets dealt faithfully
with them, but neither did they hearken to them, nor incline their ear, Jer_25:4. That
very particular sin which they were told, of all others, was most offensive to God, and
made them obnoxious to his justice, they wilfully persisted in: You provoke me with the
works of your hands to your own hurt. Note, What is a provocation to God will prove, in
the end, hurt to ourselves, and we must bear the blame of it. O Israel! thou hast
destroyed thyself.
JAMISON, "From the thirteenth year of Josiah, in which Jeremiah began to
prophesy (Jer_1:1), to the end of Josiah’s reign, was nineteen years (2Ki_22:1); the three
months 2Ki_23:31) of Jehoahaz’ reign, with the not quite complete four years of
13

14. Jehoiakim (Jer_25:1), added to the nineteen years, make up twenty-three years in all.
K&D 3-7, "The seventy years' Chaldean bondage of Judah and the peoples. - Jer_
25:3. "From the thirteenth year of Josiah, son of Amon king of Judah, unto this day,
these three and twenty years, came the word of Jahveh to me, and I spake to you, from
early morn onwards speaking, but ye hearkened not. Jer_25:4. And Jahveh sent to you
all His servants, the prophets, from early morning on sending them, but ye hearkened
not, and inclined not your ear to hear. Jer_25:5. They said: Turn ye now each from his
evil way and from the evil of your doings, so shall ye abide in the land which Jahveh
hath given to your fathers from everlasting to everlasting. Jer_25:6. And go not after
other gods, to serve them and to worship them, that ye provoke me not with the work of
your hands, and that I do you no evil. Jer_25:7. But ye hearkened not to me, to provoke
me by the work of your hands, to your own hurt. Jer_25:8. Therefore thus hath said
Jahveh of hosts: Because ye have not heard my words, Jer_25:9. Behold, I send and
take all the families of the north, saith Jahveh, and to Nebuchadrezzar my servant (I
send), and bring them upon this land, and upon its inhabitants, and upon all these
peoples round about, and ban them, and make them an astonishment and a derision
and everlasting desolations, Jer_25:10. And destroy from among them the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the mill and the light of the lamp.
Jer_25:11. And this land shall become a desert, a desolation, and these peoples shall
serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
The very beginning of this discourse points to the great crisis in the fortunes of Judah.
Jeremiah recalls into the memory of the people not merely the whole time of his own
labours hitherto, but also the labours of many other prophets, who, like himself, have
unremittingly preached repentance to the people, called on them to forsake idolatry and
their evil ways, and to return to the God of their fathers - but in vain (Jer_25:3-7). The
23 years, from the 13th of Josiah till the 4th of Jehoiakim, are thus made up: 19 years of
Josiah and 4 years of Jehoiakim, including the 3 months' reign of Jehoahaz. The form
‫ים‬ֵ‫כּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫א‬ might be an Aramaism; but it is more probably a clerical error, since we have
‫ם‬ ֵ‫כּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ַ‫ה‬ everywhere else; cf. Jer_25:4, Jer_7:13; Jer_35:14, etc., and Olsh. Gramm. §191,
g. For syntactical reasons it cannot be 1st pers. imperf., as Hitz. thinks it is. On the
significance of this infin. abs. see on Jer_7:13. As to the thought of Jer_25:4 cf. Jer_
7:25. and Jer_11:7. ‫ֹר‬‫מ‬‫א‬ֵ‫ל‬ introduces the contents of the discourses of Jeremiah and the
other prophets, though formally it is connected with ‫ח‬ַ‫ל‬ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫,ו‬ Jer_25:4. As to the fact, cf.
Jer_35:15. ‫בוּ‬ ְ‫,וּשׁ‬ so shall ye dwell, cf. Jer_7:7. - With Jer_25:6 cf. Jer_7:6; Jer_1:16, etc.
(‫ע‬ ַ‫ר‬ ָ‫,א‬ imperf. Hiph. from ‫.)רעע‬ ‫י‬ִ‫סוּנ‬ ִ‫ע‬ ְ‫כ‬ ַ‫ה‬ cannot be the reading of its Chet., for the 3rd
person will not do. The ‫ו‬ seems to have found its way in by an error in writing and the
Keri to be the proper reading, since ‫ן‬ַ‫ע‬ ַ‫מ‬ ְ‫ל‬ is construed with the infinitive.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah now expostulates with the Jews, because they had not only
perfidiously departed from the true worship of God, and despised the whole
teaching of his Law, but because they had shaken off the yoke, and designedly and
even obstinately rejected all warnings, being not moved by reproofs nor even by
14

15. threatenings. He does not then simply charge them with impiety and ingratitude,
but adds the sin of perverseness, that they were like untameable wild beasts, and
could by no means be corrected.
He says, that from the thirteenth year of Josiah king of Judah, to that year, which
was the twenty-third year, he had not ceased faithfully to perform the office
committed to him, but had effected nothing. It hence appears how incorrigible was
their wickedness. We have seen, at the beginning of the book, that he was called by
God to be a Prophet in the thirteenth year of King Josiah; and he had now been
engaged in his calling, as he declares, for twenty-three years.
He had spent his time in vain, he had consumed much labor without any fruit. It is
then no wonder that he now accuses them of perverseness, and that in the name of
God; for he pleads not his own cause, but shews what the Jews deserved,
considering how much God had labored in reclaiming them, and that they had
rejected all his warnings and refused all his remedies. Then from the thirteenth year
of Josiah, he says, to this day; and afterwards in a parenthesis he adds, that he had
already discharged his office for twenty-three years.
We learn that the Prophet spoke thus seventeen years before the destruction of the
City and Temple; for he had accomplished forty years before the people were driven
into exile, and before they who thought themselves safe, miserably perished. He
continued to the death of Josiah; and afterwards about twenty-two transpired; for
Jehoiakim reigned eleven years; and without reckoning the short time of Jeconiah,
Mathaniah, called also Zedekiah, was in the eleventh year removed, and
disgracefully and reproachfully put to death. Thus it appears that the Prophet
constantly labored for forty years.
Hence, also, we learn how diabolical was the madness of that people in rejecting so
many admonitions. And if we connect another thing, to which I lately referred, that
they had been taught by many examples, it will appear still more evident that the
disease of impiety as to that people was altogether incurable.
But this passage deserves special attention; for we here learn that we ought
immediately to return to God when he invites us; for faith is known by its
promptitude. As soon then as God speaks, it behoves us to be attentive, so that we
may immediately follow him. But if God ceases not for a whole year to warn and
exhort us, while at the same time his doctrine is despised, we become guilty of
intolerable sin. Let us then remember that days are here in a manner mentioned as
well as years, that the Jews might consider how many days are included in every
year; and let us also know that years are mentioned by Jeremiah, that they might,
understand that they had no excuse, inasmuch as God had for so long a time ceased
not to promote their welfare, while in the meantime they persisted in their impiety,
and continued obstinate to the last. This is the reason why the Prophet relates again
when it was that he began to discharge his prophetic office, even from the thirteenth
year of Josiah.
15

16. He then adds, that it was their own fault that they had not repented; spoken, he
says, has Jehovah to me, and I to you. By saying that the word of God was deposited
with him, he no doubt intended to assert his authority against the unbelievers, who
clamored that he presumptuously pretended God’s name, and that he had not been
sent by God. For we have elsewhere seen that the Church was then miserably torn,
having intestine broils, and many were boasting that they were prophets; and we
shall hereafter find the same thing in other places. Thus, then, Jeremiah was not
received by the whole people, and his authority was disputed. Since then he had to
contend with many ungodly men, he here testifies that he came not of himself, but
that the prophetic office had been committed to him.
After having asserted the authority of his call, he adds, that he had faithfully
promoted the welfare of the whole people; for he declares how faithful and diligent
he had been when he says, that he had spoken and rose up early; for to rise up early
means that he had been assiduous in his work. The Prophet then shews that he had
not been tardy or idle, and that he had not spoken carelessly as many do, who seem
to do what God commands, but display no fervid zeal and no sedulity. The Prophet
then, after having declared that he had been sent from above, adds that he had
exercised fidelity and diligence, that he had strenuously served God and his Church.
I have spoken to you, he says, as the Lord had spoken to me, — how? rising up early
WHEDON, "3. From the thirteenth year of Josiah, etc. — Appropriately marking
the crisis, the prophet takes a retrospective glance. For twenty-three years he had
patiently and persistently preached repentance to this unwilling and persecuting
people; and hence they cannot now say that their calamities come without warning.
These three and twenty years are made up of nineteen under Josiah and four of
Jehoiakim, including the three months’ reign of Jehoahaz.
PETT, "Verses 3-11
Jeremiah’s Warning To The People Concerning Their Future (Jeremiah 25:3-11).
Jeremiah 25:3
‘From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this
day, these three and twenty years, the word of YHWH has come to me, and I have
spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking, but you have not listened.’
He pointed out to them that he had now been engaged in his ministry for twenty
three years, diligently (‘rising up early’ - a typical Jeremaism) bringing to them the
word of YHWH. But he points out that they had not listened.
16

17. 4 And though the Lord has sent all his servants
the prophets to you again and again, you have not
listened or paid any attention.
GILL, "And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets,.... Not
only him, but many others, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and others:
rising early and sending them; not only the prophet, but the Lord himself is said to
rise early, and send his prophets to them; which denotes his great care and concern for
this people for their good; see Jer_7:25;
but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear; which is an
aggravation of their sin; that whereas they had one prophet after another sent to them,
and sent by the Lord himself; he rising early, and sending them; and they rising early,
being sent to do their message; and yet were not hearkened and attended to.
JAMISON, "rising early — (See on Jer_7:13). “The prophets” refer to Urijah,
Zephaniah, Habakkuk, etc. It aggravates their sin, that God sent not merely one but
many messengers, and those messengers, prophets; and, that during all those years
specified, Jeremiah and his fellow prophets spared no effort, late and early.
CALVIN, "He then adds, I have spoken, and ye heard not He complains here that
his work had been useless, and at the same time shews that the whole fault was in
the people. He confirms the same thing in other words, Jehovah has sent to you all
his servants the prophets, rising. up early, etc He enhances their sin, — that they
had not only rejected one Prophet but even many; for God had not employed
Jeremiah alone to teach them, but had joined others with him, so that they were less
excusable. We hence see that their sin is in this verse exaggerated; for the Jews had
not only despised God in the person of one man, but had also rejected all his
servants. He might, indeed, have simply said, that God had sent his servants, but he
adds the word prophets, in order that their ingratitude might appear more evident.
It was, indeed, very wicked to neglect God’s servants; but as prophecy was an
invaluable treasure, and a singular pledge and symbol of God’s favor, it was a
double crime when they thus despised the prophets, whose very name ought to have
been held sacred by them.
He afterwards applies to God what he had said of himself, rising up early It is
17

18. certain that God does not rise up, as he sleeps not in the night; but the language is
much more expressive and forcible, when God himself is said to rise up early. And
it, was not without reason that the Prophet spoke so emphatically; for though the
Jews were sufficiently convicted of ingratitude for having disregarded God’s
servants, it was yet a monstrous impiety to shew no regard for God. But when the
unbelieving are proved guilty, they ever fix their eyes on men, “He! it is with a
mortal that I have to do; far be it from me ever to rise up against God; but why is
this so much blamed, since I do not immediately perish? since I am not suddenly
cast down at the nod of man? what! am I not free to inquire, and to discuss, and to
examine every part of what is said? why do the prophets so imperiously treat us,
that it is not lawful to doubt any of their words?” Thus, then, did the ungodly speak.
But God on the other hand answered them and said, that he was despised, as also
Christ said,
“He who hears you hears me,
and he who despises you despises me.” (Luke 10:16)
So also the Prophet sets forth God himself as rising up early, exhorting the people
and manifesting every care for their wellbeing. This, then, is the design of the
metaphor, when he says, that God had sent to them and rose up early; he rose up
early while sending his servants.
Now as God fulminates against all despisers of his doctrine, so from these words we
may gather no small consolation; for we certainly conclude that God watches over
our safety whenever sound and faithful teachers go forth: it is the same as though he
himself descended from heaven, rose up early, and was intent in securing our
salvation. This we learn from the very words of the Prophet, when he says, that God
rose up early. But as this testimony of God’s favor and paternal care towards us is
delightful, so to the same extent dreadful is the vengeance that awaits those who
neglect this favor, who sleep when God is watching, who hear not when he is
speaking, who continue in their sloth and torpor when God of his own accord meets
them, and kindly and gently invites them to himself.
COFFMAN, ""And Jehovah hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising
up early and sending them (but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to
hear), saying, Return ye now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your
doings, and dwell in the land which Jehovah hath given unto you and to your
fathers, from of old, and even forever more; and go not after other gods, to serve
them, and to worship them, and provoke me to anger with the work of your hands;
and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith Jehovah; that
ye may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt."
"Jehovah hath sent ... all his servants the prophets ..." (Jeremiah 25:4). Not merely
the words of Jeremiah, but those of all of God's true prophets had been ignored and
disregarded by apostate Judah. All these servants included Daniel, Ezekiel, Uriah
(who was murdered) and Jeremiah.
18

19. "And go not after other gods ..." (Jeremiah 25:6). The unwavering passion of the
Israelites for the licentious worship of the pagan idols proved to be the eventual
destruction of the people.
"Ye have not hearkened unto me ..." (Jeremiah 25:7). The people simply would not
receive correction. They stubbornly determined to Walk in their own way,
regardless of the consequences; and that attitude resulted in the sentence that
Jeremiah would announce in the next four verses.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:4
‘And YHWH has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and
sending them, (but you have not listened, nor bent your ear to hear,)’
Indeed YHWH had previously been diligent (rising up early) in sending many
prophets among them who had been equally diligent and had proclaimed His word
to them. But they had not listened to them either.
5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your
evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay
in the land the Lord gave to you and your
ancestors for ever and ever.
BARNES, "Turn ye - i. e., Repent ye; the great summons of God to mankind at all
times (Luk_24:47; Act_2:38; compare Mat_3:2).
GILL, "They said,.... The prophets: this was the substance of their discourses and
prophecies, what follows:
turn ye again now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your
doings; repent of sins, and reform from them; particularly their idolatries, to which
they were prone, and are after mentioned:
19

20. and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you to your fathers for
ever and ever; that is, the land of Canaan, which was given to them, and their fathers
before them, by the Lord, for an everlasting inheritance, provided they behaved towards
him aright; for they held the possession of it by their obedience to his law; and now,
notwithstanding all that they had done, or had been threatened with; yet, if they
repented and reformed, they should still dwell in the land, and enjoy it, and all the
blessings and privileges of it.
HENRY, "All the messages sent them were to the purpose, and much to the same
purport, Jer_25:5, Jer_25:6. 1. They all told them of their faults, their evil way, and the
evil of their doings. Those were not of God's sending who flattered them as if there were
nothing amiss among them. 2. They all reproved them particularly for their idolatry, as a
sin that was in a special manner provoking to God, their going after other gods, to serve
them and to worship them, gods that were the work of their own hands. 3. They all
called on them to repent of their sins and to reform their lives. This was the burden of
every song, Turn you now every one from his evil way. Note, Personal and particular
reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a national deliverance: every one must
turn from his own evil way. The street will not be clean unless every one sweep before
his own door. 4. They all assured them that, if they did so, it would certainly be the
lengthening out of their tranquillity. The mercies they enjoyed should be continued to
them: “You shall dwell in the land, dwell at ease, dwell in peace, in this good land, which
the Lord has given you and your fathers. Nothing but sin will turn you out of it, and
that shall not if you turn from it.” The judgments they feared should be prevented:
Provoke me not, and I will do you no hurt. Note, We should never receive from God the
evil punishment if we did not provoke him by the evil of sin. God deals fairly with us,
never corrects his children without cause, nor causes grief to us unless we give offence to
him.
JAMISON, "Turn ... dwell — In Hebrew there is expressed by sameness of sounds
the correspondence between their turning to God and God’s turning to them to permit
them to dwell in their land: Shubu ... shebu, “Return” ... so shall ye “remain.”
every one from ... evil — Each must separately repent and turn from his own sin.
None is excepted, lest they should think their guilt extenuated because the evil is general
CALVIN, "He afterwards explains what God required them to do, Turn ye, I pray,
every one from his evil way and from the wickedness of your doings, and dwell in
the land which Jehovah has given to you and your fathers from age even to age
What God required was doubtless most just; for he demanded nothing from the
Jews but to repent. There was also a promise added; God not only exhorted them to
repent, but wished also to be reconciled to them, and having blotted out all memory
of their sins, to shew them kindness: had they not been harder than stones, they
must have been turned to his service by so kind a treatment. God might have indeed
sharply reproved them, he might have threatened them, he might, in short, have cut
off every hope of pardon; but he only required them to repent, and at the same time
added a promise of free forgiveness. As then they had despised so great a favor, it
follows that they must have been men of reprobate minds and of irreclaimable
20

21. habits.
When they were bidden to repent of their evil way and of the wickedness of their
doings, it was done for sake of amplifying; for the Prophet wished to take away
from them every pretense for evasion, lest they should ask what was the wickedness
or what was the evil way. He then intimates that they were fully proved guilty; and
for this purpose he made the repetition. By way is designated a continued course of
life; but as they had fully shewed themselves perverse in many ways, he refers to
their fruits, as though he had said, that they in vain contended with God, by
inquiring what had been their evil way, for their whole life sufficiently testified that
they were wholly given to wickedness.
Now there is a striking alliteration in the verbs ‫שבו‬ and ‫ושבו‬ : the verb ‫,שבו‬ shebu,
means sometimes to rebel, it means to return to the right way, and it means to rest
or dwell in. He uses the same verb, though the sense is different when he says,
“Return ye,” and “ye shall dwell.” (128)
He also emphatically uses the word ‫איש‬ , aish “every one:” it means properly
“man;” but it is taken in Hebrew for every one or each one, “each one from his evil
way.” The Prophet exempted none, lest they thought that their fault was extenuated,
had not the evil been universal. He hence says, that every one was given to
wickedness; as though he had said, that impiety not only prevailed among the whole
people, as the case commonly is, but that every one had become corrupt, so that
there was not one sound or upright among the whole people.
And this is what ought to be observed; for we are wont, in a cold manner, to confess
our sins, and to pray to God when we are proved guilty, except when each one is
touched with the sense of his own guilt, and owns himself to be justly exposed to
God’s judgment; for while every one mingles with the multitude, it so happens that
no one acknowledges the heinousness of his own sins. Therefore, for true and
sincere repentance this peculiar examination is necessary, so that every one may
repent and not regard his friends.
When he says, Dwell ye in the land, though it be the imperative mood, yet it is a
promise, by which God declared that he was ready to receive the Jews into favor,
provided they returned from the heart to him: he proposed to them, as a symbol of
his paternal layout, the possession of the land; for that land was as it were the
pledge of their adoption; and the Jews, while they dwelt there, might have felt
assured that God was their Father. He adds, From age even to age; as though he had
said, “I am prepared to do you good not only for one day, or for a short time, but
also to shew you kindness from age to age. It will then be your fault if ye be not
happy, and if this happiness will not pass on from you to your children and
grandchildren.” But the more delightful the invitation was, the more detestable
became the impiety of the people, as it will be stated hereafter. He now adds, —
21

22. SIMEON, "RELIGION IS NOT A SOURCE OF EVIL TO THOSE WHO
EMBRACE IT
Jeremiah 25:5-6. Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil
of your doings.. …And I will do you no hurt.
SIN is the greatest of all evils; because it is the source from which all evils flow. Nor
can the miseries which it has introduced be ever remedied, but by a thorough
turning unto God. This, Jeremiah tells us, was the remedy prescribed by all the
prophets [Note: ver. 4. with the text.]: and certainly it is the only one that can ever
prove effectual.
The passage, from whence the text is taken, contains, in addition to the words which
we have cited, a dehortation or dissuasion from idolatry; together with an
intimation that a continuance in that sin would accelerate their ruin, and insure
their exclusion from the promised land: they would persist in it “to their hurt [Note:
ver. 7.].” On the contrary, if they would return to God, he would forbear to inflict
upon them his threatened judgments, and “do them no hurt.”
But we omit that which related to the temporal state of the Jews, in order that we
may fix your attention more immediately upon that part of the subject which is
applicable to all persons in all ages of the world.
The text consists of,
I. An exhortation—
As idolatry was at that time the national sin of the Jews, so every one has some evil
way to which he is more particularly addicted. We cannot pretend to trace all the
shades of difference that are found in different men: we will rather arrange the
whole under three great and comprehensive classes; to one or other of which, all,
except true Christians, belong. We therefore say, Turn,
1. From profaneness—
[That this is a common sin amongst us, needs no proof: we cannot open our eyes or
our ears, but we must be speedily convinced of it — — —
Let then as many of you as have entertained licentious principles, or indulged in
vicious practices, “turn from the evil of your doings,” yea, turn from it speedily, and
with utter abhorrence.]
2. From worldliness—
[While the young and gay are rushing into vice, and pouring contempt upon every
thing that is serious, a great part of mankind are immersed in worldly cares, and are
22

23. as regardless of religion as their more dissipated brethren — — —
True it is, that these persons have more specious grounds on which to vindicate their
conduct, inasmuch as it seems nearly allied to prudence and diligence. Still,
however, while we highly approve of those virtues, we cannot but condemn a
worldly spirit as evil; since it is declared to be incompatible with the love of God
[Note: 1 John 2:15-17.]: and therefore we say to all, “Turn from it,” lest you deceive
yourselves to your utter ruin.]
3. From formality—
[There is a very considerable number of persons, whose strictness of principle, and
correctness of manners, screen them effectually against any charge of profaneness;
while their indifference to riches and aggrandizement shews, that they are not open,
in any great degree, to the imputation of worldliness, But their religion consists in a
mere round of duties, in which they have no real enjoyment of God, but only a self-
righteous, self-complacent approbation of their own minds — — —
That this also is evil, we cannot doubt, if only we bear in mind that God requires
our hearts [Note: Proverbs 33:26.]; and that every service, in which the heart is not
engaged, is declared to be vain and worthless in his sight [Note: Matthew 15:8-9.
Compare 2 Timothy 3:5.].
In exhorting such persons to turn from the evil of their doings, we would by no
means be understood to discourage diligence in attending on divine ordinances,
whether public or private; but only to guard against a resting in the performance of
duties, and a substituting of that in the place of Christ. In appreciating our religious
observances, let us judge of them by their spirituality, and by our enjoyment of God
in them: and, if they be ever so devout, still let us remember that they make no
atonement for sin, nor do they confer any obligation whatever upon God: yea,
rather the more devout they are, the more we are indebted to God for that grace
whereby we are so enabled to worship him.]
To confirm the exhortation, God has been pleased to add,
II. A promise—
At first sight the promise appears to be unworthy of God, and incapable of
affording any great encouragement to those to whom it is made. But, if taken
altogether abstractedly, it surely is no light matter for those who deserve all the
judgments that God can inflict, to be assured, that he will never do them any hurt:
and, if considered in connexion with our fears and apprehensions, it will be found to
contain the richest consolation. In this view, we observe, God will do us no hurt in
respect of,
1. Our intellect—
23

24. [When we begin in earnest to be religious, our friends are ready to suppose that we
are, or shall soon be, beside ourselves [Note: See Mark 3:21. Acts 26:24. 2
Corinthians 5:13.]: nor can we altogether wonder at their judgment, when we
consider how great the change is, (like a river turning back to its source,) and how
unable they are to account for it. But they may spare themselves their fears; for God
gives his people, not a spirit of delusion, but “of a sound mind [Note: 2 Timothy
1:7.].” The prodigal’s return to his father’s house was the first proof of sanity, not of
insanity: nor has any person a spark of true wisdom in him, till he begin to fear the
Lord [Note: Psalms 111:10.]. In conversion, a man is made to form a correct
judgment respecting his most important concerns; and not only to view things in the
same light that God views them, but to act agreeably to those views. As well
therefore might the man whose eyes Jesus had opened be said to have suffered
injury in his organs of vision, as a person thus enlightened in his judgment be said
to have suffered in his intellect [Note: That people who are insane, may fix their
thoughts upon religion, or that a person may become distracted by
misapprehensions of religion, is confessed: but if religion would drive a man mad,
the more religious he was, the more likely to be mad. Who does not shudder at the
consequences that would result from that opinion?].]
2. Our friends—
[We are taught to expect, that, on our becoming decided followers of Christ, “our
greatest foes will be those of our own household [Note: Matthew 10:35-36.]:” and
experience accords with the declarations of Scripture on this head. But are we
therefore injured in this respect? Our Lord has told us, and experience accords with
that also, that if we lose any friends for his sake, he will repay us in kind, as it were,
an hundred-fold [Note: Mark 10:29-30.]. A merchant who should part with his
goods to such an advantage as this, would surely not be thought to have sustained
any loss. But besides this recompence in the present world, God himself will be our
friend, both now and for ever. And would not this amply repay the loss of all earthly
friends?]
3. Our reputation—
[Though the whole of our conduct be visibly improved, yet snail we, on turning to
God, be loaded with opprobrium and contempt; and though something may be
gained by prudence, or conceded to us on account of our celebrity in learning, there
is no religious person that occupies the same place in the estimation of the world
that he would do if he were not religious. If our Lord himself was “despised and
rejected of men [Note: Isaiah 53:3.],” and the Apostles were deemed “the off-
scouring of all things [Note: 1 Corinthians 4:13.]”, it is in vain for us to expect
honour from man [Note: Matthew 10:24-25. with John 5:44.]. But are we therefore
without honour? No: our very disgrace, when so procured, is a very high honour,
inasmuch as it assimilates us to Christ [Note: 1 Peter 4:13.], and is a testimony to us
of our fidelity [Note: Luke 21:13.]. But suppose that ignominy had nothing to
24

25. counterbalance it here, should we have any reason to regret it when Christ
“confessed us before his Father, and his holy angels;” and when they who despised
us, shall “awake to shame and everlasting contempt [Note: Daniel 12:2.]?”]
4. Our interests—
[The laws of the land certainly afford us a very great protection. Nevertheless it is
no uncommon thing at this day for children and servants to be called to make very
great sacrifices for the Gospel sake. But be it so: they are forced, like St. Paul, to
serve the Lord “in coldness and nakedness,” and in a privation of all earthly
comforts. But are they eventually “hurt?” What if their spiritual consolations be
proportioned to their temporal afflictions; have they not made a good exchange? Is
not peace in the bosom incomparably better than money in the purse? The riches of
this world are easily appreciated: but those which Christ imparts, are
“unsearchable.” Their despisers would, at a future day, give all the world for a drop
of water only to cool their tongue. How rich then must they be who are drinking
living waters eternally at the fountain head!]
5. Our happiness—
[Doubtless the godly have grounds of mourning peculiar to themselves: but are they
therefore losers in respect of happiness? No: their sorrows, if I may so speak, are
sources of joy: they would on no account be without them: they rather regret that
they cannot sorrow more: they mourn because they cannot mourn, and weep
because they cannot weep: and if at any time they have been enabled to abase
themselves before God in dust and ashes, they look back upon such seasons as the
most precious in their whole lives, But if they have sorrows unknown to others, have
they not “joys also, with which the stranger intermeddleth not?” Let a promise be
applied with power to their souls, or “the love of God be shed abroad in their
hearts,” have they not a very foretaste of heaven upon earth? Compare their state
with that of others, on a dying bed: follow them in the instant of their departure
from the body: see them welcomed to the bosom of their Lord: contemplate their
eternal state, in contrast with that of those who despised them; and then say
whether they have any reason to complain, that their fidelity to God occasioned on
the whole a diminution of their happiness?]
Address—
1. Those who are yet following their evil ways—
[One question I beg leave to put to you: Will God “do YOU no hurt?” Inquire, I
pray you: search the sacred records: see what God has spoken respecting sin and
sinners: Will it do you no hurt to bear his wrath, and to drink of the cup of his
indignation to all eternity? — — — We inquire not, What are the ways you follow?
If you do not turn from every evil way to God, and devote yourself unreservedly to
your Lord and Saviour, the issue will be the same, whatever course you take. Your
25

26. guilt may be more or less aggravated, and your misery be apportioned accordingly:
but, without entering into the different degrees of punishment, let me ask, Will not
sin be visited with the wrath of God? and will that do you no hurt? — — — On the
other hand, would not God do you good, if you would return unto him? — — —
“Turn then from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin [Note:
Ezekiel 18:30.].”]
2. Those who are turning from their evil ways—
[Halt not between two opinions: strive not to reconcile the inconsistent services of
God and mammon [Note: Matthew 6:24.]. “If Baal be God, follow him: but if the
Lord be God, then follow him.” There is a certain kind of turning unto God, by
which you will suffer hurt on every side, and receive no benefit whatever. If your
“heart be not whole with God,” no good can accrue to you, nor can any evil be
averted from you. The world will not approve of you, because you are too precise
for them: and God will not approve of you, because you are not upright before him.
Be not then temporizing and hypocritical, But open, decided, and consistent
characters. “Follow your Lord fully:” “follow him without the camp, bearing his
reproach [Note: Hebrews 13:13.]”. Thus, though “your life may be accounted
madness, and your end to be without honour, yet shall you be numbered among the
children of God, and have your lot among his saints [Note: Wisd. 5:4, 5.].”]
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:5
‘Saying, “Return you now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your
doings, and dwell in the land which YHWH has given to you and to your fathers,
from of old and even for evermore,’
So he now with great patience calls on them, as the previous prophets had called on
them (compare 2 Kings 17:12-14), again to return from their evil ways, and from the
evil of their doings (for they needed to be right in both their behaviour and their
attitude) if they wished to dwell ‘for evermore’ in the land which YHWH had of old
given to their fathers.
6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship
them; do not arouse my anger with what your
hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
26

27. GILL, "And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them,.... So
long as they served the Lord God, they continued in their own land, in the comfortable
enjoyment of all the blessings of it; for their government was a theocracy; God was their
King; and as long as they served and worshipped him only, he protected and defended
them; but when they forsook him, and went after other gods, and served and worshipped
them, then they were threatened to be turned out of their land, and carried captive into
other lands; and yet, after all, if they returned from their idolatries, and left off
worshipping idols, the Lord was ready to receive them kindly, and continue his favours
to them:
and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; their idols, which
their own hands made, and then fell down to worship them; than which nothing can be
more provoking to God:
and I will do you no hurt; by sword, or famine, or pestilence, or captivity; signifying
the hurt he had threatened them with should not be done, provided they forsook their
idolatrous worship; God does no hurt to his true worshippers; yea, he makes all things
work together for their good.
JAMISON, "He instances one sin, idolatry, as representative of all their sins; as
nothing is dearer to God than a pure worship of Himself.
BI, "I will do you no hurt.
No hurt from God
I. The import of the promise.
1. Such a promise can apply to none but the people of God.
2. The Lord’s people are apt to fear He should do them hurt, and hence He kindly
assures them of the contrary. We want more of that love to God which beareth all
things at His hand, which believeth all good things concerning Him, and hopeth for
all things from Him.
3. As God will do no hurt to them that fear Him, so neither will He suffer others to
hurt them. If God does not change their hearts, He win tie their hands; or if for wise
ends He suffers them to injure you in your worldly circumstances, yet your heavenly
inheritance is sure, and your treasure is laid up where thieves cannot break through
nor steal.
4. More is implied in the promise than is absolutely expressed; for when the Lord
says He will do His people no hurt, He means that He will really do them good. All
things to God’s people are blessings in their own nature, or are turned into blessings
for their sake; so that all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep
His covenant and His testimonies to do them (Gen_50:20; Jer_24:5-6; Rom_8:28).
27

28. II. The assurance we have that this promise will be fulfilled.
1. The Lord thinks no hurt of His people, and therefore He will certainly do them no
hurt. His conduct is a copy of His decrees: He worketh all things according to the
counsel of His own will, and therefore where no evil is determined, no evil can take
place.
2. The Lord threatens them no hurt; no penal sentence lies against them.
3. He never has done them any hurt, but good, all the days of their life. Former
experience of the Divine goodness should strengthen the believer’s confidence, and
fortify him against present discouragements (Jdg_13:23; Psa_42:6; Psa_77:12; 2Co_
1:10). (B. Beddome, M.A.)
CALVIN, "The Prophet mentions here one kind of sin; for though the Jews in
many, and even in numberless ways kindled God’s wrath, yet they especially
procured a heavy judgment for themselves by their superstitions. They indeed
manifested their contempt of God by adultery, theft, and plunder, but in a way not
so direct; for when they abandoned themselves to the superstitions of the Gentiles,
they thus shook off the yoke of God, as though they openly testified that he was no
longer their God. And we know that nothing is so much valued and approved by
God as a sincere attention to real piety; hence the Church is taught in the first table
of the Law how he is to be worshipped. This is the reason why the Prophet
especially reminds the Jews here that they had, in this respect, been rebellious
against God, because he could not bring them back from their corrupt superstitions.
He does not at the same time absolve them of other sins; but he mentions this one
kind, in order that they might understand, that they were not only in part, but
altogether rebellious against God; for they wholly departed from him when they
vitiated his worship with wicked superstitions. We must then bear in mind, that the
Jews were not condemned for some small offenses, but accused of the most heinous
of sins; for they had become covenant-breakers and apostates, and had forsaken
God himself and his law.
He says, Walk ye not after foreign gods to serve them and to worship them He
pointed out as by the finger, how gross had been their impiety; for they had given
themselves up to idols, that they might basely serve them; they had wholly devoted
themselves to them. It was not then an excusable error, but a manifest treachery. He
adds, Provoke me not by the work of your hands No doubt the Prophet meant by
these words to confirm what has been already stated, that idolatry is before God an
intolerable wickedness: and at the same time he shews, that they had not sinned
through ignorance, for they had in time been reminded of the atrocity of this sin. As
then they had not ceased from their superstitions, they were thus proved guilty of a
diabolical madness, for they feared not to provoke God against them. And he says,
by the work of your hands; and thus he speaks contemptuously or rather
reproachfully of idols. They called them gods, not that they were ignorant that they
were statues curiously made of wood and stone, or of some other material; but still
28

29. they thought that divinity was connected with them, for they believed that God was
thus rightly worshipped. Now, then, the Prophet calls them the work of hands, as
though he had said, “If the Jews themselves are nothing, the idols are less than
nothing; for they are only the work of hands.” And this way of speaking often
occurs in the Prophets, by which God intended to shake off the stupidity of men,
who were become quite senseless in their own devices; as though he had said, “Have
you not a particle of a right understanding in you? do you not know, that this which
ye worship is the work of your own hands? and what can your hands do? for what
are ye yourselves?” We now perceive what the Prophet had in view in using these
words.
There is, again; a promise given, I will not do you evil God declares by these words
that they would be exempt from all trouble and distress, if they continued to walk
according to the rule of true religion; and thus he intimates that whatever evils they
had already endured, and would have hereafter to endure, could not be imputed to
anything but to their own perverseness, for God had of his own free-will promised
to spare them, provided they departed from their wicked ways. And such a hope
ought especially to encourage us to repent, for we see that God is ready to receive us
and seeks reconciliation with us, and is always prepared to forgive all our sins,
provided we from the heart return to him; and he seems as one unwilling to inflict
punishment. Here again the impiety of the people is more fully proved, for they
refused to receive from God this invaluable favor. It follows, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:6
‘And do not go after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and do not
provoke me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no hurt.”
For YHWH’s promise was that if they did not go after other gods to worship and
serve them, and did not provoke Him to anger by breaking the requirements of the
covenant, then He would bring no harm upon them. This was still in the stage when
repentance was seen as possible, and was looked for.
‘The work of your hands’ may indicate the idols that they had made, or it may be
pointing to their general behaviour, or indeed both.
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the
Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what
your hands have made, and you have brought
29

30. harm to yourselves.”
CLARKE, "That ye might provoke - Ye would not hearken; but chose to provoke
me with anger.
GILL, "Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord,.... Though it was he
that spake unto them by his prophets; and though it was so much to their own good and
advantage; and the neglect of him and his word were so much to their disadvantage, and
even ruin:
that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, to your
own hurt: which, though not signed to do either, yet eventually did both; both
provoked the Lord, and brought destruction upon themselves; for whatever is against
the glory of God is to the hurt of man; and whatever provokes him is pernicious to them
in its consequences.
JAMISON, "Though ye provoke Me to anger (Deu_32:21), yet it is not I, but
yourselves, whom ye thereby hurt (Pro_8:36; Pro_20:2).
CALVIN, "He proves what he had said before, that the Jews had been wholly
disobedient, though God had kindly offered and shewed that he would be reconciled
to them, provided they turned from the heart to him. The fact that this message was
not received by the Jews, was an evidence of extreme and irreclaimable obstinacy.
And he enhances their guilt by saying, that ye might provoke me; for he intimates
that they were led away to evil by a voluntary purpose, as though they wished to
provoke God. The Prophet, then, by saying that ye might provoke me, accuses them
of deliberate wickedness. It, indeed, often happens that men go astray through
ignorance, and do not attend because no one warns them; but since God had so
many times exhorted the Jews to repent, no other opinion could have been formed of
them, but that they designedly wished, not only to despise God, but also to provoke
him to the contest.
And this is what we ought carefully to notice, for whosoever has been taught the will
of God, unless he obeys, he cannot escape the charge of a voluntary obstinacy, as he
has resolved, as it were, to carry on war with God. Though the ungodly do not
confess this, yet the fact is evident; and God, who is a righteous judge, has declared
that they who despised the prophetic doctrine were so regarded.
And he says, for evil to you, in order that they might know that God did not plead
his own cause because he stood in need of their service, but that he cared for their
welfare. For there is to be understood here an implied contrast, as though the
Prophet had said, “What loss has God suffered by your perverseness? Ye have,
30

31. indeed, tried to deprive him of his glory, for ye have adorned your idols by spoils
taken from him; but it is not in men’s power to subtract anything from the rights of
God; he remains ever perfect: then it only turns out to your ruin when ye are
rebellious. When, therefore, God now reproves you, he does not maintain his own
right, as though he received any gain or loss from you; but it is an evidence of his
mercy, because he would not have you to perish, though he sees that you are led into
destruction by an insane impulse.” It afterwards follows, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:7
“Yet you have not listened to me, the word of YHWH, that you may provoke me to
anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt.”
But YHWH now charges them with the fact that they had not listened to any of the
prophets, and had also certainly not listened to Jeremiah. And therefore they had
not listened to Him. This was the sure ‘word of YHWH’. And the consequence was
that they had provoked Him to anger by what they had been doing, and especially
by their idolatry, in such a way as would bring hurt upon them.
8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this:
“Because you have not listened to my words,
GILL, "Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Of armies above and below; and
so can do what he pleases in heaven and in earth:
because ye have not heard my words; by the prophets, so as to obey them; they
had heard them externally, but did not observe to do them.
HENRY, "Here is the sentence grounded upon the foregoing charge: “Because you
have not heard my words, I must take another course with you,” Jer_25:8. Note, When
men will not regard the judgments of God's mouth they may expect to feel the judgments
of his hands, to hear the rod, since they would not hear the word; for the sinner must
either be parted from his sin or perish in it. Wrath comes without remedy against those
only that sin without repentance. It is not so much men's turning aside that ruins them
as their not returning.
K&D 8-10, "For this obstinate resistance the Lord will cause the nations of the north,
31

32. under Nebuchadrezzar's leadership, to come and lay Judah waste. "All the families of the
north" points back to all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, Jer_1:14. ‫ל‬ ֶ‫א‬ ְ‫ו‬ ‫נבוך‬
cannot be joined with "and take," but must depend from ַ‫ח‬ֵ‫שֹׁל‬ in such a way that that
verb is again repeated in thought. Ew. proposes to read ‫ת‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ו‬ according to some codd.,
especially as Syr., Chald., Vulg. have rendered by an accusative. Against this Graf has
justly objected, that then Nebuchadnezzar would be merely mentioned by the way as in
addition to the various races, whereas it is he that brings these races and is the
instrument of destruction in God's hand. Ew.'s reading is therefore to be unhesitatingly
rejected. No valid reason appears for pronouncing the words: and to
Nebuchadrezzar...my servant, to be a later interpolation (Hitz., Gr.) because they are not
in the lxx. There is prominence given to Nebuchadnezzar by the very change of the
construction, another "send" requiring to be repeated before "to Nebuchadrezzar." God
calls Nebuchadnezzar His servant, as the executor of His will on Judah, cf. Jer_27:6 and
Jer_43:10. The "them" in "and bring them" refers to Nebuchadnezzar and the races of
the north. "This land" is Judah, the ‫זּאת‬ ַֹ‫ה‬ being δεικτικῶς; so too the corresponding
‫ה‬ֶ‫לּ‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫,ה‬ "all these peoples round about;" so that we need have no doubt of the
genuineness of the demonstrative. The peoples meant are those found about Judah, that
are specified in Jer_25:19-25. ‫ים‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ְ‫מ‬ ַ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬ ַ‫,ה‬ used frequently in Deuteronomy and Joshua
for the extirpation of the Canaanites, is used by Jeremiah, besides here, only in the
prophecy against Babylon, Jer_50:21, Jer_50:26; Jer_51:3. With ‫ה‬ ָ‫מּ‬ַ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫ק‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫ל‬ ְ‫ו‬ cf. Jer_
19:8; Jer_18:16; the words cannot be used of the peoples, but of the countries, which
have been comprehended in the mention of the peoples. With "everlasting desolations,"
cf. Jer_49:13, Isa_58:12; Isa_61:4. - With Jer_25:10 cf. Jer_16:9; Jer_7:34. But here the
thought is strengthened by the addition: the sound of the mill and the light of the lamp.
Not merely every sound of joyfulness shall vanish, but even every sign of life, such as
could make known the presence of inhabitants.
COFFMAN, ""Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not heard
my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah,
and I will send unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will
bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and make them an
astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from
them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom
and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. And
this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall
serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
"All the families of the north ... Nebuchadrezzar ..." (Jeremiah 25:9). The meaning
of this is that the king of Babylon and all of his allies would come against Judah.
The north was the direction from which all of the military operations against
Jerusalem were to come, due to geographical considerations; and this does not mean
that all of the enemies mentioned here lived in areas north of Jerusalem, for, in fact,
many of them came from the east.
32

33. "The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the sound of the
millstones, and the light of the lamp ..." (Jeremiah 25:10). The destruction about to
come upon the last vestiges of the Old Israel was a very significant and historical
event, because the Old Israel was a type of the New Israel, which would eventually
be the Church "in Christ Jesus." Sadly enough, the scriptures teach that just as the
Old Israel finally and completely rejected God, so will it be also with the New Israel
when the fourth and final judicial hardening of the human race occurs, as fully
prophesied in Revelation 16, at which time, God's New Israel, at that time, having
become the shameless Whore of Revelation 17, and corresponding exactly to the
final apostasy of Judah, then God will destroy them in the same manner that he
destroyed Judah, many of these very expressions being woven into the prophecy
that concludes with the last portion of Revelation 18. Those who are interested in a
further study of this may wish to read our discussion of Revelation 9-11 in my
commentary (Volume 12 in the New Testament Series).
"These nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years ..." (Jeremiah 25:11).
See the chapter introduction for a full discussion of this prophecy.
"Perpetual desolations ... a desolation ..." (Jeremiah 25:9,11). A well known fact of
history is that the majority of those nations which became slaves of Babylon did
indeed become "perpetual" desolations, whereas, the mention of "a desolation" in
Jeremiah 25:11 seems to avoid such a prophecy regarding Jerusalem; for that city
would indeed be rebuilt, and God's servant Cyrus would significantly aid the
restoration. Yes, Jerusalem would indeed become "a desolation"; but it would
continue as a city until the Son of God should appear in her midst.
"Nebuchadrezzar, my servant ..." (Jeremiah 25:9). This glorious title was first given
by God to Moses; and, in the Bible, it is usually reserved to the noblest and most
faithful worshippers of the True God; but here it is thrice applied to
Nebuchadrezzar, and also to Cyrus (in Isaiah). Such men were not servants of God
in the highest sense of the word; but they were, nevertheless, very important
servants, being, in truth, the instruments by which God punished his own rebellious
children. Significantly, such persons did not consciously serve God but yet they
executed his divine judgment upon others. As a rule, such "servants" became in
time God's enemies and were in turn judged and punished by the will of God. As in
Zechariah (Zechariah 1:18ff), the same nations might be either horns or smiths
depending upon the circumstances.
A characteristic of human power is seen in the punishment that Babylon executed
upon Judah. That punishment was aggravated by human lust and sadistic cruelty,
greatly increasing sorrow and suffering; and the arrogant conceit and boastfulness
indulged by such "instruments" of God inevitably led to their own destruction. It is
this principle that led to the judgment announced in the next paragraph.
33

34. 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and
my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,”
declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against
this land and its inhabitants and against all the
surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[a]
them and make them an object of horror and
scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
BARNES, "The term families is probably used here to signify the widespread empire
of Nebuchadnezzar.
My servant - This title, so remarkable in the Old Testament as the especial epithet,
first of Moses, and then of the Messiah, is thrice given to Nebuchadnezzar, and marks
the greatness of the commission entrusted to him.
CLARKE, "Behold, I will send - At this time Nebuchadrezzar had not invaded the
land, according to this Version; but the Hebrew may be translated, “Behold I am
sending, and have taken all the families;” that is, all the allies of the king of Babylon.
Instead of ‫ואל‬ reel, “and To Nebuchadrezzar,” as in the common Hebrew Bible, seven
MSS. of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s, and one of my own, have ‫ואת‬ veeth, “And
Nebuchadrezzar,” which is undoubtedly the true reading.
GILL, "Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,
saith the Lord,.... The Targum is, the kingdoms of the north, the same with those in
Jer_1:15; even all those kingdoms which were subject to the king of Babylon, and lay
north of Judea:
and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon my servant: though a great king, he
34

35. was a servant of the Lord of hosts; his servant, both as a creature of his make, and as a
king that ruled under him; and as he was an instrument in his hand to chastise his
people the Jews; though it was not knowingly and with intention that he served the
Lord:
and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof;
the land of Judea, and its inhabitants; this was the Lord's doing; it was he that stirred,
up the king of Babylon, and by his secret instinct and powerful providence brought him
and his armies into Judea to spoil it, and the inhabitants of it Jehovah as it were
marched at the head of them, and led them on, and brought them against the Jews, and
delivered them into their hands:
and against all these nations round about; Egypt and others; so that the Jews
could have no help from them; nor would application to them, and alliance with them,
signify anything:
and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an
hissing, and perpetual desolations; both the Jews and their neighbours; who
should be an astonishment to some, and a hissing to others, and remain desolate for a
long time; even till the seventy years were ended after mentioned.
HENRY 9-11, " The ruin of the land of Judah by the king of Babylon's armies is here
decreed, Jer_25:9. God sent to them his servants the prophets, and they were not
heeded, and therefore God will send for his servant the king of Babylon, whom they
cannot mock, and despise, and persecute, as they did his servants the prophets. Note,
The messengers of God's wrath will be sent against those that would not receive the
messengers of his mercy. One way or other God will be heeded, and will make men know
that he is the Lord. Nebuchadrezzar, though a stranger to the true God, the God of
Israel, nay, an enemy to him and afterwards a rival with him, was yet, in the descent he
made upon his country. God's servant, accomplished his purpose, was employed by him,
and was an instrument in his hand for the correction of his people. He was really serving
God's designs when he thought he was serving his own ends. Justly therefore does God
here call himself The Lord of hosts (Jer_25:8), for here is an instance of his sovereign
dominion, not only over the inhabitants, but over the armies of this earth, of which he
makes what use he pleases. He has them all at his command. The most potent and
absolute monarchs are his servants. Nebuchadrezzar, who is an instrument of his wrath,
is as truly his servant as Cyrus, who is an instrument of his mercy. The land of Judah
being to be made desolate, God here musters his army that is to make it so, gathers it
together, takes all the families of the north, if there be occasion for them, leads them on
as their commander-in-chief, brings them against this land, gives them success, not
only against Judah and Jerusalem, but against all the nations round about, that there
might be no dependence upon them as allies or assistants against that threatening force.
The utter destruction of this and all the neighbouring lands is here described, Jer_
25:9-11. It shall be total: The whole land shall be a desolation, not only desolate, but a
desolation itself; both city and country shall be laid waste, and all the wealth of both be
made a prey of. It shall be lasting, even perpetual desolations; they shall continue so
long in ruins, and after long waiting there shall appear so little prospect of relief, that
every one shall call it perpetual. This desolation shall be the ruin of their credit among
their neighbours; it shall bury their honour in the dust, shall make them an
35

36. astonishment and a hissing; every one will be amazed at them, and hiss them off the
stage of action with just disgrace for deserting a God who would have been their
protection for impostors who would certainly be their destruction. It will likewise be the
ruin of all their comfort among themselves; it shall be a final period of all their joy: I will
take from them the voice of mirth, hang their harps on the willow-trees, and put them
out of tune for songs. I will take from them the voice of mirth; they shall neither have
cause for it nor hearts for it. They would not hear the voice of God's word and therefore
the voice of mirth shall no more be heard among them. They shall be deprived of food:
The sound of the mill-stones shall not be heard; for, when the enemy has seized their
stores, the sound of the grinding must needs be low, Ecc_12:4. An end shall be put to all
business; there shall not be seen the light of a candle, for there shall be no work to be
done worth candle-light. And, lastly, they shall be deprived of their liberty: Those
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. The fixing of time during which
the captivity should last would be of great use, not only for the confirmation of the
prophecy, when the event (which in this particular could by no human sagacity be
foreseen) should exactly answer the prediction, but for the comfort of the people of God
in their calamity and the encouragement of faith and prayer. Daniel, who was himself a
prophet, had an eye to it, Dan_9:2. Nay, God himself had an eye to it (2Ch_36:22); for
therefore he stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, that the word spoken by the mouth of
Jeremiah might be accomplished. Known unto God are all his works from the
beginning of the world, which appears by this, that, when he has thought fit, some of
them have been made known to his servants the prophets and by them to his church.
JAMISON, "the north — (see on Jer_1:14, Jer_1:15). The Medes and other
northern peoples, confederate with Babylon, are included with the Chaldeans.
my servant — My agent for punishing (Jer_27:6; Jer_43:10; compare Jer_40:2).
Compare Isa_44:28; Cyrus, “My shepherd.” God makes even unbelievers unconsciously
to fulfil His designs. A reproof to the Jews, who boasted that they were the servants of
God; yet a heathen king is to be more the servant of God than they, and that as the agent
of their punishment.
CALVIN, "Here follows a denunciation of punishment; the Prophet says that God
would no longer deal in words, for their iniquity had ripened, according to what is
in Genesis,
“My Spirit shall not contend (or strive) any more with man.” (Genesis 6:3.)
When God prepares to execute vengeance on the wickedness of men, he says that
there is no more time for contending. A sudden execution of judgment is then what
is here intended; but he mentions at the same time the punishment. After having
explained the cause of so much severity, even because they would not hear the words
of God, he adds, Behold, I will send for and take all the families of the north, etc. I
have no doubt but that the Prophet alludes to the edicts of kings, for when they wish
to raise an army they publish their edicts, and order those everywhere to meet who
have either given their names or been enlisted as soldiers. So God now by these
words intimates that the Chaldeans were under his power, so that they were ready,
as soon as he gave them a signal; according to other modes of speaking he uses in
36

37. other places, but in the same sense, “I will hiss,” and also, “I will send an alarm.”
The Scripture is full of expressions of this kind, which shew that all mortals are
prepared to obey God whenever he intends to employ their services; not that it is
their purpose to serve God, but that he by a secret influence so rules them and their
tongues, their minds and hearts, their hands and their feet, that they are
constrained, willing or unwilling, to do his will and pleasure. And in the same sense
he calls Nebuchadnezzar his servant, for that cruel tyrant never meant to offer his
service to God; but God employed him as his instrument, as though he had been
hired by him. And we shall see also elsewhere that he is called God’s servant.
And it ought to be noticed, for we hence learn the fact, that many are God’s servants
who are yet wholly unworthy of so honorable a title; but they are not so called with
respect to themselves. Nebuchadnezzar thought that he was making war with the
God of Israel when he invaded Judea; and only ambition, and avarice, and cruelty
impelled him to undertake so many wars. When, therefore, we think of him, of his
designs and his projects, we cannot say that he was God’s servant; but this is to be
referred to God only, who governs by his hidden and incomprehensible power both
the devil and the ungodly, so that they execute, though unwittingly, whatever he
determines. There is a great difference between these and God’s servants, who,
when anything is commanded them, seek to render that obedience which they
ought — all such are faithful servants. They are, then, justly called God’s servants,
for there is a mutual concord between God and them: God commands, and they
obey. But it is a mutilated and a half service when the ungodly are led beyond the
purpose of their own minds, and God uses them as instruments when they think of
and design another thing.
It must at the same time be noticed that this name of servant is given, though in an
inferior sense, to Nebuchadnezzar for the sake of honor, in order that the Jews
might be made ashamed; for it was a great reproach to them that a heathen had
been chosen by God, and had obtained the title of a servant, when they themselves
had become aliens. The Prophet then, no doubt, intended to cast reproach on them
by raising to this dignity the king of Babylon. There was also another reason, even
that the Jews might know that whatever they were to suffer would be inflicted by
God’s hand, and that they might not otherwise think of Nebuchadnezzar than as
God’s scourge, in order that they might thus be led to confess their sins and be
really humbled. We now perceive the meaning of the words.
He says afterwards, I will bring them on this land and on all its inhabitants, etc By
these words he confirms what I have just referred to, that God had his vengeance
ready as soon as he purposed to treat the Jews as they deserved. As he had then said
that Nebuchadnezzar and all the people of the north were prepared by him as hired
soldiers, so he now adds that victory was in his power — I will bring them, he says,
over the land and over all the neighboring nations which are around (129) Why the
Prophet denounces punishment here on other nations we shall see elsewhere. The
Jews, in addition to other vain confidences, were wont to flatter themselves with
this, that if Nebuchadnezzar should invade the territories of others, all would unite
37

38. together against him, and that by such a confederacy they could easily overcome
him. As, then, the Jews looked to all parts, and knew that the Egyptians were in
alliance with them, and were also persuaded that the Moabites, the Tyrians, the
Syrians, and all the rest would become confederates, they became confident, and
indulged in that security by which they deceived themselves. This, therefore, is the
reason why the Prophet expressly threatens the nations by which they were
surrounded, not for the sake of these nations, but that the Jews might cease to
entertain their vain confidence.
God says that he would make all nations, as well as the Jews, an astonishment, a
hissing, and perpetual desolations He intimates that it would be a dreadful calamity,
such as would astonish all that heard of it. As it is said elsewhere, “The report alone
will excite alarm;” so in this place, I will make them for an astonishment When a
moderate calamity is related to us, we are indeed moved to pity; but when the
greatness of the evil exceeds belief, we then stand amazed, and all our senses are
stunned. The Prophet then means that the calamity which God would bring on the
Jews would be, as it were, monstrous, such as would stupify all that would hear of it.
(130)
At last he adds, that they would be for perpetual desolations He does afterwards,
indeed, mitigate the severity of these words; for he confines God’s vengeance to
seventy years. But this mode of speaking is common in Scripture; for, ‫,עולם‬ oulam
stands opposed to a short time. It is to be taken in different senses, according to the
circumstances of the passage. It sometimes designates perpetuity, as when the
Prophet says, from age to age, that is, through continued ages, or through a course
of years, which shall last perpetually. But age, or ‫,עולם‬ oulam, is often to be taken
for the time allotted to the people until the coming of Christ; and sometimes it
means simply a long time, as here and in many other places. It follows, —
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,
saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my 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.
Ver. 9. Behold, I will send and take.] By a secret instinct. {as Jeremiah 1:15}
And Nebuchadnezzar my servant,] i.e., Mine executioner, the rod of my wrath,
[Isaiah 10:5] and the scourge of the world, as Attila styled himself.
And against all these nations round about.] Who were so infatuated that they did
not combine against Nebuchadnezzar, whom the Septuagint called a dove, Jeremiah
25:38, but he was a vulture rather, and these nations were as so many silly doves,
which save themselves by flight, not fight; and sitting in their dove cots, see their
nests destroyed, and their young ones killed before their eyes, never offering to
rescue or revenge, as other fowls do. So dealt the old Britons when invaded by the
38

39. Romans; they joined not their forces against the common enemy, sed dum singuli
pugnabant, universi vincebantur. but while the fought separately, they were
conquered together. (a)
WHEDON, "9. Families of the north — An allusion to the conglomerate character
of the Babylonish kingdom, blending, as it did, all the peoples in the great basin of
the Tigris and Euphrates. And Nebuchadrezzar, etc. — Literally, and to
Nebuchadrezzar, etc., bringing it after send rather than take, in construction. He is
called the servant of Jehovah because of his providential mission in executing God’s
will on Judah. See also Jeremiah 28:6; Jeremiah 43:10.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:8-9
‘Therefore thus says YHWH of hosts, “Because you have not heard my words,
behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, the word of YHWH, and I
will send to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them
against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations round
about, and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a
hissing, and perpetual desolations.”
And He warns them that because of their failure to listen to the prophets and to
hear His word, He would now summon the people of the countries to the north,
including ‘My servant’ Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and would bring them all
against both their land, and also the land of neighbouring countries, to destroy them
and make them a spectacle in the eyes of all. Note that the warning is to the whole
neighbourhood. Judah would be one of many.
In Isaiah 44:18; Isaiah 45:1 YHWH had called Cyrus ‘My shepherd’ and ‘My
anointed’. Here He calls Nebuchadrezzar ‘My servant (see also Jeremiah 27:6;
Jeremiah 43:10). In both cases it was because they were adopted by Him as His
instruments in carrying out His purposes. It did not indicate that they had become
believers. And Nebuchadrezzar would come at the head of a coalition of different
nations, for in the fight against Assyria the Medes and the Scythians, together with a
number of other allies, had been involved.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 25:9
The families of the north (comp. Jeremiah 1:15, note). And Nebuchadnezzar the
king of Babylon, my servant. This is the rendering of the Targum, the Syriac, and
the Vulgate, and corresponds with the reading of a few extant manuscripts. The
received text, however, reads, "and unto Nebuchadnezzar," etc. Neither reading is
satisfactory. The latter one is intolerably harsh; the former makes Nebuchadnezzar
a mere adjunct of the tribes of the north. In the other passages, moreover, where
this king is solemnly entitled "my servant," the clause is the most prominent one in
the sentence (see Jeremiah 27:6; Jeremiah 43:10). The words in question have a sort
of family resemblance to the glosses which meet us occasionally both in the form of
39

40. the Hebrew text represented by the Massoretic recension, and those by the principal
ancient versions. The words are omitted by the Septuagint. My servant. Generally to
be a "servant" of Jehovah or of any supposed deity is to be a worshipper. Thus
Daniel is called by Darius, "servant of the living God" (Daniel 6:20), and thus
Abdallah, "servant of Allah," has become a favorite surname of the followers of
Mohammed. In the Book of Jeremiah itself (Jeremiah 30:10; Jeremiah 46:27,
Jeremiah 46:28), and in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:25), "my servant" is the form in which
Jehovah addresses his chosen people; and in the second part of Isaiah the suffering
Messiah is so styled. Here, however, a foreign king is thus entitled. How is this to be
explained? Cyrus, no doubt, in Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 45:1, is called "my shepherd"
and "my anointed one;" but then Cyrus, in the view of the prophet, was a genuine
though unconscious worshipper of the true God (Isaiah 41:25), whereas
Nebuchadnezzar was known to be a polytheist and an idolater. We must, therefore,
take "servant" to be applied to Nebuchadnezzar in a lower sense than to the other
bearers of the title. The Hebrew 'ebbed, in fact, may be either "slave" in something
approaching to the terrible modern sense, or in the sense in which Eliezer was one
(i.e. little less than a son, and a possible heir, Genesis 24:2; Galatians 4:1), and
which is still in full force in Arabia. An astonishment (see on Jeremiah 2:11). An
hissing (comp. Jeremiah 18:16; Jeremiah 19:8).
10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and
gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the
sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.
BARNES, "Take from them ... the sound of the millstones, and the light of
the candle - (or, lamp). To denote the entire cessation of domestic life. The one was the
sign of the preparation of the daily meal, the other of the assembling of the family after
the labors of the day were over.
CLARKE, "I will take from them - See Jer_7:34, and Jer_16:9.
The sound of the mill-stones, and the light of the candle - These two are
conjoined, because they generally ground the corn before day, by the light of the candle.
Sir J. Chardin has remarked, that every where in the morning may be heard the noise of
the mills; for they generally grind every day just as much as is necessary for the day’s
40

41. consumption. Where then the noise of the grill is not heard, nor the light of the candle
seen, there must be desolation; because these things are heard and seen in every
inhabited country.
GILL, "Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of
gladness,.... At their festivals, and nuptial solemnities:
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; expressing their mutual
love unto, and delight in, each other; so agreeable to one another and their friends: or it
may mean those epithalamies, or nuptial songs, sung unto them by their friends:
the sound of the millstones; either the voice of those that sing at the mill while
grinding; or rather the sound of the stones themselves used in grinding; either in
grinding spices for the bride cakes; or rather in grinding corn for common use; and so
denotes the taking away of bread corn from them, and the want of that. The sense is,
there should be corn to grind, and so no use of the mill:
and the light of the candle; at their feasts and weddings, or rather, for common use;
signifying that houses should be desolate, without inhabitants, no light in them, nor
work to be done. The whole shows that they should be deprived of everything both for
necessity and pleasure. John seems to have borrowed some phrases from hence, Rev_
18:22; in which he appears to have followed the Hebrew text, and not the Greek version.
The Targum of the last clause is,
"the voice of the company of those that sing at the light of candles.''
JAMISON, "(Jer_7:34; Rev_18:23). The land shall be so desolated that even in the
houses left standing there shall be no inhabitant; a terrible stillness shall prevail; no
sound of the hand-mill (two circular stones, one above the other, for grinding corn,
worked by two women, Exo_11:5; Mat_24:41; in daily use in every house, and therefore
forbidden to be taken in pledge, Deu_24:6); no night-light, so universal in the East that
the poorest house has it, burning all night.
candle — lamp (Job_21:17; Job_18:6).
CALVIN, "He confirms here what I have just said, — that the Jews were not to be
chastised in a common manner, but be exposed to extreme distress. For though all
things may not be with us prosperous and according to our wishes, yet marriages
may still be celebrated, and some hilarity may remain; we may yet eat and drink
and enjoy the necessaries of life, though we may have no pleasures; but the Prophet
shews here that such would be the devastation of the land, that there would be no
thoughts about marriages, that all hilarity and joy would cease, that there would be
no preparations of food, no grinding of corn, and that, in short, all feasts usually
kept by the light of candles would be no more celebrated. Here, then, he describes to
the life that devastation which had been before mentioned. (131)
The Prophet no doubt indirectly condemns that insensibility by which the devil had
41

42. possessed the minds of the people; for though the prophets continually threatened
them, yet there was no end to their exultations and no moderation in them,
according to what is said by Isaiah, who complains of such wantonness, that they
said, “Let us feast, tomorrow we shall die;” and who also says,
“I have called you to sackcloth and ashes, but ye went to the harp and to feastings.”
(Isaiah 22:12)
When, therefore, the Prophet speaks here of the voice of joy and gladness, of the
noise of millstones, and of lamps, he doubtless upbraids them with their stupid
security; for they feared nothing, and thought themselves safe even when God was
shewing himself, as with an outstretched hand, to be their avenging judge. It
follows, —
10.For I will make to cease from among them The voice of exultation and the voice
of joy, The voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, The voice of the
millstone, and the light of the lamp.
The time for grinding was the morning; the earliest thing in the morning was this
work, and was done every day. The time for the light of the lamp was the evening;
when this disappears, it is an evidence that there are no inhabitants. — Ed.
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:10. The voice of the bridegroom, &c.— The song of the
bridegroom, and the song of the bride; the songs of the mill, and the light of the
lamp. By the songs of the mill, are meant the songs of those female slaves, who in
ancient times used to grind at the mill. See Matthew 24:41. The ideas in Revelation
18:23 are similar to those of our prophet; and the general meaning is, that every
voice of gladness and of business shall be silent; and the whole land depopulated,
and universal desolation reigning.
The sound of the milstones, and the light of the candle— Mr. Harmer has an
excellent critical observation on this place, which I cannot do better than present the
reader with at large.
"The time for grinding their corn is the morning; which consideration makes the
prophet's selecting the noise of milstones, and the lighting up of candles, as
circumstances belonging to inhabited places, appear in a view, which no
commentators, that I have examined, have taken notice of."
I am indebted to Sir John Chardin's Manuscript for the knowledge of this fact. It
informs us, that "in the East they grind their corn at break of day; and that when
one goes out in a morning, one hears every where the noise of the mill; and that it is
the noise that often awakens people."
"It has been commonly known that they bake every day; and that they usually grind
their corn as they want it; but this passage informs us, that it is the first work done
42

43. in a morning, as well as that this grinding of their mills makes a considerable noise,
and attracts every ear; and as the lighting up of candles begins the evening, there is
an agreeable contrast observable in these words: Moreover I will take from thee the
voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice
of the bride, the sound of milstones, and the light of the candle. And their whole
land shall be a desolation. Gloomy shall be the silence of the morning, melancholy
the shadows of the evening, no cheerful noise to animate the one, no enlivening ray
to soften the gloom of the other. Desolation shall every where reign. In the East,
where no milstones are heard in the morning, no light seen in the evening, it must be
a dreary dismal solitude." Ch. 4 Obs. 4. See also ch. 3 Obs. 18.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:10
“Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the
voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and
the light of the lamp.”
The devastating effect of the invasion is described. All festivities and activities, the
things for which men lived, will come to a halt. There would be no more festal
occasions with their mirth and gladness, there would no more be bridegrooms and
brides enjoying their wedding celebrations, and even the maids who ground the
corn during the day would be affected. The mill stones would cease operating, and
the lamps at night would not be lit, for there would be no grain and no oil, and no
one to tend to them. Life as they had always known it would have ground to a halt.
PULPIT. "Jeremiah 25:10
The sound of the millstones. Modem travel enables us (so conservative is the East) to
realize the full force of this image. The hand-mill is composed of two stones. As a
rule, "two women" (comp. Matthew 24:41) sit at it facing each other; both have
hold of the handle by which the upper is turned round on the 'nether' millstone. The
one whose right hand is disengaged throws in the grain as occasion requires,
through the hole in the upper stone" (Dr. Thomson). "The labor," remarks Dr.
Robinson, "is evidently hard; and the grating sound of the mill is heard at a
distance, indicating (like our coffee-mills) the presence of a family and of household
life" ('Biblical Researches,' 2.181). Add to this the light of the candle (or rather,
lamp), and we have two of the most universally characteristic signs of domestic life.
No family could dispense with the hand-mill, and, as the sermon on the mount
implies, the poorest household had its "lamp" (Matthew 5:15—the poverty of the
family is indicated by the various uses to which the lamp-stand was applied). Comp.
this verse with the imitation in Revelation 18:22, Revelation 18:23.
43

44. 11 This whole country will become a desolate
wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of
Babylon seventy years.
BARNES, "Seventy years - The duration of the Babylonian empire was really a
little short of this period. But the 70 years are usually calculated down to the time when
the Jews were permitted to return to their country (compare Jer_29:10).
CLARKE, "Shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years - As this prophecy
was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and in the first of Nebuchadnezzar, and
began to be accomplished in the same year, (for then Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea,
and took Jerusalem), seventy years from this time will reach down to the first year of
Cyrus, when he made his proclamation for the restoration of the Jews, and the
rebuilding of Jerusalem. See the note on Isa_13:19 (note), where the subject is farther
considered in relation to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and the city of Babylon.
GILL, "And this whole land shall be a desolation,.... Not only the city of
Jerusalem, but all Judea, without inhabitants, or very few, and shall be uncultivated, and
become barren and unfruitful:
and an astonishment; to all other nations, and to all persons that pass through,
beholding the desolations of it:
and other nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years; both the Jews,
and other nations of Egypt, reckoning from the date of this prophecy, the fourth year of
Jehoiakim's reign, when Daniel and others were carried captive, Dan_1:1; to the first
year of Cyrus.
JAMISON, "seventy years — (Jer_27:7). The exact number of years of Sabbaths in
four hundred ninety years, the period from Saul to the Babylonian captivity; righteous
retribution for their violation of the Sabbath (Lev_26:34, Lev_26:35; 2Ch_36:21). The
seventy years probably begin from the fourth year of Jehoiakim, when Jerusalem was
first captured, and many captives, as well as the treasures of the temple, were carried
away; they end with the first year of Cyrus, who, on taking Babylon, issued an edict for
the restoration of the Jews (Ezr_1:1). Daniel’s seventy prophetic weeks are based on the
seventy years of the captivity (compare Dan_9:2, Dan_9:24).
44

45. K&D, "The land of Judah shall be made waste and desolate, and these peoples shall
serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. The time indicated appertains to both
clauses. "This land" is not, with Näg., to be referred to the countries inhabited by all the
peoples mentioned in Jer_25:9, but, as in Jer_25:9, to be understood of the land of
Judah; and "all these peoples" are those who dwelt around Judah. The meaning is
unquestionably, that Judah and the countries of the adjoining peoples shall lie waste,
and that Judah and these peoples shall serve the king of Babylon; but the thought is so
distributed amongst the parallel members of the verse, that the desolation is predicated
of Judah only, the serving only of the peoples - it being necessary to complete each of the
parallel members from the other.
The term of seventy years mentioned is not a so-called round number, but a
chronologically exact prediction of the duration of Chaldean supremacy over Judah. So
the number is understood in 2Ch_36:21-22; so too by the prophet Daniel, when, Dan_
9:2, in the first year of the Median king Darius, he took note of the seventy years which
God, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, would accomplish for the desolation of
Jerusalem. The seventy years may be reckoned chronologically. From the 4th year of
Jehoiakim, i.e., 606 b.c., till the 1st year of the sole supremacy of Cyrus over Babylon,
i.e., 536 b.c., gives a period of 70 years. This number is arrived at by means of the dates
given by profane authors as well as those of the historians of Scripture. Nebuchadnezzar
reigned 43 years, his son Evil-Merodach 2 years, Neriglissor 4 years, Labrosoarchad
(according to Berosus) 9 months, and Naboned 17 years (43 + 2 + 4 + 17 years and 9
months are 66 years and 9 months). Add to this 1 year - that namely which elapsed
between the time when Jerusalem was first taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and the death of
Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar's accession - add further the 2 years of the reign of
Darius the Mede (see on Dan_6:1), and we have 69 3/4 years. With this the biblical
accounts also agree. Of Jehoiakim's reign these give 7 years (from his 4th till his 11th
year), for Jehoiachin's 3 months, for the captivity of Jehoiachin in Babylon until the
accession of Evil-Merodach 37 years (see 2Ki_25:27, according to which Evil-Merodach,
when he became king, set Jehoiachin at liberty on the 27th day of the 12th months, in
the 37th year after he had been carried away). Thus, till the beginning of Evil-
Merodach's reign, we would have 44 years and 3 months to reckon, thence till the fall of
the Babylonian empire 23 years and 9 months, and 2 years of Darius the Mede, i.e., in all
70 years complete. - But although this number corresponds so exactly with history, it is
less its arithmetical value that is of account in Jeremiah; it is rather its symbolical
significance as the number of perfection for God's works. This significance lies in the
contrast of seven, as the characteristic number for works of God, with ten, the number
that marks earthly completeness; and hereby prophecy makes good its distinguishing
character as contrasted with soothsaying, or the prediction of contingent matters. The
symbolical value of the number comes clearly out in the following verses, where the fall
of Babylon is announced to come in seventy years, although it took place two years
earlier.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet mentions the restriction of which I have spoken, and
thus he mitigates the severity of their punishment. It is, then, a kind of correction;
not that he changes anything, but only by this sort of correction he explains what he
before meant by perpetual desolations.
45

46. He says, The whole land shall be a waste and an astonishment, or as some render it,
“a desolation.” The word ‫,שמם‬ indeed, means to lay desolate, and also to astonish;
but as he had lately used the word in the sense of astonishment, I see no reason for
changing its meaning here, especially as it is connected with ‫,חרבה‬ charebe. But as to
the drift of the passage, there is not much difference whether we say, the land shall
be a desolation, or an astonishment; for it was to be a solitude — reduced to a
desolation or a wilderness. (132)
And serve shall these nations the king of Babylon seventy years, there the Prophet
concludes his prophecy concerning the future calamity of the people, even that the
land would be reduced to a solitude, so as to render every one passing through it
astonished, or that it was to become a horrid spectacle on account of its desolation.
And that a time of seventy years was fixed, it was a testimony of God’s paternal
kindness towards his people, not indiscriminately towards the whole multitude, but
towards the remnant of whom he had spoken elsewhere. Then the Prophet means,
that however grievously the Jews had sinned, yet God would execute only a
temporary punishment; for after seventy years, as we shall see, he would restore
them to their own country, and repair what they had lost, even the inhabitation of
the promised land, the holy city, and the Temple. And this is more fully expressed in
the next verse.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and] an
astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Ver. 11. And this land shall be a desolation - seventy years.] Which commenced at
the deportation of Jeconiah. [2 Kings 24:8 Jeremiah 29:1-3 Ezekiel 4:1; Ezekiel
33:21] Avignon in France, was the residence of the Pope for seventy years, which
time the Romans yet remember, till this day, by the name of the Babylonian
captivity. (a) Luther, when he first began to stir against the Pope, wrote a book
bearing title De captivitate Babylonica, which when Bugenhagius, a Pomeranian
divine, first read, he pronounced it to be the most heretical piece that ever was
written, but afterwards, having better considered the contents of it, he retracted his
former censure; he told his colleagues that all the world besides was in deep
darkness, and that Luther alone was in the light and in the right, and him he would
follow. So he did, and drew many more with him. (b)
WHEDON, "11. Seventy years — Used not as a round number, nor primarily for its
symbolical import, but with chronological exactness. The accuracy of this number is
attested by both sacred and profane chronology. It begins with the fourth year of
Jehoiakim, 606 B.C., and extends to the first year of Cyrus, 536 B.C. The whole
period of the Babylonian empire after the fall of Nineveh was about sixty-seven
years. Add the two years of Darius the Mede, (Daniel 6:1,) and we have about sixty-
nine years for the captivity before the accession of Cyrus, near the beginning of
whose reign came the decree of release and restoration. See an excellent resume of
the chronological data in Keil’s Commentary.
46

47. COKE, "Jeremiah 25:11. Seventy years— Not only the captivity and restoration of
the two tribes were foretold, but the precise time of that captivity and restoration
was also prefixed and determined by our prophet. This prophesy was delivered in
the fourth year of Jehoiakim; and this same year it began to be put in execution; for
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judaea, besieged and took Jerusalem, and made
Jehoiakim his subject and tributary; transported the finest children of the royal
family and of the nobility to Babylon, to be bred up there for eunuchs and slaves in
his palace, and also carried away the vessels of the house of the Lord, and put them
in the temple of his god at Babylon. Seventy years from this time will bring us down
to the first year of Cyrus, when he made his proclamation for the restoration of the
Jews, and for the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. This computation of the
seventy years appears to be the truest and most agreeable to Scripture. But if we fix
the commencement of these seventy years at the time when Jerusalem was burned
and destroyed, their conclusion will fall about the time when Darius issued his
decree for rebuilding the temple, after the work had been stopped and suspended;
or, if we fix their commencement at the time when Nebuzar-adan carried away the
remainder of the people, and completed the desolation of the land, their conclusion
will fall about the time when the temple was finished and dedicated, and the first
passover solemnized in it. So that, as Dean Prideaux observes, taking it which way
you will, and at what stage you please, the prophesy of Jeremiah will be fully and
exactly completed concerning this matter. It may be said to have been accomplished
at three different times, and in three different manners; and, therefore, possibly all
might have been intended, though the first, without doubt, was the principal subject
of the prophesy. See Bishop Newton's Dissertations, vol. 1: p. 201.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:11
“And this whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment, and these nations
will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
This description has in mind a land made so desolate that people who pass through
look at it with open mouths, hardly able to believe what they are seeing. And the
length of time during which these nations would have to serve the king of Babylon
was ‘seventy years’ (see also Jeremiah 29:10), that is, the normal lifetime of a man
from cradle to the grave. Like most numbers in the Old Testament it was to be
taken as a round number, and not applied too strictly. This especially applies to a
number incorporating ‘seven’ which in all countries was seen as an indicator of
‘divine completeness’. It was a general indicator.
Various attempts have been made to delineate the seventy years in mind more
exactly, although in our view unnecessarily:
1. As indicating the period of Babylonian rule from the first time that they entered
the area in around 605 BC and had taken people into exile (including Daniel and his
three friends), after defeating the Egyptians at Carchemish and Hamath, to the time
when the first exiles returned with Cyrus’ permission, which would be a year or so
47

48. after Babylon was crushed in 539 BC. This interpretation would tie in with the date
when this prophecy was given, and the fact that the first year of Nebuchadrezzar’s
rule is (unusually) specifically mentioned (Jeremiah 25:1).
2. As indicating the period from when Assyria was finally crushed in around 609 BC
to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC.
3. As simply indicating ‘within a full lifetime’. It would safely take it beyond the
lifetime of Nebuchadrezzar.
The purpose of the seventy years according to 2 Chronicles 36:21 was so that the
land could ‘enjoy its sabbaths’, which may be an indication that the seventh
Sabbatical year during which no crops were to be sown (Exodus 23:10-11) had on
the whole been ignored in Judah and Israel, or may simply be a symbolic indictor of
a period of ‘rest’.
PULPIT, "Shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Widely different opinions
are held as to the meaning of this prophecy. The most probable view is that
"seventy" is an indefinite or round number (as in Isaiah 23:17), equivalent to "a
very long time." This is supported by the analogy of Jeremiah 27:7, where the
captivity is announced as lasting through the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and
his grandson—a statement evidently vague and indefinite (see ad loc.), and in any
case not answering to a period of seventy years. Besides, we find the "seventy years"
again in Jeremiah 29:10, a passage written probably eleven years later. Others think
the number is to be taken literally, and it is certainly true that from B.C. 606, the
fourth year of Jehoiakim, to the fall of Babylon, B.C. 539, sixty-seven years elapsed.
But is it desirable to press this against the internal evidence that Jeremiah himself
took the number indefinitely?
12 “But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will
punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the
land of the Babylonians,[b] for their guilt,”
declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate
forever.
48

49. BARNES, "Perpetual desolations - The ruins of Babylon form its only lasting
memorial.
CLARKE, "And that nation - ‫ההוא‬ ‫הגוי‬ haggoi hahu. Dr. Blayney contends that
this should be translated his nation, and that ‫ההוא‬ hahu is the substantive pronoun used
in the genitive case. It is certainly more clear and definite to read, “I will punish the king
of Babylon, and His nation.”
Will make it perpetual desolations - See the note on Isa_13:19, where the
fulfillment of this prophecy is distinctly marked.
GILL, "And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished,....
Which were accomplished in the first year of Cyrus: they began with the first year of
Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned two years and two months with his father Nabopolassar;
after that forty three years by himself; Evilmerodach two years: Neriglissar four years;
Belshazzar or Nabonadius seventeen years; and Darius the Median two years; which all
make sixty nine years and two months; and if ten months more be added to complete the
said seventy years, it will carry the end of them to the first year of Cyrus (g). These years
are differently reckoned by others; by Spanhemius, from the first of Nebuchadnezzar, or
fourth of Jehoiakim, to the destruction of the city under Zedekiah, nineteen years;
thence to the death of Nebuchadnezzar, twenty four; then Evilmerodach, two; then the
reign of Neriglissar, including some months of Laborosoarchod, five; then the years of
Nabonadius, or Belshazzar, seventeen; and from his death, or the taking of Babylon, to
the death of Darius the Mede, two years; which make sixty nine, exclusive of the first of
Cyrus; and comes to much the same as the former. By James Alting thus; from the
eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, complete, to his death, twenty six years;
Evilmerodach, twenty three; Belshazzar, three; Darius the Mede, eighteen, after the
destruction of the Babylonish empire; which seems very wrong; better, by Dr. Lightfoot,
thus; Nebuchadnezzar, forty five current; Evilmerodach, twenty three; and Belshazzar,
three (h). So the Jewish chronicle (i):
that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for
their iniquity; the king for his tyranny, and the nation for their idolatry; and both for
these and other sins they were guilty of; for, though they did the will of God in carrying
the Jews captive, they no doubt in their usage of them exceeded their commission, and
were justly punishable for their iniquities. This is not to be understood of the present
king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar; but of Nabonadius, or Belshazzar, whom the Lord
punished by Cyrus; who appears to have been a very wicked man, and in the excess of
not, profaning the vessels of the temple the night he was slain, Dan_5:1;
and the land of the Chaldeans; and will make it perpetual desolations; even
as other nations had been made by them, Jer_25:9.
HENRY 12-14, " The ruin of Babylon, at last, is here likewise foretold, as it had been,
49

50. long before, by Isaiah, Jer_25:12-14. The destroyers must themselves be destroyed, and
the rod thrown into the fire, when the correcting work is done with it. This shall be done
when seventy years are accomplished; for the destruction of Babylon must make way
for the deliverance of the captives. It is a great doubt when these seventy years
commence; some date them from the captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim and first
of Nebuchadrezzar, others from the captivity of Jehoiachin eight years after. I rather
incline to the former, because then these nations began to serve the king of Babylon, and
because usually God has taken the earliest time from which to reckon the
accomplishment of a promise of mercy, as will appear in computing the 400 years'
servitude in Egypt. And, if so, eighteen or nineteen years of the seventy had run out
before Jerusalem and the temple were quite destroyed in the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
However that be, when the time, the set time, to favour Zion, has come, the king of
Babylon must be visited, and all the instances of his tyranny reckoned for; then that
nation shall be punished for their iniquity, as the other nations have been punished for
theirs. That land must then be a perpetual desolation, such as they had made other
lands; for the Judge of all the earth will both do right and avenge wrong, as King of
nations and King of saints. Let proud conquerors and oppressors be moderate in the use
of their power and success, for it will come at last to their own turn to suffer; their day
will come to fall. In this destruction of Babylon, which was to be brought about by the
Medes and Persians, reference shall be had, 1. To what God had said: I will bring upon
that land all my words; for all the wealth and honour of Babylon shall be sacrificed to
the truth of the divine predictions, and all its power broken, rather than one iota or tittle
of God's word shall fall to the ground. The same Jeremiah that prophesied the
destruction of other nations by the Chaldeans foretold also the destruction of the
Chaldeans themselves; and this must be brought upon them, Jer_25:13. It is with
reference to this very event that God says, I will confirm the word of my servant, and
perform the counsel of my messengers, Isa_44:26. 2. Two what they had done (Jer_
25:14): I will recompense them according to their deeds, by which they transgressed the
law of God, even then when they were made to serve his purposes. They had made many
nations to serve them, and trampled upon them with the greatest insolence imaginable;
but not that the measure of their iniquity is full many nations and great kings, that are
in alliance with and come in to the assistance of Cyrus king of Persia, shall serve
themselves of them also, shall make themselves masters of their country, enrich
themselves with their spoils, and make them the footstool by which to mount the throne
of universal monarchy. They shall make use of them for servants and soldiers. He that
leads into captivity shall go into captivity.
K&D 12-13, "The overthrow of the king of Babylon's sovereignty. - Jer_25:12. "But
when seventy years are accomplished, I will visit their iniquity upon the king of
Babylon and upon that people, saith Jahveh, and upon the land of the Chaldeans, and
will make it everlasting desolations. Jer_25:13. And I bring upon that land all my
words which I have spoken concerning it, all that is written in this book, that Jeremiah
hath prophesied concerning all peoples. Jer_25:14. For of them also shall many nations
and great kings serve themselves, and I will requite them according to their doing and
according to the work of their hands."
The punishment or visitation of its iniquity upon Babylon was executed when the city
was taken, after a long and difficult siege, by the allied Medes and Persians under Cyrus'
command. This was in b.c. 538, just 68 years after Jerusalem was taken by
50

51. Nebuchadnezzar for the first time. From the time of the fall of Babylon the sovereignty
passed to the Medes and Persians; so that the dominion of Babylon over Judah and the
surrounding nations, taken exactly, last 68 years, for which the symbolically significant
number 70 is used. The Masoretes have changed the Chet. ‫י‬ ִ‫ת‬ֹ‫א‬ ִ‫ֲב‬‫ה‬ into ‫י‬ ִ‫את‬ ֵ‫ב‬ ֵ‫ה‬ (Keri),
because the latter is the usual form and is that which alone elsewhere occurs in
Jeremiah, cf. Jer_3:14; Jer_36:31; Jer_49:36.; whereas in Jer_25:9 they have pointed
‫ים‬ ִ‫ת‬ֹ‫א‬ ִ‫ב‬ֲ‫,ה‬ because this form is found in Isa_56:7; Eze_34:13, and Neh_1:9. - The second
half of the Jer_25:13, from "all that is written" onwards, was not, of course, spoken by
Jeremiah to the people, but was first added to explain "all my words," etc., when his
prophecies were written down and published.
CALVIN, "The Prophet now, as I have said, shews more clearly why the time of the
captivity and exile had been defined, even that the faithful might know that God
would not forget his covenant, though he deprived the people of the inheritance of
the land. These words were not addressed indiscriminately to the whole body of the
people, as we have observed before in other places; but the Prophet intended to
consult the benefit of God’s elect, who always retained a concern for true religion;
for they must have a hundred times despaired had not this promise been added.
This, then, was a special doctrine intended as food for God’s children; for he
addressed, as it was apart, the elect and faithful only.
God says also, that at the end of seventy years he would visit the iniquity of the king
of Babylon, and of his whole people. We hence learn that Nebuchadnezzar was not
called God’s servant because he deserved anything for his service, but because God
led him while he was himself unconscious, or not thinking of any such thing, to do a
service which neither he nor his subjects understood to be for God. Though, then,
the Lord employs the ungodly in executing his judgments, yet their guilt is not on
this account lessened; they are still exposed to God’s judgment. And these two
things well agree together, — that the devil and all the ungodly serve God, though
not of their own accord, but whenever he draws them by his hidden power, and that
they are still justly punished, even when they have served God; for though they
perform his work, yet not because they are commanded to do so. They are therefore
justly liable to punishment, according to what the Prophet teaches us here.
COFFMAN, ""And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished, that
I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity,
and the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it desolate for ever. 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. For
many nations and great kings shall make bondmen of them; and I will recompense
them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands."
What an impossible prophecy this appeared to be as viewed by the people of
Jeremiah's generation! No great power of human history had ever been terminated
51

52. so quickly after reaching their zenith; but it came to pass exactly as the prophet
foretold.
"Many nations and great kings shall make bondmen of them ..." (Jeremiah 25:14).
"These were the Medes and Persians who subjugated Babylonia under Cyrus in 539
B.C."[7]
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are
accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the
LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual
desolations.
Ver. 12. I will punish the King of Babylon.] As had been previoulsy threatened,
[Isaiah 13:19-22; Isaiah 14:21-23; Isaiah 21:2-10; Isaiah 47:5; Isaiah 47:8-9] and
was accomplished. [Daniel 5:25-28; Daniel 5:30]
WHEDON, " JUDGMENT ON BABYLON AND OTHER NATIONS, Jeremiah
25:12-29.
12. When seventy years are accomplished — Babylon was captured 538 B.C., just
sixty-eight years after the capture of Jerusalem.
Perpetual desolations — To none other of the great powers of the ancient world do
these words apply so impressively and absolutely. The utter nothingness to which
this vast empire has returned is not relieved even by interesting and valuable
monumental remains, as in the case of Nineveh, and especially of Egypt.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:12
“And it will come about, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the
king of Babylon, and that nation, the word of YHWH, for their iniquity, and the
land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it desolate for ever.”
But once the ‘seventy years’, the period determined by God, was over, the then king
of Babylon, together with the whole nation of Babylon would be punished because
of their iniquity. And this was the sure word of YHWH. So like the Assyrians before
them, having been the ‘rod of YHWH’s anger’ (Isaiah 10:5), they would be punished
because they themselves were utterly sinful. And eventually the whole land of the
Chaldeans would be made desolate into the distant future. It would nevermore
attain its former glory. As with much prophecy the timing for the last part (‘I will
make it desolate for ever’) is vague (it will happen some time). It is the fact that is
important.
That the mighty Babylonian empire would only last for around seventy years must
have seemed inconceivable at the time to anyone who had no divine help in
understanding the situation. The Assyrian empire had lasted far longer. But
52

53. Jeremiah was to be proved correct.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 25:12
Perpetual desolations. Thus, too, we read in Isaiah 13:20, that Babylon "shall never
be inhabited." There is a dispute between Dr. Keith and Dr. Kay on the one side,
and rationalistic commentators (e.g. Kuenen) on the other, whether these prophecies
have received a circumstantial fulfillment. The truth is that authorities are not
entirely agreed on the area covered by the site of Babylon. General Chesney
remarks that, so far from being uninhabited, "A town of considerable population,
villages, date groves, and gardens, are found still on the very site of ancient
Babylon". Similarly M. Menant, a veteran French Assyriologist, remarks that
"Hillah, according to M. Oppert, was a quarter of Babylon, probably that which
was inhabited by the working population, without the precincts of the royal palaces.
Numberless traces of ancient habitations indicate this origin of the modern town".
Mr. George Smith, however, in his 'Assyrian Discoveries,' simply states that, "A
little to the south rose the town of Hillah," apparently assuming (what is impossible
to prove, as the walls of Babylon have not yet been discovered) that Hillah lay just
outside the city enclosure. But even he adds that it was "built with the bricks found
in the old capital," which is, strictly speaking, inconsistent with the absolute
abandonment of the site of Babylon implied in Isaiah 13:20-22. The dispute is an
unfortunate one, as it tacitly implies that circumstantial fulfillments are necessary to
the veracity of prophecy. The truth seems to lie in the mean between two opposing
views. As a rule, the details of a prophetic description cannot be pressed; they are
mainly imaginative elaborations of a great central truth or fact. Occasionally,
however, regarding the prophecies in the light of gospel times, it is almost
impossible not to observe that "the Spirit of Christ which was in" the prophets (1
Peter 1:11) has overruled their expressions, so that they correspond more closely to
facts than could have been reasonably anticipated. Such superabundant favors to
believers in inspiration occur repeatedly in the prophecies respecting Christ. They
may, of course, occur elsewhere for a sufficient reason, but we have no right to be
surprised if we do not meet with them. The general truth of the prophecy is that the
empire of Babylon shall fall forever. As Dr. Payne Smith remarks, it was practically
the work of one man (Nebuchadnezzar), and after his death it only lasted for a few
years, during which its history is a series of murders and usurpations.
13 I will bring on that land all the things I have
spoken against it, all that are written in this book
and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the
nations.
53

54. BARNES, "The Septuagint places a full stop after “book,” and take the rest as a title
“what Jeremiah prophesied against the nations,” which series there immediately follows.
In the Masoretic Text, this series is deferred to the end Jer. 46–49, and with Jer. 50–51,
forms one entire series. Other reasons make it probable that the Septuagint has
preserved for us an earlier text, in which all direct mention of the king of Babylon is
omitted and the 70 years are given as the duration of Judah’s captivity, and not of the
Babylonian empire. The fuller text of the Masorites is to be explained by the dislocation
which Jehoiakim’s scroll evidently suffered.
GILL, "And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have
pronounced against it,.... By his prophets, and particularly by Jeremiah, as follows;
for not one word that is spoken by the Lord, either in a way of promise or threatening,
shall fail; his truth, power, and faithfulness, are engaged to accomplish all:
even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied
against all the nations; the Egyptians, Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Arabians,
Persians, and also the Babylonians, in Jer_46:1, which prophecies, in the Greek version,
immediately follow here, though in a confused manner; where some have thought they
might be more regularly placed than as they are in the Hebrew copies, at the end of the
book; but of this there seems to be no absolute necessity.
JAMISON, "all ... written in this book, which Jeremiah ... prophesied
against all ... nations — It follows from this, that the prophecies against foreign
nations (forty-sixth through fifty-first chapters) must have been already written. Hence
the Septuagint inserts here those prophecies. But if they had followed immediately (Jer_
25:13), there would have been no propriety in the observation in the verse. The very
wording of the reference shows that they existed in some other part of the book, and not
in the immediate context. It was in this very year, the fourth of Jehoiakim (Jer_36:1,
Jer_36:2), that Jeremiah was directed to write in a regular book for the first time all that
he had prophesied against Judah and foreign “nations” from the beginning of his
ministry. Probably, at a subsequent time, when he completed the whole work, including
the forty-sixth through fifty-first chapters, Jeremiah himself inserted the clause, “all that
is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.” The
prophecies in question may have been repeated, as others in Jeremiah, more than once;
so in the original smaller collection they may have stood in an earlier position; and, in
the fuller subsequent collection, in their later and present position.
CALVIN, "He confirms what he had said before when he says, that he would bring
all his words on the Chaldeans; that is, that he would give effect to all the
prophecies, so that it would be evident that Jeremiah had foretold nothing rashly,
and that God had not in vain threatened them by the mouth of his servant. Such is
54

55. the meaning, and hence we see what the Prophet intimates when he says, that God
would bring all his words, for he had then spoken. But as the ungodly regard
whatever is brought forward in God’s name as a matter of sport and mockery, and
boldly deride all threatenings, to bring words means the same thing with proving by
events that God does not terrify men without accomplishing his words; in short, to
bring words is to prove their authority. And, as I have said, the expression has a
reference to the insensibility of men who give no credit to God’s words until they are
convinced by their accomplishment; for they think that the air only is beaten, and
thus they are not touched by any fear. But God proves the power of his word when
he executes what he has predicted.
We then see that the Prophet intends nothing else in this verse than to confirm what
he had said before. And he speaks of Chaldea and says, upon that land
And we must at the same time notice another form of speaking; for God says, that
he had pronounced these words; he afterwards says, that Jeremiah was his minister,
and as it were his herald; and he calls him also a scribe or a writer. God then here
declares that he was the author of all that Jeremiah had brought forward; and yet
he leaves his own office to his minister, for it is necessary to secure authority to the
prophets; otherwise, except God visibly descended from heaven, men would either
indiscriminately admit what might be said, and without judgment receive falsehood
and truth, or they would become wholly hardened, so as to give no credit to
prophetic instruction. He says, whatsoever is written in this book The Prophet no
doubt wrote down a summary of what he had delivered; for as we have said
elsewhere, it was usual with the prophets, after they had spoken at large to the
people and preached diffusely, to affix a short summary to the doors of the Temple.
This volume then is what Jeremiah calls the book, which was composed from his
public addresses. It might in common language be called a summary. Then he adds,
in what, or, “what he prophesied,” (133) in order to shew that he meant what he had
before said; and so it might be rendered, that is, what he prophesied; but the other
exposition is not unsuitable, in which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the
nations It follows, —
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:13 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.
Ver. 13. And I will bring upon that land,] scil., By Cyrus and his successors, who out
of the ruins of Babylon built two cities, Ctesiphon and Seleucia.
WHEDON, "13. Written in this book — The difficulties in this verse have been
exaggerated. On the one hand, there can be no question that this language implies
the existence of a written book of Jeremiah, and is not satisfied with a merely
spoken discourse. But words at first spoken more fully are here reduced to a
condensed written record, in which the identifying phrase “written in this book”
occurs. That the passage directly mentions the prophecies which are to come has
55

56. been too hastily assumed. Against all the nations is a phrase which is perfectly
intelligible in its application to prophecies already recorded. But the Septuagint
divides this thirteenth verse differently. Its arrangement is inconsistent with the
Masoretic punctuation, but not with the original text, and strongly commends itself
to favourable consideration. The preceding passage is made to terminate at book,
and the sentence immediately following is the caption of the succeeding passage —
What Jeremiah prophesied against the nations — a title which describes the subject-
matter of the passage as far as the thirty-fourth verse. And yet, even with the
Masoretic pointing, the difficulty is not serious.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:13
“And I will bring on that land all my words which I have pronounced against it,
(even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the
nations).”
The doom of Babylon had been already proclaimed by Isaiah long before (e.g. Isaiah
13-14), because of its arrogant pride. To Isaiah Babylon had symbolised the world
in rebellion against God from the time of Babel onwards and he had prophesied its
utter ruin. The note in brackets, referring to prophecies of Jeremiah made around
this time (the fourth year of Jehoiakim; Jeremiah 45:1) and later recorded in his
book (e.g. chapter 50), was probably added by his amanuensis. (LXX actually
introduces chapters 46-51 around this point).
PULPIT, "And I will bring, etc. Clearly this verse cannot have formed part of the
original prophecy, but must have been added whenever the collection of prophecies
against foreign nations finally assumed its present form (see introduction on
Jeremiah 50:1-46; Jeremiah 51:1-64). It should be mentioned that the Septuagint
separates the last clause of the verse, "that which Jeremiah prophesied," etc; and
makes it the heading of the group of prophecies against the nations, which in the
Hebrew Bible stand at the end of Jeremiah's prophecies, but which, beginning with
"Elam," the Alexandrian Version inserts at this point.
14 They themselves will be enslaved by many
nations and great kings; I will repay them
according to their deeds and the work of their
hands.”
56

57. BARNES, "Shall serve themselves of them also - i. e., shall impose forced labor
upon the Chaldaeans, and reduce them also to servitude.
CLARKE, "Many nations and great kings - The Medes and the Persians, under
Cyrus; and several princes, his vassals or allies.
GILL, "For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them
also,.... Take their cities, seize upon the kingdoms, spoil them of their wealth and riches,
and bring them into servitude to them: these "many nations", which should and did do
all this, were the Medes and Persians, and those that were subject to them, or were their
allies and auxiliaries in this expedition; and the "great kings" were Cyrus and Darius, and
those that were confederate with them:
and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the
works of their own hands; as they have done to others, it shall be done to them; as
they have served themselves of other nations, other nations shall serve themselves of
them; as they have cruelly used others, they shall be used with cruelty themselves; and
as they have made other countries desolate, their land shall become desolate also; not
only their tyranny and cruelty, but all their other sins, shall receive a just recompence of
reward.
JAMISON, "serve themselves — (Jer_27:7; Jer_30:8; Jer_34:10). Avail
themselves of their services as slaves.
them also — the Chaldees, who heretofore have made other nations their slaves, shall
themselves also in their turn be slaves to them. Maurer translates, “shall impose
servitude on them, even them.”
recompense them — namely, the Chaldees and other nations against whom
Jeremiah had prophesied (Jer_25:13), as having oppressed the Jews.
their deeds — rather, “deed,” namely, their bad treatment of the Jews (Jer_50:29;
Jer_51:6, Jer_51:24; compare 2Ch_36:17).
K&D, "The perfect ‫דוּ‬ ְ‫ֽב‬ָ‫ע‬ is to be regarded as a prophetic present. ‫ד‬ ַ‫ב‬ָ‫ע‬ ְ‫,בּ‬ impose
labour, servitude on one, cf. Jer_22:13, i.e., reduce one to servitude. ‫ַם‬‫גּ‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫מּ‬ ֵ‫ה‬ is an
emphatic repetition of the pronoun ‫ם‬ ָ‫,בּ‬ cf. Gesen. §121, 3. Upon them, too (the
Chaldeans), shall many peoples and great kings impose service, i.e., they shall make the
Chaldeans bondsmen, reduce them to subjection. With "I will requite them," cf. Jer_
50:29; Jer_51:24, where this idea is repeatedly expressed.
(Note: Jer_25:11-14 are pronounced by Hitz., Ew., Graf to be spurious and
interpolated; but Hitz. excepts the second half of Jer_25:14, and proposes to set it
57

58. immediately after the first half of Jer_25:11. Their main argument is the dogmatic
prejudice, that in the fourth year of Jehoiakim Jeremiah could not have foretold the
fall of Babylon after seventy years' domination. The years foretold, says Hitz., "would
coincide by all but two years, or, if Darius the Mede be a historical person, perhaps
quite entirely. Such correspondence between history and prophecy would be a
surprising accident, or else Jeremiah must have known beforehand the number of
years during which the subjection to Babylon would last." Now the seventy years of
Babylon's sovereignty are mentioned against in Jer_29:10, where Jeremiah promises
the exiles that after seventy years they shall return to their native land, and no doubt
is thrown by the above-mentioned critics on this statement; but there the seventy
years are said to be a so-called round number, because that prophecy was composed
nine years later than the present one. But on the other hand, almost all comm. have
remarked that the utterance of Jer_29:10 : "when as for Babylon seventy years are
accomplished, will I visit you," points directly back to the prophecy before us (25),
and so gives a testimony to the genuineness of our 11th verse. And thus at the same
time the assertion is disposed of, that in Jer_29:10 the years given are a round
number; for it is not there said that seventy years will be accomplished from the time
of that letter addressed by the prophet to those in Babylon, but the terminus a quo of
the seventy years is assumed as known already from the present twenty-fifth chap. -
The other arguments brought forward by Hitz. against the genuineness of the verse
have already been pronounced inconclusive by Näg. Nevertheless Näg. himself
asserts the spuriousness, not indeed of Jer_25:11 (the seventy years' duration of
Judah's Babylonian bondage), but of Jer_25:12-14, and on the following grounds: - 1.
Although in Jer_25:11, and below in Jer_25:26, it is indicated that Babylon itself will
not be left untouched by the judgment of the Lord, yet (he says) it is incredible that
in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the prophet could have spoken of the fall of Babylon
in such a full and emphatic manner as is the case in Jer_25:12-14. But no obvious
reason can be discovered why this should be incredible. For though in Jer_25:26
Jeremiah makes use of the name Sheshach for Babylon, it does not hence follow that
at that moment he desired to speak of it only in a disguised manner. In the statement
that the Jews should serve the king of Babylon seventy years, it was surely clearly
enough implied that after the seventy years Babylon's sovereignty should come to an
end. Still less had Jeremiah occasion to fear that the announcement of the fall of
Babylon after seventy years would confirm the Jews in their defiant determination
not to be tributary to Babylon. The prophets of the Lord did not suffer themselves to
be regulated in their prophesyings by such reasons of human expediency. - 2. Of
more weight are his other two arguments. Jer_25:12 and Jer_25:13 presume the
existence of the prophecy against Babylon, Jer 50 and 51, which was not composed
till the fourth year of Zedekiah; and the second half of Jer_25:13 presumes the
existence of the other prophecies against the nations, and that too as a ‫ר‬ֶ‫פ‬ ֵ‫.ס‬ And
although the greater number of these prophecies are older than the time of the battle
at Carchemish, yet we may see (says Näg.) from the relation of apposition in which
the second half of Jer_25:13 stands to the first, that here that Sepher against the
peoples is meant in which the prophecy against Babylon was already contained. But
from all this nothing further follows than that the words: "all that is written in this
book and that Jeremiah prophesied against the peoples," were not uttered by
Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, but were first appended at the editing of
the prophecies or the writing of them down in the book which has come down to us.
The demonstrative ‫ֶה‬‫זּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ does by no means show that he who wrote it regarded the
58

59. present passage, namely Jer 25, as belonging to the Sepher against the peoples, or
that the prophecies against the peoples must have stood in immediate connection
with Jer 25. It only shows that the prophecies against the peoples too were found in
the book which contained Jer 25. Again, it is true that the first half of Jer_25:14
occurs again somewhat literally in Jer_27:7; but we do not at all see in this reliable
evidence that Jeremiah could not have written Jer_25:14. Näg. founds this
conclusion mainly on the allegation that the perf. ‫דוּ‬ ְ‫ֽב‬ָ‫ע‬ is wrong, whereas in Jer_
27:7 it is joined regularly by ‫ו‬ consec. to the indication of time which precedes. But
the perfect is here to be regarded as the prophetic present, marking the future as
already accomplished in the divine counsel; just as in Jer_27:6 the categorical ‫י‬ ִ‫תּ‬ ַ‫ָת‬‫נ‬
represents as accomplished that which in reality yet awaited its fulfilment.
Accordingly we regard none of these arguments as conclusive. On the other hand, the
fact that the Alexandrian translators have rendered Jer_25:12 and Jer_25:13, and
have made the last clause of Jer_25:13 the heading to the oracles against the peoples,
furnishes an unexceptionable testimony to the genuineness of all three verses. Nor is
this testimony weakened by the omission in that translation of Jer_25:14; for this
verse could not but be omitted when the last clause of Jer_25:13 had been taken as a
heading, since the contents of Jer_25:14 were incompatible with that view.)
CALVIN, "The beginning of the verse is obscure. When the verb ‫,עבד‬ obed, is
followed by ‫,ב‬ beth, they think that it is to be taken actively, and rendered, to force
or drive to bondage. It means properly, to serve; but they think that found as here it
is a transitive verb. Some render it, “they employed them;” but this is frigid and
ambiguous; for friends may be said to employ one another, when the work is
mutual; hence the meaning is not sufficiently expressed. But the meaning may be
given by a paraphrase, that they “forced them into bondage.” Still the meaning of
the Prophet is not yet sufficiently clear; for ‫,עבדו‬ obedu, may be taken either in the
past or future tense. It is, indeed, in the past tense; but the past may be taken for the
future: thus the meaning may be different. If it be taken in the past tense, then it
cannot be applied except to the Babylonians; for they were those who had treated
the Israelites as slaves, or had forced them into bondage; and ‫,בם‬ bem, “them,”
might be understood of the Israelites; for we know that pronouns are often thus
used, when the Church, or God’s elect people, is the subject. Then the Prophet’s
words may be thus rendered, “for they have tyrannically ruled over them,” even the
Israelites, “and they themselves,” that is, the Israelites, shall in their turn rule, the
latter words being understood. But the meaning, as it seems to me, would be more
simple, were we to read the whole together in this way, “For they also themselves
shall rule over them, even over strong and valiant nations and great kings, and I will
recompense them,” etc.
The reason which has constrained me to give this interpretation is this: It is said in
the last verse that Jeremiah prophesied against all nations; then follows an
explanation, and the Prophet briefly shews, or reminds us, what would be the issue
of these prophecies, even that they also would themselves rule over these nations.
Then ‫,בם‬ bem, as I think, refers to the Babylonians and other heathen nations; and it
59

60. is a common thing with the prophets, when they speak of the restoration of the
ancient Church, and of Christ’s coming, to promise power to God’s children to hold
the whole world under their feet. The sentence also will flow better, when we give
this version, “They shall rule.” There is, indeed, a change as to time, but this is a
common thing in Hebrew. It is then; For they shall rule over them, that is, the
nations. Jeremiah had spoken of all heathen nations; mention had been made of all
that he had prophesied against all nations; and he says now what seemed incredible,
and hence the particle ‫,גם‬ gam, is introduced, “even these very Israelites,” as though
he had said, “Though this shall happen beyond hope, so as to appear strange and
fabulous, yet God by the issue will shew that he has not in vain communicated this
to me; for they, even the Israelites, shall have their turn to exercise dominion; and
they shall constrain all nations to obey them.” And what follows confirms my view;
for he adds, over strong nations, ‫רבים‬ ‫,גוים‬guim rebim, (for the ‫,ב‬ beth, may be
repeated here;) or we may render the words “many nations;” for the word ‫,רבים‬
rebim, means both; but as it follows “and great kings,” I am disposed to render the
words, “strong nations.” Then he says, “For they shall rule over strong nations and
great kings.” (134)
He then subjoins, I will recompense them, that is, both kings and nations, according
to their doing, and according to the work of their hands, because they had exercised
every kind of cruelty towards the miserable Israelites. Hence the Prophet pursues
the same subject, — that God would at length really shew, that though he had been
angry with his Church, yet all hope of mercy was not lost, for he was mindful of his
covenant. He thus mitigates the severity of what he had previously said; he promises
them something far better than what the wretched Jews could have expected in their
extreme calamities.
We may again learn from the words of the Prophet, that God so employed
Nebuchadnezzar and others, that they performed no service deserving of praise; for
had they been without fault, God must doubtless have unjustly punished them. This
passage then teaches us, that though the devil and the reprobate execute God’s
judgments, they yet deserve no praise for their obedience, for they have no such
purpose in view. It now follows, —
The verb ‫,עבר‬ when followed by ‫,ב‬ means invariably to enslave, to reduce to
bondage, to bring into subjection, or to subdue. Then the verse should be thus
rendered, —
For make them, even these, to serve,
Shall many nations and great kings;
And I will render to them according to their work, According to the doing of their
own hands. This is the meaning given by the Targ.; the Vulg. and the Syr. render
the verb incorrectly, though in both the pronoun them is made to refer to the
nations in the preceding verse. — Ed.
60

61. TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves
of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to
the works of their own hands.
Ver. 14. For many nations.] The Medes and Persians, together with the rest that
served under them.
And great kings.] Cyrus and Darius especially.
NISBET, "DIVINE RECOMPENSE
‘According to their deeds.’
Jeremiah 25:14
I. The repetition of God’s entreaties through Jeremiah, to arrest the downward
progress of his people, is very touching.—For three- and-twenty years the Word of
the Lord had come to the prophet, and he had passed it forward with all the
urgency of which he was capable, ‘rising up early and speaking.’ But the people
were absolutely obdurate, until there was no alternative but to silence the voices of
mirth and gladness, and to extinguish the light of the candle. If we harden our
hearts against God’s love our destruction is inevitable. If we will not bend, we must
break. If the golden pruning-knife is not strong enough, the iron pruning-knife will
be employed. For three years the owner of the vineyard comes seeking fruit, and
finally he may have to cut down the tree.
This chapter is one of the most terrible in the Book, but the prophet was enabled to
stand alone, not against his own people only, but as a prophet of woe to all the
surrounding nations. It is a marvel that this sensitive nature should have been made
as an iron pillar and brazen walls (chap. Jeremiah 1:18).
II. The prophet looks out on the surrounding nations, names them in order, and
predicts that upon them too would fall the sword of Divine vengeance.—Especially
notice Jeremiah 25:29; it suggests the words of the Apostle, ‘The time is come for
judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first with us, what shall the
end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?’ (1 Peter 4:19).
Under the figure of a lion, the prophet depicts God as tearing the flock and driving
the shepherds back in dismay. This also carries our mind forward to the seer’s
vision of the Lord, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Who appears in the midst of the
throne on behalf of His own. Ah! soul, it is well for thee to make peace with God;
lest He Who would fight on thy behalf should become thine enemy, and the might
which would have secured thee from peril should turn against thee to thine undoing.
Illustrations
61

62. (1) ‘We are reminded of Ziegenbalg, the first missionary to the East Indies, standing
against the whole power of the authorities, who were determined to crush his
mission in the bud; of Judson, pursuing his work for Burmah, amid the treachery
and hostility of the king; of Moffat, going alone and unarmed into the territory of
the terrible Africaner; of John Hunt, amid the ferocious cannibals of Fiji; of John
G. Paton, who was preserved amid fifty attempts to take his life. Our sole duty is to
finish the work which God has given us to do, though it brings us to the cross. We
are immortal till it is done, and when it is done the welcome into our Master’s joy is
sure.’
(2) ‘God always begins with His own people, because their sins traduce His
character and bring it into contempt, and because sinners might otherwise establish
a just charge of favouritism against Him. Besides, He loves them so dearly that He is
eager to see them rid, as soon as may be, from the blight and parasitism of evil. It is
a terrible thing to be an inconsistent child of God; for just in proportion to His love
for you will God put forth the most strenuous and unremitting efforts to bring you
back to Himself.’
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:14
“For many nations and great kings will make bondmen of them, even of them, and I
will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their
hands.”
For Babylon also would be caught up in the tide of history and many great nations
and great kings would arise and would bring Babylonia into bondage, commencing
with Cyrus the Persian who would later be followed by Alexander the Great.
Babylon too would be recompensed for their behaviour and doings, and also for
their idolatry (compare Isaiah 47:11-15).
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to
me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the
wine of my wrath and make all the nations to
62

63. whom I send you drink it.
BARNES, "Saith - Or, hath said. This prophecy - placed by the Septuagint after
those against the nations - forms an impressive statement of the manner in which the
new kingdom of Babylon was to execute Yahweh’s wrath upon the nations far and near.
GILL, "For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me,.... The prophet:
take the wine cup of this fury at my hand; in a vision the Lord appeared to
Jeremiah with a cup of wine in his hand, which he bid him take of him. It is usual in
Scripture for the judgments of God on men to be signified by a cup of hot and
intoxicating liquor, Isa_51:17; particularly in Psa_75:8; to which reference may be had;
as John seems to refer to the passage here in Rev_14:10; called a cup, because they are
in measure, and but small in comparison of what will be inflicted in the world to come;
and a cup of "fury", because they proceed from the wrath of God, stirred up by the sins of
men. Jarchi interprets this cup of the prophecy of vengeance, which the Lord delivered
to Jeremiah; and not amiss:
and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it; prophesy unto them
what wrath and ruin shall come upon them.
HENRY 15-16, "Under the similitude of a cup going round, which all the company
must drink of, is here represented the universal desolation that was now coming upon
that part of the world which Nebuchadrezzar, who just now began to reign and act, was
to be the instrument of, and which should at length recoil upon his own country. The
cup in the vision is to be a sword in the accomplishment of it: so it is explained, Jer_
25:16. It is the sword that I will send among them, the sword of war, that should be
irresistibly strong and implacably cruel.
I. As to the circumstances of this judgment, observe,
1. Whence this destroying sword should come - from the hand of God. It is the sword
of the Lord (Jer_47:6), bathed in heaven, Isa_34:5. Wicked men are made use of as his
sword, Psa_17:13. It is the wine-cup of his fury. It is the just anger of God that sends this
judgment. The nations have provoked him by their sins, and they must fall under the
tokens of his wrath. These are compared to some intoxicating liquor, which they shall be
forced to drink of, as, formerly, condemned malefactors were sometimes executed by
being compelled to drink poison. The wicked are said to drink the wrath of the
Almighty, Job_21:20; Rev_14:10. Their share of troubles in his world is represented by
the dregs of a cup of red wine full of mixture, Psa_75:8. See Psa_11:6. The wrath of God
in this world is but as a cup, in comparison of the full streams of it in the other world.
2. By whose hand it should be sent to them - by the hand of Jeremiah as the judge set
over the nations (Jer_1:10), to pass his sentence upon them, and by the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar as the executioner. What a much greater figure then does the poor
prophet make than what the potent prince makes, if we look upon their relation to God,
though in the eye of the world it was the reverse of it! Jeremiah must take the cup at
God's hand, and compel the nations to drink it. He foretells no hurt to them but what
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64. God appoints him to foretell; and what is foretold by a divine authority will certainly be
fulfilled by a divine power.
JAMISON, "wine cup — Compare Jer_13:12, Jer_13:13, as to this image, to express
stupefying judgments; also Jer_49:12; Jer_51:7. Jeremiah often embodies the imagery
of Isaiah in his prophecies (Lam_4:21; Isa_51:17-22; Rev_16:19; Rev_18:6). The wine
cup was not literally given by Jeremiah to the representatives of the different nations;
but only in symbolical vision.
K&D 15-16, "The cup of God's fury. - Jer_25:15. "For thus hath Jahveh, the God of
Israel, said to me: Take this cup of the wine of fury at my hand, and give it to drink to
all the peoples to whom I send thee, Jer_25:16. That they may drink, and reel, and be
mad, because of the sword that I send amongst them. Jer_25:17. And I took the cup at
the hand of Jahveh, and made all the peoples drink it to whom Jahveh had sent me:
Jer_25:18. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and her kings, her princes, to make them
a desolation and an astonishment, an hissing and a curse, as it is this day; Jer_25:19.
Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; Jer_
25:20. And all the mixed races and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of
the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Jer_
25:21. Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon; Jer_25:22. All the kings of Tyre, all
the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the islands beyond the sea; Jer_25:23. Dedan, and
Tema, and Buz, and all with the corners of their hair polled; Jer_25:24. And all the
kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed races that dwell in the wilderness; Jer_
25:25. All the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; Jer_
25:26. And all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another, and all the
kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach
shall drink after them. Jer_25:27. And say to them: Thus hath Jahveh, the God of
Israel, said: Drink and be drunken, and spue, and fall and rise not up again, because of
the sword which I send among you. Jer_25:28. And if it be that they refuse to take the
cup out of thine hand to drink, then say to them: Thus hath Jahveh of hosts said: Drink
ye shall. Jer_25:29. For, behold, on the city upon which my name is named I begin to
bring evil, and ye think to go unpunished? Ye shall not go unpunished; for I call the
sword against all inhabitants of the earth, saith Jahveh of hosts."
To illustrate more fully the threatening against Judah and all peoples, Jer_25:9., the
judgment the Lord is about to execute on all the world is set forth under the similitude of
a flagon filled with wrath, which the prophet is to hand to all the kings and peoples, one
after another, and which he does give them to drink. The symbolical action imposed
upon the prophet and, acc. to Jer_25:17, performed by him, serves to give emphasis to
the threatening, and is therefore introduced by ‫י‬ ִ‫;כּ‬ of which Graf erroneously affirms
that it conveys a meaning only when Jer_25:11-14 are omitted. Giving the peoples to
drink of the cup of wrath is a figure not uncommon with the prophets for divine
chastisements to be inflicted; cf. Jer_49:12; Jer_51:7; Isa_51:17, Isa_51:22; Eze_23:31.,
Hab_2:15; Psa_60:5; Psa_75:9, etc. The cup of wine which is wrath (fury). ‫ה‬ ָ‫מּ‬ ֵ‫ח‬ ַ‫ה‬ is an
explanatory apposition to "wine." The wine with which the cup is filled is the wrath of
God. ‫זּאת‬ ַֹ‫ה‬ belongs to ‫ֹוּס‬‫כּ‬, which is fem., cf. Eze_23:32, Eze_23:34; Lam_4:21, whereas
‫ת‬ ‫א‬ belongs to the wine which is wrath. In Jer_25:16, where the purpose with which the
64

65. cup of wrath is to be presented is given, figure is exchanged for fact: they shall reel and
become mad because of the sword which the Lord sends amidst them. To reel, sway to
and fro, like drunken men. ‫ל‬ַ‫ֹל‬‫ה‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫,ה‬ demean oneself insanely, be mad. The sword as a
weapon of war stands often for war, and the thought is: war with its horrors will stupefy
the peoples, so that they perish helpless and powerless.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah now explains more at large what might on account of its
brevity have appeared obscure. He had spoken of all nations, but his discourse was
abrupt; for he had not yet openly told us that he had been sent by God as a herald to
summon all kings and nations before his tribunal, and to declare what was to be. As,
then, the Prophet had referred to nothing of this kind, his discourse was ambiguous.
But he now declares that a cup from God’s hand had been delivered to him, which
he was to give to all nations to drink. We hence see that there is here nothing new,
but that the Prophet is, as it were, the interpreter of his previous prophecy, which
was briefly stated.
Moreover, that what he said might have more weight, he relates a vision, Thus said
Jehovah the God of Israel unto me, Take the cup of the wine of this fury from my
hand (135) We have said in other places that the fulfillment of prophetic truth was
not without reason dwelt upon, and that the servants of God were so armed, as
though the execution of all that they alleged was ready at hand. They were said to
demolish cities and to overthrow kingdoms even for this reason, because such was
the torpidity of men, that they gave no credit to God, except they were brought to
see the event as it were before their eyes. But as this subject has been handled more
fully elsewhere, I shall only touch upon it here. He then says, that a cup had been
delivered to him by God’s hand; by which words he intimates, that he did not come
forth of his own will to terrify the Jews and other nations, but that he faithfully
proclaimed what had been committed to him; and he also intimates, that God spoke
nothing now but what he meant shortly to execute; and this is what is to be
understood by the word cup.
He calls it the cup of the wine of fury, or of wrath. This metaphor often occurs in the
prophets, but in a different sense. For God is said sometimes to inebriate men when
he stupifies them, and drives them at one time to madness, and at another time
deprives them of common sense and understanding, so that they become like beasts;
but he is said also to inebriate them, when, by outward calamities, he fills them with
astonishment. So now the Prophet calls calamity the cup of wrath, even that
calamity, which like fire was to inflame the minds of all those who received no
benefit from chastisements. Madness, indeed, means no other thing than the despair
of those who perceive God’s hand stretched out against them, and thus rage and
clamor, and curse heaven and earth, themselves and God. This is what we are to
understand by wrath He compares this wrath to wine, because they who are thus
smitten by God’s hand are carried away as it were beyond themselves, and repent
not, nor think of their sins with calmness of mind, but abandon themselves to a
65

66. furious rage. We now then understand why the Prophet says, that the cup of the
wine of wrath had been given to him.
Then he adds, An, make all the nations to whom I send thee (136) to drink it Here,
again, he confirms what I lately referred to, that his office was farther extended
than to teach in the middle of the Church, but that he had also been chosen to
proclaim as a herald God’s judgments on all nations. He was, indeed, sent to the
Jews otherwise than to heathen nations, for he was set over them as a teacher, and
that for their salvation, provided they were not irreclaimable; but he was sent to the
heathens expressly to threaten them with what was nigh at hand. He was, however,
sent both to the Jews and to all other nations, as he will hereafter more distinctly
shew in due order.
We now see the design and object of what is here said; — to add authority to his last
prophecy, Jeremiah, in the first place, sets forth the vision which had been
presented to him; and then he testifies that he brought nothing of his own, but only
obeyed God and faithfully performed his commands; and thirdly, he intimates that
he was not only appointed a teacher in the Church of God, but was also a witness of
his vengeance on all nations. It follows, —
Take the cup of the wine of fury, even this, from my hand.
So do Gataker and Venema render the sentence, referring “this” to the cup and not
to “fury.” The word for “fury” is heat; it means hot, boiling, or burning wrath, —
rendered “fury” by the Vulg. and Syr., — “malediction” by the Targ., and
“unmixed” (the cup of this unmixed wine) by the Sept. — Ed.
COFFMAN, ""For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: Take this cup of
the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee, to
drink it. And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad because of the sword
that I will send among them."
"The cup of the wine of wrath ..." (Jeremiah 25:15). This was no literal cup, but a
symbol of God's wrath against many nations, a number of which would be named in
this very chapter. Significantly, even the apostate church was made to drink of the
cup of the wine of God's wrath in Revelation 18:6. It is also of very great
significance that at the very time when God's people were to drink of the wine of
God's wrath, the nations of mankind who knew not the Lord were also summoned
to drink of the same cup! So will it be at the end of the age. When the final apostasy
of mankind has taken place, and even the church has disappeared, or nearly so,
from the face of the earth, as foretold by the Saviour in Luke 18:8, at that very
moment the destruction of all the world shall immediately follow upon the occasion
of the final Judgment, the redeemed in Christ Jesus being the sole exceptions!
The metaphor of God's giving the nations a cup of wrath that caused them to be
mad and drunken ascribes "all that happens," whether good or evil, to God. This is
66

67. hard for moderns to understand; but all of the prophets stressed this. "Shall there
be evil in a city, and Jehovah hath not done it" (Amos 3:6)? How is God the author
of evil? He has created the laws of control, not merely for the universe, but for men
as well; and when men violate God's laws of control, evil is sure to result. In that
sense, God does the evil. This was a necessary point of view on the part of God's
prophets, because the pagans ascribed all evil to members of their pagan pantheon.
The Great Truth proclaimed by the prophets was that God is the First Cause, and
the Last Cause, and the Only Cause. As Cheyne stated it: "The faith of the Prophets
compared to ours was as an oak tree to a sapling; and therefore they could express
the truth of the Universal Causation of Jehovah with perfect tranquillity."[8]
"The sword that I will send among them ..." (Jeremiah 25:16). This could mean the
actual sword of human warfare, or God's own sword, as mentioned in Genesis 3:24.
God is not dependent upon the swords of men for the accomplishment of his will.
Many other instruments are available to the Eternal God.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the
wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to
drink it.
Ver. 15. Take the wine cup of this fury.] (a) Or, Take this smoking wine cup. A
"cup" is oft put for "affliction," and wine for extreme confusion and wrath. Poison
in wine works more furiously than in water. [Psalms 75:8]
And cause all the nations.] According to that power which I have put into thine
hands. [Jeremiah 1:10] Vengeance is still in readiness for the disobedient, [2
Corinthians 10:6] as ready every whit in God’s hand, as in the minister’s mouth,
who threateneth it.
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:15. Take the wine-cup, &c.— Take the cup of the wine of this
wrath. There can be no doubt that what is here related passed in vision, and that
Jeremiah relates simply what was represented to his view; which, putting into
writing, he sent to the several nations where God ordered him to publish it. See the
note on chap. Jeremiah 13:4. Those circumstances which constitute the good and
evil of human life are often represented in Scripture as the ingredients of a cup,
which God, as master of a feast, mixes up, and distributes to the several guests, as he
thinks fit. Hence when our Saviour asks his disciples James and John, whether they
were able to drink of the cup which he was to drink of, he means, whether they had
resolution and patience to undergo the like sufferings and afflictions as his Father
had allotted for him. Matthew 20:22. And in the like sense he prays, Matthew 26:39,
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Accordingly by this image
of "the cup of the wine of God's wrath" we are to understand those dreadful and
afflictive judgments, which an incensed God was about to inflict on the objects of his
displeasure. And Jeremiah the prophet, who announced them, is considered as
acting the part of a cupbearer, carrying the cup round to those who were appointed
to drink of it; the effects of which were to appear in the intoxication, that is, the
67

68. terror and astonishment, the confusion and desolation, which should prevail among
them. See Bishop Lowth's note on Isaiah 51:21 and compare Revelation 14:10;
Revelation 16:19.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, "JEHOVAH AND THE NATIONS
Jeremiah 25:15-38
"Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations."- Jeremiah 25:31
As the son of a king only learns very gradually that his father’s authority and
activity extend beyond the family and the household, so Israel in its childhood
thought of Jehovah as exclusively concerned with itself.
Such ideas as omnipotence and universal Providence did not exist; therefore they
could not be denied; and the limitations of the national faith were not essentially
inconsistent with later Revelation. But when we reach the period of recorded
prophecy we find that, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the prophets had
begun to recognise Jehovah’s dominion over surrounding peoples. There was, as
yet, no deliberate and formal doctrine of omnipotence, but, as Israel became
involved in the fortunes first of one foreign power and then of another, the prophets
asserted that the doings of these heathen states were overruled by the God of Israel.
The idea of Jehovah’s Lordship of the Nations enlarged with the extension of
international relations, as our conception of the God of Nature has expanded with
the successive discoveries of science. Hence, for the most part, the prophets devote
special attention to the concerns of Gentile peoples. Hosea, Micah, Haggai,
Zechariah, and Malachi are partial exceptions. Some of the minor prophets have for
their main subject the doom of a heathen empire. Jonah and Nahum deal with
Nineveh, Habakkuk with Chaldea, and Edom is specially honoured by being almost
the sole object of the denunciations of Obadiah. Daniel also deals with the fate of the
kingdoms of the world, but in the Apocalyptic fashion of the Pseudepigrapha.
Jewish criticism rightly declined to recognise this book as prophetic, and relegated it
to the latest collection of canonical scriptures.
Each of the other prophetical books contains a longer or shorter series of utterances
concerning the neighbours of Israel, its friends and foes, its enemies and allies. The
fashion was apparently set by Amos, who shows God’s judgment upon Damascus,
the Philistines, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. This list suggests the range of the
prophet’s religious interest in the Gentiles. Assyria and Egypt were, for the present,
beyond the sphere of Revelation, just as China and India were to the average
Protestant of the seventeenth century. When we come to the Book of Isaiah, the
horizon widens in every direction. Jehovah is concerned with Egypt and Ethiopia,
Assyria and Babylon. In very short books like Joel and Zephaniah we could not
expect exhaustive treatment of this subject. Yet even these prophets deal with the
fortunes of the Gentiles: Joel, variously held one of the latest or one of the earliest of
68

69. canonical books, pronounces a Divine judgment on Tyre and Sidon and the
Philistines, on Egypt and Edom; and Zephaniah, an elder contemporary of
Jeremiah, devotes sections to the Philistines, Moab and Ammon, Ethiopia and
Assyria.
The fall of Nineveh revolutionised the international system of the East. The
judgment on Asshur was accomplished, and her name disappears from these
catalogues of doom. In other particulars Jeremiah, as well as Ezekiel, follows closely
in the footsteps of his predecessors. He deals, like them, with the group of Syrian
and Palestinian states-Philistines, Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Damascus He dwells
with repeated emphasis on Egypt, and Arabia is represented by Kedar and Hazor.
In one section the prophet travels into what must have seemed to his contemporaries
the very far East, as far as Elam. On the other hand, he is comparatively silent
about Tyre, in which Joel, Amos, the Book of Isaiah, and above all Ezekiel display a
lively interest. Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns were directed against Tyre as much as
against Jerusalem; and Ezekiel, living in Chaldea, would have attention forcibly
directed to the Phoenician capital, at a time when Jeremiah was absorbed in the
fortunes of Zion.
But in the passage which we have chosen as the subject for this introduction to the
prophecies of the nations, Jeremiah takes a somewhat wider range:-
"Thus saith unto me Jehovah, the God of Israel:
Take at My hand this cup of the wine of fury,
And make all the nations, to whom I send thee, drink it.
They shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad
Because of the sword that I will send among them."
First and foremost of these nations, preeminent in punishment as in privilege, stand
"Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with its kings and princes."
This bad eminence is a necessary application of the principle laid down by Amos
3:2 :-
"You only have I known of all the families of the earth:
Therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities."
But as Jeremiah says later on, addressing the Gentile nations, -
"I begin to work evil at the city which is called by My name.
69

70. Should ye go scot free?
Ye shall not go scot free."
And the prophet puts the cup of God’s fury to their lips also, and amongst them,
Egypt, the bete noir of Hebrew seers, is most conspicuously marked out for
destruction: "Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants and princes and all his
people, and all the mixed population of Egypt." Then follows, in epic fashion, a
catalogue of "all the nations" as Jeremiah knew them: "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; Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; all the kings of Tyre, all the
kings of Zidon, and the kings of their colonies beyond the sea; Dedan and Tema and
Buz, and all that have the corners of their hair polled, and all the kings of Arabia,
and all the kings of the mixed populations that dwell in the desert; all the kings of
Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes." Jeremiah’s definite
geographical information is apparently exhausted, but he adds by way of summary
and conclusion: "And all the kings of the north, far and near, one after the other;
and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth."
There is one notable omission in the list. Nebuchadnezzar, the servant of Jehovah,
[Jeremiah 25:9] was the Divinely appointed scourge of Judah and its neighbours
and allies. Elsewhere [Jeremiah 27:8] the nations are exhorted to submit to him, and
here apparently Chaldea is exempted from the general doom, just as Ezekiel passes
no formal sentence on Babylon. It is true that "all the kingdoms of the earth" would
naturally include Babylon, possibly were even intended to do so. But the Jews were
not long content with so veiled a reference to their conquerors and oppressors. Some
patriotic scribe added the explanatory note, "And the king of Sheshach (i.e.,
Babylon) shall drink after them." Sheshach is obtained from Babel by the cipher
‘Athbash, according to which an alphabet is written out and a reversed alphabet
written out underneath it, and the letters of the lower row used for those of the
upper and vice versa.
The use of cypher seems to indicate that the note was added in Chaldea during the
Exile, when it was not safe to circulate documents which openly denounced Babylon.
Jeremiah’s enumeration of the peoples and rulers of his world is naturally more
detailed and more exhaustive than the list of the nations against which he
prophesied. It includes the Phoenician states, details the Philistine cities, associates
with Elam the neighbouring nations of Zimri and the Medes, and substitutes for
Kedar and Hazor Arabia and a number of semi-Arab states, Uz, Dedan, Tema, and
Buz. Thus Jeremiah’s world is the district constantly shown in Scripture atlases in a
map comprising the scenes of Old Testament history, Egypt, Arabia, and Western
Asia, south of a line from the northeast corner of the Mediterranean to the southern
end of the Caspian Sea, and west of a line from the latter point to the northern end
of the Persian Gulf. How much of history has been crowded into this narrow area!
Here science, art, and literature won those primitive triumphs which no subsequent
achievements could surpass or even equal. Here, perhaps for the first time, men
70

71. tasted the Dead Sea apples of civilisation, and learnt how little accumulated wealth
and national splendour can do for the welfare of the masses. Here was Eden, where
God walked in the cool of the day to commune with man; and here also were many
Mount Moriahs, where man gave his firstborn for his transgression, the fruit of his
body for the sin of his soul, and no angel voice stayed his hand.
And now glance at any modern map and see for how little Jeremiah’s world counts
among the great Powers of the nineteenth century. Egypt indeed is a bone of
contention between European states, but how often does a daily paper remind its
readers of the existence of Syria or Mesopotamia? We may apply to this ancient
world the title that Byron gave to Rome, "Lone mother of dead empires," and call
it:-
"The desert, where we steer
Stumbling o’er recollections."
It is said that Scipio’s exultation over the fall of Carthage was marred by
forebodings that Time had a like destiny in store for Rome. Where Cromwell might
have quoted a text from the Bible, the Roman soldier applied to his native city the
Homeric lines:-
"Troy shall sink in fire,
And Priam’s city with himself expire."
The epitaphs of ancient civilisations are no mere matters of archaeology; like the
inscriptions on common graves, they carry a Memento mori for their successors.
But to return from epitaphs to prophecy: in the list which we have just given, the
kings of many of the nations are required to drink the cup of wrath, and the section
concludes with a universal judgment upon the princes and rulers of this ancient
world under the familiar figure of shepherds, supplemented here by another, that of
the "principal of the flock," or, as we should say, "bellwethers." Jehovah would
break out upon them to rend and scatter like a lion from his covert. Therefore:-
"Howl, ye shepherds, and cry!
Roll yourselves in the dust, ye bellwethers!
The time has fully come for you to be slaughtered.
I will cast you down with a crash, like a vase of porcelain.
Ruin hath overtaken the refuge of the shepherds,
71

72. And the way of escape of the bellwethers."
Thus Jeremiah announces the coming ruin of an ancient world, with all its states
and sovereigns, and we have seen that the prediction has been amply fulfilled. We
can only notice two other points with regard to this section.
First, then, we have no right to accuse the prophet of speaking from a narrow
national standpoint. His words are not the expression of the Jewish adversus omnes
alios hostile odium; if they were, we should not hear so much of Judah’s sin and
Judah’s punishment. He applied to heathen states as he did to his own the divine
standard of national righteousness, and they too were found wanting. All history
confirms Jeremiah’s judgment. This brings us to our second point. Christian
thinkers have been engrossed in the evidential aspect of these national catastrophes.
They served to fulfil prophecy, and therefore the squalor of Egypt and the ruins of
Assyria today have seemed to make our way of salvation more safe and certain. But
God did not merely sacrifice these holocausts of men and nations to the perennial
craving of feeble faith for signs. Their fate must of necessity illustrate His justice
and wisdom and love. Jeremiah tells us plainly that Judah and its neighbours had
filled up the measure of their iniquity before they were called upon to drink the cup
of wrath; national sin justifies God’s judgments. Yet these very facts of the moral
failure and decadence of human societies perplex and startle us. Individuals grow
old and feeble and die, but saints and heroes do not become slaves of vice and sin in
their last days. The glory of their prime is not buried in a dishonoured grave. Nay
rather, when all else fails, the beauty of holiness grows more pure and radiant. But
of what nation could we say:-
"Let me die the death of the righteous,
Let my last end be like his"?
Apparently the collective conscience is a plant of very slow growth; and hitherto no
society has been worthy to endure honourably or even to perish nobly. In
Christendom itself the ideals of common action are still avowedly meaner than those
of individual conduct. International and collective morality is still in its infancy, and
as a matter of habit and system modern states are often wantonly cruel and unjust
towards obscure individuals and helpless minorities. Yet surely it shall not always
be so; the daily prayer of countless millions for the coming of the Kingdom of God
cannot remain unanswered.
PETT, "Verses 15-29
All The Nations Will Be Made To Drink From The Cup Of YHWH’s Wrath Against
Sin And Idolatry (Jeremiah 25:15-29).
In these remarkable words the destinies of all nations are seen as in YHWH’s hands.
And their destiny is to be drunk and to reel about as a result of YHWH’s wrath
72

73. (antipathy against sin). None will escape. It is also an interesting summary of the
nations of the area as seen by Jeremiah. The command to take the cup and make the
nations drink it, and its fulfilment, is, of course, symbolic of Jeremiah pronouncing
judgment against those nations. His words would have the effect of bringing what he
spoke of about.
Jeremiah 25:15
‘For thus says YHWH, the God of Israel, to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath
at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.”
The visitation of God’s wrath (His antipathy against sin) is often seen in terms of
drinking wine from a cup. It was a fitting picture of nations reeling at the disasters
that came on them. It was the cup from which our Lord Himself would drink. See
Jeremiah 13:12-14; Jeremiah 49:12; Jeremiah 51:7; Job 21:20; Psalms 60:3; Psalms
75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:21-22; Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 23:31-34; Obadiah
1:16; Habakkuk 2:16; Zechariah 12:2; Mark 10:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John
18:11; Revelation 14:8; Revelation 14:10; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 18:6).
Jeremiah would take the cup and male the nations drink of it by proclaiming
YHWH’s words.
PETT, "For thus saith, etc. Out of this verse and the following, to the end of the
chapter, the Septuagint makes the thirty-second chapter, Jeremiah 25:1-38 being
completed by the prophecy against Elam (Jeremiah 49:34-39). The symbolic act
which the prophet is directed to perform is mentioned in order to explain the word
of threatening just uttered. So, at least, we must understand it, if we accept the
arrangement of the Hebrew text. But the connection is certainly improved if we
follow Graf, and omit Jeremiah 25:11-14; Jeremiah 25:15 thus becomes an
explanation of the threat against Judah and the other nations in Jeremiah 25:9-11.
The wine, up of this fury; or, this wine-cup of fury. The wine with which the cup is
filled is the wrath of God. The figure is not an infrequent one with the prophets and
the psalmists (comp. Jeremiah 49:12; Jeremiah 51:7; Isaiah 51:17, Isaiah 51:22;
Ezekiel 23:31-34; Habakkuk 1:16; Psalms 60:3; Psalms 75:8).
16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go
mad because of the sword I will send among
them.”
73

74. BARNES, "Be moved - Rather, stagger.
CLARKE, "Take the wine cup of this fury - For an ample illustration of this
passage and simile, see the note on Isa_51:21.
GILL, "And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad,.... The judgments
foretold shall come upon them, whether they will or not; which will have such effects
upon them, as intoxicating liquor has on drunken persons; make them shake and
tremble, and reel to and fro, and toss and tumble about, and behave like madmen:
because of the sword that I will send among them; this explains what is meant by
the wine cup of fury, the sword of a foreign enemy that shall enter among them and
destroy; and which would make them tremble, and be at their wits' end, like drunken
and mad men.
JAMISON, "be moved — reel (Nah_3:11).
K&D 15-16, "The cup of God's fury. - Jer_25:15. "For thus hath Jahveh, the God of
Israel, said to me: Take this cup of the wine of fury at my hand, and give it to drink to
all the peoples to whom I send thee, Jer_25:16. That they may drink, and reel, and be
mad, because of the sword that I send amongst them. Jer_25:17. And I took the cup at
the hand of Jahveh, and made all the peoples drink it to whom Jahveh had sent me:
Jer_25:18. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and her kings, her princes, to make them
a desolation and an astonishment, an hissing and a curse, as it is this day; Jer_25:19.
Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; Jer_
25:20. And all the mixed races and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of
the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Jer_
25:21. Edom, and Moab, and the sons of Ammon; Jer_25:22. All the kings of Tyre, all
the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the islands beyond the sea; Jer_25:23. Dedan, and
Tema, and Buz, and all with the corners of their hair polled; Jer_25:24. And all the
kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed races that dwell in the wilderness; Jer_
25:25. All the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; Jer_
25:26. And all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another, and all the
kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach
shall drink after them. Jer_25:27. And say to them: Thus hath Jahveh, the God of
Israel, said: Drink and be drunken, and spue, and fall and rise not up again, because of
the sword which I send among you. Jer_25:28. And if it be that they refuse to take the
cup out of thine hand to drink, then say to them: Thus hath Jahveh of hosts said: Drink
ye shall. Jer_25:29. For, behold, on the city upon which my name is named I begin to
bring evil, and ye think to go unpunished? Ye shall not go unpunished; for I call the
74

75. sword against all inhabitants of the earth, saith Jahveh of hosts."
To illustrate more fully the threatening against Judah and all peoples, Jer_25:9., the
judgment the Lord is about to execute on all the world is set forth under the similitude of
a flagon filled with wrath, which the prophet is to hand to all the kings and peoples, one
after another, and which he does give them to drink. The symbolical action imposed
upon the prophet and, acc. to Jer_25:17, performed by him, serves to give emphasis to
the threatening, and is therefore introduced by ‫י‬ ִ‫;כּ‬ of which Graf erroneously affirms
that it conveys a meaning only when Jer_25:11-14 are omitted. Giving the peoples to
drink of the cup of wrath is a figure not uncommon with the prophets for divine
chastisements to be inflicted; cf. Jer_49:12; Jer_51:7; Isa_51:17, Isa_51:22; Eze_23:31.,
Hab_2:15; Psa_60:5; Psa_75:9, etc. The cup of wine which is wrath (fury). ‫ה‬ ָ‫מּ‬ ֵ‫ח‬ ַ‫ה‬ is an
explanatory apposition to "wine." The wine with which the cup is filled is the wrath of
God. ‫זּאת‬ ַֹ‫ה‬ belongs to ‫ֹוּס‬‫כּ‬, which is fem., cf. Eze_23:32, Eze_23:34; Lam_4:21, whereas
‫ת‬ ‫א‬ belongs to the wine which is wrath. In Jer_25:16, where the purpose with which the
cup of wrath is to be presented is given, figure is exchanged for fact: they shall reel and
become mad because of the sword which the Lord sends amidst them. To reel, sway to
and fro, like drunken men. ‫ל‬ַ‫ֹל‬‫ה‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫,ה‬ demean oneself insanely, be mad. The sword as a
weapon of war stands often for war, and the thought is: war with its horrors will stupefy
the peoples, so that they perish helpless and powerless.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet more fully shews what we have before stated, that they
were not vain terrors when he denounced God’s judgments on all nations, for we
call those threatenings childish which are not accomplished. But the Prophet here
declares that however obstinately the Jews and others might resist, they could not
possibly escape God’s vengeance, as he was the judge of all. Hence the Prophet is
bidden to take a cup and to give it to others. But the Jews might have still objected
and said, “We may, indeed, take the cup from thine hand, but what if we refuse?
what if we cast away from us what thou givest us to drink?” Hence the Prophet says
that, willing or unwilling, they were to take the cup, that they might drink and
exhaust whatever was destined for them by God’s judgment; he therefore says that
they may drink
He then adds, that they may be incensed and become distracted (137) These two
words refer, no doubt, to the grievousness of their punishment; for he intimates that
they would become, as it were, destitute of mind and reason. When God kindly
chastises us, and with paternal moderation, we are then able with resignation to
submit to him and to flee to his mercy; but when we make a clamor and are driven
almost to madness, we then shew that an extreme rigor is felt, and that there is no
hope of pardon. The Prophet, then, intended to express, that so atrocious would be
the calamities of the nations with whom God was angry, that they would become
stupified and almost insane; and at the same time frantic, for despair would lay hold
on their minds and hearts, that they would not be able to entertain any hope of
deliverance, or to submit to God, but that they would, as it is usual with the
reprobate, rise up against God and vomit forth their blasphemies.
75

76. He says, because of the sword that I will send among them. It appears from the
word ‫,בינתם‬ bintem, “among them,” that there would be mutual conflicts, that they
would destroy one another. God, then, would send his sword; but he would extend it
now to the Chaldeans, then to the Egyptians; now to the Assyrians, then to other
nations, so that with the same sword they would contend one with another, until at
last it would prove a ruin to them all. It now follows, —
And they shall drink and reel; And they shall be distracted on account of the sword,
Which I shall send among them.
Blayney’s version is nearly the same, “drink and stagger and be out of their wits;”
but it is better to connect “the sword” with the latter verb only. — Ed.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because
of the sword that I will send among them.
Ver. 16. And be moved and be mad.] As men that are overcome by some hot and
heady liquor, are mad drunk.
Because of the sword that I shall send.] For it is God who puts the sword in
commission, [Jeremiah 47:6-7] and there it many times rideth circuit, as a judge, in
scarlet. There are certain seasons, wherein, as the angel troubled the pool, so doth
God the nations: and commonly when he doth it to one, he doth it to more, as here,
and 2 Chronicles 15:5-6, and as at this day in Europe.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:16
“ And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I
will send among them.”
The cup is defined in terms of the sword at work among them in the hands of other
nations. The reeling to and fro and being mad is an apt picture of the effects of war
at the hands of a powerful conqueror.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:16
And be moved, and be mad; rather, and reel to and fro, and behave themselves
madly. The inspired writers do not scruple to ascribe all phenomena, the "bad" as
well as the "good," to a Divine operation. "Shall there be evil in a city, and Jehovah
hath not done it?" (Amos 3:6). "An evil spirit from Elohim came upon Saul, and he
became frenzied" (1 Samuel 18:10; see also Isaiah 19:14; Isaiah 29:10; 1 Kings
22:19-23, and especially the very remarkable prologue of the Book of Job). To
understand this form of expression, we must remember the strength of the reaction
experienced by the prophets against the polytheism of the surrounding nations. It
was not open to them to account for the existence of evil by ascribing it to the
76

77. activity of various divinities; they knew Jehovah to be the sole cause in the universe.
To us, "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought," such a doctrine occasions "great
searchings of heart," and is sometimes a sore trial of our faith. But the prophets
were not logicians, and their faith, compared to ours, was as an oak tree to a
sapling; hence they can generally (see, however, Isaiah 63:17) express the truth of
the universal causation of Jehovah with perfect tranquility. Because of the sword.
Here Jeremiah deserts the figure of the Cup, and, as most commentators think, uses
the language of fact. It is not, however, certain that "the sword" means that of
God's human instruments; Jehovah himself has a sword (Jeremiah 46:10; Jeremiah
47:6; Jeremiah 50:35-38; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 34:5; and elsewhere), just as he has a
hand (Isaiah 8:11; Isaiah 59:1) and an arm (Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 53:1). All these
belong to a group of childlike symbolic expressions for the manifestation of the
Deity. Jehovah's "sword" is described more fully in Genesis 3:24; it "turns hither
and thither," like the lightning—a striking figure of the completeness with which
God performs his work of vengeance (see also on verse 27).
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and
made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it:
BARNES, "Then took I the cup - Not actually offering the wine-cup - Holy
Scripture has suffered much from this materialistic way of explaining it: but publicly
proclaiming this prophecy in Jerusalem, as the central spot of God’s dealings with men,
and leaving it to find its way to the neighboring states.
CLARKE, "Then took I the cup - and made all the nations to drink - This
cup of God’s wrath is merely symbolical, and simply means that the prophet should
declare to all these people that they shall fall under the Chaldean yoke, and that this is a
punishment inflicted on them by God for their iniquities. “Then I took the cup;” I
declared publicly the tribulation that God was about to bring on Jerusalem, the cities of
Judah, and all the nations.
GILL, "Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand,.... In a visionary way, and did as
he commanded, and prophesied as he directed him. The prophet was obedient to the
heavenly vision, as became him:
77

78. and made all the nations to drink, unto whom, the Lord had sent me; not that
he travelled through each of the nations with a cup in his hand, as an emblem of what
wrath would come upon them, and they should drink deep of; but this was done in
vision, and also in prophecy; the prophet publishing the will of God, denouncing his
judgments upon the nations, and declaring to them what would befall them.
K&D 17-18, "This duty imposed by the Lord Jeremiah performs; he takes the cup
and makes all peoples drink it. Here the question has been suggested, how Jeremiah
performed this commission: whether he made journeys to the various kings and peoples,
or, as J. D. Mich. thought, gave the cup to ambassadors, who were perhaps then in
Jerusalem. This question is the result of an imperfect understanding of the case. The
prophet does not receive from god a flagon filled with wine which he is to give, as a
symbol of divine wrath, to the kings and peoples; he receives a cup filled with the wrath
of God, which is to intoxicate those that drink of it. As the wrath of God is no essence
that may be drunk by the bodily act, so manifestly the cup is no material cup, and the
drinking of it no act of the outer, physical reality. The whole action is accordingly only
emblematical of a real work of God wrought on kings and peoples, and is performed by
Jeremiah when he announces what he is commanded. And the announcement he
accomplished not by travelling to each of the nations named, but by declaring to the king
and his princes in Jerusalem the divine decree of judgment.
The enumeration begins with Judah, Jer_25:18, on which first judgment is to come.
Along with it are named Jerusalem, the capital, and the other cities, and then the kings
and princes; whereas in what follows, for the most part only the kings, or, alternating
with them, the peoples, are mentioned, to show that kings and peoples alike must fall
before the coming judgment. The plural "kings of Judah" is used as in Jer_19:3. The
consequence of the judgment: to make them a desolation, etc., runs as in Jer_25:9, Jer_
25:11, Jer_19:8; Jer_24:9. ‫ם‬ ‫יּ‬ַ‫כּ‬ ‫ֶה‬‫זּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ has here the force: as is now about to happen.
CALVIN, "The Prophet now adds that he obeyed God’s command; for he had
before often testified that he was constrained to perform his office, which he would
have willingly not have done, if he was at liberty. But as he was bound to obey the
divine call, it was evident that it was not his fault, and that he was unjustly charged
by the people as the author of the evils denounced. We indeed know that the
prophets incurred much ill-will and reproach from the refractory and the despisers
of God, as though all their calamities were to be imputed to them. Jeremiah then
says, that he took the cup and gave it to drink to all the nations: he intimates that he
had no desire to do this, but that necessity was laid on him to perform his office. He
then shews who these nations were, —
COFFMAN, ""Then I took the cup at Jehovah's hand, and made all the nations to
drink, unto whom Jehovah had sent me: to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah,
and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, a hissing,
and a curse, as it is to this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his
princes, and all his people."
78

79. "The cup at Jehovah's hand ..." (Jeremiah 25:17). Although Jeremiah is here
represented as giving the cup to the nations, it is actually God who requires men to
drink of it. As Green said, "This is a cup from which all men have to drink, the
consequences of our wrong choices. Life places it to our lips, and its contents can be
very bitter, whether the recipient be a nation or an individual."[9]
"To wit, Jerusalem, etc." (Jeremiah 25:18). The expression to wit means "namely."
It is used in legal documents to introduce a list or an explanation; and it is so used
here. Significantly, it is Jerusalem that leads the list. Why? "Judgment begins at the
house of God." (1 Peter 4:17). When any civilization has become so corrupt that
even the people of God must be judged, that civilization in its entirety will most
certainly suffer summary judgment. Notice here how all the nations of that whole
era are severely judged, condemned, and punished in connection with the judgment
against Jerusalem.
In this whole list of the nations scheduled to drink of the cup of the wrath of God,
Smith pointed out that the arrangement here is remarkable.
"Jeremiah begins with the extreme south, Egypt; next, he takes Uz on the south-
east, and Philistia on the south-west; next, Edom, Moab, and Ammon on the east;
and Tyre, Sidon, and the Isles of the Mediterranean on the west; next in the far east,
various Arabian nations; and then northward to Media and Elam; and finally to the
kings of the north, far and near!"[10]
We shall not attempt a nation by nation analysis of what is written here, because,
very obviously, what the prophet reveals here is that "all earthly nations" were to
fall under the punitive judgment of Almighty God. That is the simple meaning of
this list, which cites nations sprawled all over the world in all directions. "We shall
all stand before the judgment seat of God" (2 Corinthians 5:10).
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:17
“Then I took the cup at YHWH’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom
YHWH had sent me,”
We have no way of knowing whether Jeremiah used any prophetic symbolism in
this act of making the nations drink of the cup of the wrath of God. He may have
done it in vision, or by symbolically offering wine to visiting ambassadors who
would arrive in Jerusalem when plots were afoot to rebel against Babylonian rule
(although this would be a little pointless unless it was accompanied with an
explanation), or it may simply have been by proclaiming YHWH’s word ‘into the
air’ (Jeremiah 25:27) in the way in which the prophets often made denunciations
against enemies (e.g. Jeremiah 6:18-19).
PETT, "Then took I the cup … and made all the nations to drink. It is too pro-sale
to suppose either that Jeremiah made a journey to "all the nations," or that he
79

80. actually went through the form of presenting the cup to the ambassadors who (it is
conjectured, comp. Jeremiah 27:3) had come to Jerusalem to take measures against
the common foe (so J. D. Michaelis). But the supposition arises (as Keil has well
observed) out of an imperfect comprehension of the figure. It is not a cup with wine
which the prophet receives from Jehovah, but a wine-cup filled with the wine of
God's fury, which wine is no more a literal wine than the "sword of Jehovah" is a
literal sword. The "making all the nations to drink" is simply a way of expressing
the prophet's firm faith that the word of Jehovah will not "return unto him void
"—that a prophecy once uttered must fulfill itself; and "sent me," in the last clause,
merely means "entrusted me with a message" (comp. Proverbs 26:6). For the
fulfillment of this detailed prediction, see on Jeremiah 46-51.
18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings
and officials, to make them a ruin and an object of
horror and scorn, a curse[c]—as they are today;
BARNES, "As it is this day - Words omitted by the Septuagint, and probably added
by Jeremiah after the murder of Gedaliah had completed the ruin of the land.
GILL, "To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah,.... Which are mentioned first,
because God's judgments began with them, as they usually do with the house of God,
1Pe_4:17; and even now began; for this very year, in which this prophecy was delivered,
Nebuchadnezzar came up and besieged Jerusalem, and carried away some captives,
Dan_1:1; this was the beginning of what afterwards were more fully executed:
and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof: the Kings Jehoiakim, Jeconiah,
and Zedekiah, with those of their families, the princes of the blood, and their nobles:
to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; to strip
them of their crowns and kingdom, of their wealth, and riches, and honour, and bring
them into slavery and bondage; so that they became an astonishment to some, to see the
change that was made in them; and were hissed stand cursed by others:
(as it is this day); which is added, either because of the certainty of it, or because it
began to take, place this very year; though more fully in Jeconiah's time, and still more
in Zedekiah's; or rather this clause might be added by Jeremiah after the captivity; or by
80

81. Baruch, or by Ezra, or whoever collected his prophecies, and put them into one volume,
as Jer_52:1 seems to be added by another hand.
HENRY 18-24, "On whom it should be sent - on all the nations within the verge of
Israel's acquaintance and the lines of their communication. Jeremiah took the cup, and
made all the nations to drink of it, that is, he prophesied concerning each of the nations
here mentioned that they should share in this great desolation that was coming.
Jerusalem and the cities of Judah are put first (Jer_25:18); for judgment begins at the
house of God (1Pe_4:17), at the sanctuary, Eze_9:6. Whether Nebuchadrezzar had his
eye principally upon Jerusalem and Judah in this expedition or no does not appear;
probably he had; for it was as considerable as any of the nations here mentioned.
However God had his eye principally to them. And this part of the prophecy was already
begun to be accomplished; this is denoted by that melancholy parenthesis (as it is this
day), for in the fourth year of Jehoiakim things had come into a very bad posture, and all
the foundations were out of course. Pharaoh king of Egypt comes next, because the
Jews trusted to that broken reed (v. 19); the remains of them fled to Egypt, and there
Jeremiah particularly foretold the destruction of that country, Jer_43:10, Jer_43:11. All
the other nations that bordered upon Canaan must pledge Jerusalem in this bitter cup,
this cup of trembling. The mingled people, the Arabians (so some), some rovers of divers
nations that lived by rapine (so others); the kings of the land of Uz, joined to the country
of the Edomites. The Philistines had been vexatious to Israel, but now their cities and
their lords become a prey to this mighty conqueror. Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and
Zidon, are places well known to border upon Israel; the Isles beyond, or beside, the sea,
are supposed to be those parts of Phoenicia and Syria that lay upon the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. Dedan and the other countries mentioned (Jer_25:23, Jer_25:24)
seem to have lain upon the confines of Idumea and Arabia the desert. Those of Elam are
the Persians, with whom the Medes are joined, now looked upon as inconsiderable and
yet afterwards able to make reprisals upon Babylon for themselves and all their
neighbours. The kings of the north, that lay nearer to Babylon, and others that lay at
some distance, will be sure to be seized on and made a prey of by the victorious sword of
Nebuchadrezzar. Nay, he shall push on his victories with such incredible fury and
success that all the kingdoms of the world that were then and there known should
become sacrifices to his ambition. Thus Alexander is said to have conquered the world,
and the Roman empire is called the world, Luk_2:1. Or it may be taken as reading the
doom of all the kingdoms of the earth; one time or other, they shall feel the dreadful
effects of war. The world has been, and will be, a great cockpit, while men's lusts war as
they do in their members, Jam_4:1. But, that the conquerors may see their fate with the
conquered, it concludes, The king of Sheshach shall drink after them, that is, the king of
Babylon himself, who has given his neighbours all this trouble and vexation, shall at
length have it return upon his own head. That by Sheshach is meant Babylon is plain
from Jer_51:41; but whether it was another name of the same city or the name of
another city of the same kingdom is uncertain. Babylon's ruin was foretold, Jer_25:12,
Jer_25:13. Upon this prophecy of its being the author of the ruin of so many nations it is
very fitly repeated here again.
JAMISON, "Jerusalem — put first: for “judgment begins at the house of God”; they
being most guilty whose religious privileges are greatest (1Pe_4:17).
kings — Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah.
81

82. as it is this day — The accomplishment of the curse had already begun under
Jehoiakim. This clause, however, may have been inserted by Jeremiah at his final
revision of his prophecies in Egypt.
CALVIN, "He begins with Jerusalem, as it is said elsewhere that judgment would
begin at God’s house. (1 Peter 4:17.) And there is nothing opposed to this in the
context of the passage; for though he had promised to the children of God a happy
end to the evils which they were shortly to endure, he nevertheless enumerates here
all the nations on whom God had bidden him to denounce judgments. In this
catalogue the Church obtains the first place; for though God be the judge of the
whole world, he yet justly begins with his own Church, and that especially for two
reasons — for as the father of a family watches over his children and servants, and
if there be anything wrong, his solicitude is particularly manifested; so God, as he
dwells in his Church, cannot do otherwise than chastise it for its faults; — and then,
we know that they are less excusable, who, having been taught the will of God, do
yet go on indulging their own lusts, (Luke 12:47;) for they cannot plead ignorance.
Hence is fulfilled what Christ declares, that those servants shall be more grievously
beaten, who, knowing their masters will, yet obstinately disregard it. There is, then,
a twofold fault in the members of the Church; and no comparison can be made
between them and the unbelieving who are in thick darkness. Since God shines in
his Church and shews the way, as Moses says,
“Behold I set before you the way of life and of death; I therefore call heaven and
earth to witness that there is no excuse for you. (Deuteronomy 30:15.)
This, then, is the second reason why God first visits the sins of the faithful, or of
those who are counted faithful.
There is also what appertains to an example: God chastises his own children lest he
should seem by his indulgence to favor or countenance what is wicked and sinful.
But this third reason is in a manner accidental; and therefore I wished to state it
apart from the two other reasons. When, therefore, God so severely treats his own
Church, the unbelieving ought to draw this conclusion, that if this be done in the
green tree, what shall be done in the dry? (Luke 23:31.)
But the two things which I have before mentioned ought to be deemed by us as
sufficient reasons why God, while suspending his vengeance as to the reprobate,
punishes the elect as well as all those who profess themselves to be members of his
Church. We now understand why Jeremiah mentions first the holy city, and then all
the cities of Judah, the kings also and the princes; for God had with open bosom
invited them to himself, but they had, as it were, from determined wickedness,
provoked his wrath by despising both his Law and his Prophets.
He afterwards adds, to make them a waste, or a solitude. This was a grievous
82

83. denunciation, no doubt, and we shall hereafter see that most became enraged
against the holy man, and in their fury endeavored to destroy him; yet he with all
intrepid mind fully declared what God had commanded him. He adds, an
astonishment, and in the third place, an hissing, even that they would become
detestable to all; for hissing intimates contempt, reproach, and detestation. In the
fourth place he mentions a curse. We have already said what the Prophet meant by
this word, even that the Jews would become in this respect a proverb, so that when
one cursed another, he would use this form, “May God destroy thee as he destroyed
the Jews.”
It is then added, as at this day The Prophet refers, no doubt, to the time of the city’s
destruction. God had indeed even then begun to consume the people; but we shall
hereafter see that the minds of the greater part were still very haughty: so that they
often raised their crests and looked for a new state of things, and depended on aid
from the Egyptians. But the Prophet here mentions what was not yet completed, and
as it were by the finger, points out the day as having already come in which the city
was to be destroyed and the temple burnt up. This, then, refers to the certainty of
what he predicted. Some think that it was written after Jeremiah had been led into
exile; but this conjecture has nothing to support it. (138) It seems to me enough to
suppose that his object was to rouse the Jews from their security, and to shew that
in a short time all that he predicted would be accomplished, and that they were no
more to doubt of this than if the calamity was now before their eyes. It follows, —
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:18 [To wit], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings
thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an
hissing, and a curse; as [it is] this day;
Ver. 18. To wit, in Jerusalem.] Judgment beginneth at God’s house [1 Peter 4:17]
{See Trapp on "1 Peter 4:17"} {See Trapp on "Matthew 25:41"} Sed si in
Hierosolymis maneat scrutinium, quid fiet in Babylone? saith an ancient.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:18
“Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings, and its princes, to make them a
desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
The first to drink are Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, along with their kings (the
king and his co-regents, or alternatively successive kings) and princes. And it would
result in their being desolated and becoming a spectacle to all nations, a cause for
astonishment and hissing and a curse. Compare Jeremiah 18:16. The words ‘as at
this day’ indicate that the words were written down after their fulfilment.
PETT, "The kings thereof (see on Jeremiah 19:3). As it is this day. As to the
meaning of this phrase, see on Jeremiah 11:5. The words evidently presuppose that
the prediction has already been fulfilled (comp. Jeremiah 44:6, Jeremiah 44:23);
consequently, they cannot have stood here in the original draft of the prophecy. An
83

84. early editor, or even Jeremiah himself, must have inserted them. They are omitted
in the Septuagint.
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his attendants, his
officials and all his people,
BARNES, "The arrangement is remarkable. Jeremiah begins with the south, Egypt;
next Uz on the southeast, and Philistia on the southwest; next, Edom, Moab, and
Ammon on the east, and Tyre, and Sidon, and the isles of the Mediterranean on the west;
next, in the Far East, various Arabian nations, then northward to Media and Elam, and
finally the kings of the north far and near.
CLARKE, "Pharaoh king of Egypt - This was Pharaoh-necho, who was the
principal cause of instigating the neighboring nations to form a league against the
Chaldeans.
GILL, "Pharaoh king of Egypt,.... Who is mentioned first after the kings of Judah;
not only because the Jews were in alliance with Egypt, and trusted to them; and
therefore this is observed, to show the vanity of their confidence and dependence; but
because the judgments of God first took place on the king of Egypt; for in this very year,
in which this prophecy was delivered, Pharaohnecho king of Egypt was smitten by
Nebuchadnezzar, Jer_46:2; though the prophecy had a further accomplishment in
Pharaohhophra, who was given into the hands of his enemies, as foretold, Jer_44:30;
and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; his menial servants, his
domestics, and his nobles and peers of the realm, and all his subjects. It expresses an
utter destruction of the kingdom of Egypt; and the particulars of it may be the rather
given, to show the vain trust of the Jews in that people.
JAMISON, "Pharaoh — put next after Jerusalem, because the Jews had relied most
on him, and Egypt and Judea stood on a common footing (Jer_46:2, Jer_46:25).
K&D 19-26, "The enumeration of the heathen nations begins with Egypt and goes
84

85. northwards, the peoples dwelling to the east and west of Judah being ranged alongside
one another. First we have in Jer_25:20 the races of Arabia and Philistia that bordered
on Egypt to the east and west; and then in Jer_25:21 the Edomites, Moabites, and
Ammonites to the east, and, Jer_25:22, the Phoenicians with their colonies to the west.
Next we have the Arabian tribes of the desert extending eastwards from Palestine to the
Euphrates (Jer_25:23, Jer_25:24); then the Elamites and Medes in the distant east
(Jer_25:25), the near and distant kings of the north, and all kingdoms upon earth; last
of all the king of Babylon (Jer_25:26). ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ר‬ֶ‫ע‬ ָ‫ל־ה‬ָ‫,כּ‬ lxx: πάντας τοῦς συμμίκτους, and
Jerome: cunctusque qui non est Aegyptius, sed in ejus regionibus commoratur. The
word means originally a mixed multitude of different races that attach themselves to one
people and dwell as strangers amongst them; cf. Exo_12:38 and Neh_13:3. Here it is
races that in part dwelt on the borders of Egypt and were in subjection to that people. It
is rendered accordingly "vassals" by Ew.; an interpretation that suits the present verse
very well, but will not do in Jer_25:24. It is certainly too narrow a view, to confine the
reference of the word to the mercenaries or Ionian and Carian troops by whose help
Necho's father Psammetichus acquired sole supremacy (Graf), although this be the
reference of the same word in Eze_30:5. The land of Uz is, acc. to the present passage
and to Lam_4:21, where the daughter of Edom dwells in the land of Uz, to be sought for
in the neighbourhood of Idumaea and the Egyptian border. To delete the words "and all
the kings of the land of Uz" as a gloss, with Hitz. and Gr., because they are not in the lxx,
is an exercise of critical violence. The lxx omitted them for the same reason as that on
which Hitz. still lays stress - namely, that they manifestly do not belong to this place, but
to Jer_25:23. And this argument is based on the idea that the land of Uz ( ̓Αυσῖτις) lies
much farther to the north in Arabia Deserta, in the Hauran or the region of Damascus,
or that it is a collective name for the whole northern region of Arabia Deserta that
stretches from Idumaea as far as Syria; see Del. on Job_1:1, and Wetzstein in Del.'s Job,
S. 536f. This is an assumption for which valid proofs are not before us. The late oriental
legends as to Job's native country do not suffice for this. The kings of the land of the
Philistines are the kings of the four towns next in order mentioned, with their territories,
cf. Jos_13:3; 1Sa_6:4. The fifth of the towns of the lords of the Philistines, Gath, is
omitted here as it was before this, in Amo_1:7. and Zep_2:4, and later in Zec_9:5, not
because Gath had already fallen into premature decay; for in Amos' time Gath was still a
very important city. It is rather, apparently, because Gath had ceased to be the capital of
a separate kingdom or principality. There is remaining now only a remnant of Ashdod;
for after a twenty-nine years' siege, this town was taken by Psammetichus and destroyed
(Herod. ii. 157), so that thus the whole territory great lost its importance. Jer_25:21. On
Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites, cf. Jer 49:7-22; Jer_48:1; Jer_49:1-6. Jer_25:22. The
plural: "kings of Tyre and Sidon," is to be understood as in Jer_25:18. With them are
mentioned "the kings of the island" or "of the coast" land, that is, beyond the
(Mediterranean) Sea. ‫י‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫ה‬ is not Κύπρος (Cyprus), but means, generally, the Phoenician
colonies in and upon the Mediterranean. Of the Arabian tribes mentioned in Jer_25:23,
the Dedanites are those descended from the Cushite Dedan and living ear Edom, with
whom, however, the Abrahamic Dedanite had probably mingled; a famous commercial
people, Isa_21:13; Eze_27:15, Eze_27:20; Eze_38:13; Job_6:19. Tema is not Têmâ
beyond the Hauran (Wetzst. Reiseber. S. 21 and 93ff.; cf. on the other hand, the same in
Del.'s Job, S. 526), but Temâ situated on the pilgrims' route from Damascus to Mecca,
between Tebûk and Wadi el Kora, see Del. on Isa_21:14; here, accordingly, the Arabian
tribe settled there. Buz is the Arabian race sprung from the second son of Nahor. As to
"hair-corners polled," see on Jer_9:25. - The two appellations ‫ב‬ ַ‫ֲר‬‫ע‬ and "the mixed races
85

86. that dwell in the wilderness" comprehend the whole of the Arabian races, not merely
those that are left after deducting the already (Jer_25:23) mentioned nomad tribes. The
latter also dwelt in the wilderness, and the word ‫ב‬ ָ‫ֲר‬‫ע‬ is a general name, not for the
whole of Arabia, but for the nomadic Arabs, see on Eze_27:21, whose tribal chieftains,
here called kings, are in Ezek. called ‫ים‬ ִ‫יא‬ ִ‫שׂ‬ְ‫.נ‬ In Jer_25:25 come three very remote
peoples of the east and north-east: Zimri, Elamites, and Medes. The name Zimri is found
only here, and has been connected by the Syr. and most comm. with Zimran, Gen_25:2,
a son of Abraham and Keturah. Accordingly ‫י‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫מ‬ִ‫ז‬ would stand for ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫מ‬ִ‫,ז‬ and might be
identified with Ζαβράμ, Ptol. vi. 7, §5, a people which occupied a territory between the
Arabs and Persians - which would seem to suit our passage. The reference is certainly
not to the Ζεμβρῖται in Ethiopia, in the region of the later priestly city Meroë (Strabo,
786). On Elam, see on Jer_49:34.
Finally, to make the list complete, Jer_25:26 mentions the kings of the north, those
near and those far, and all the kingdoms of the earth. ‫ת‬ ‫כ‬ ְ‫ל‬ ְ‫מ‬ ַ‫מּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ with the article in stat.
constr. against the rule. Hence Hitz. and Graf infer that ‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ָ‫א‬ ָ‫ה‬ may not be genuine, it
being at the same time superfluous and not given in the lxx. This may be possible, but it
is not certain; for in Isa_23:17 we find the same pleonastic mode of expression, and
there are precedents for the article with the nomen regens. "The one to (or with) the
other" means: according as the kingdoms of the north stand in relation to one another,
far or near. - After the mention of all the kings and peoples on whom the king of Babylon
is to execute judgment, it is said that he himself must at last drink the cup of wrath. ַ‫שׁ‬ֵ‫שׁ‬
is, according to Jer_51:41, a name for Babylon, as Jerome states, presumably on the
authority of his Jewish teacher, who followed the tradition. The name is formed acc. to
the Canon Atbash, in virtue of which the letters of the alphabet were put one for the
other in the inverse order (‫ת‬ for ‫,א‬ ‫שׁ‬ for ‫,ב‬ etc.); thus ‫שׁ‬ would correspond to ‫ב‬ and ‫כ‬ to
‫.ל‬ Cf. Buxtorf, Lex. talm. s.v. ‫אתבשׁ‬ and de abbreviaturis hebr. p. 41. A like example is
found in Jer_51:1, where ‫ים‬ ִ‫דּ‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ַ‫כּ‬ is represented by ‫י‬ ַ‫מ‬ ָ‫ק‬ ‫ב‬ֵ‫ל‬ yb d. The assertion of Gesen.
that this way of playing with words was not then in use, is groundless, as it also Hitz.'s,
when he says it appeared first during the exile, and is consequently none of Jeremiah's
work. It is also erroneous when many comm. remark, that Jeremiah made use of the
mysterious name from the fear of weakening the impression of terror which the name of
Babylon ought to make on their minds. These assumptions are refuted by Jer_25:12,
where there is threatening of the punishment of spoliation made against the king of
Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans; and by Jer_51:41, where alongside of Sheshach
we find in parallelism Babylon. The Atbash is, both originally and in the present case, no
mere playing with words, but a transposition of the letters so as to gain a significant
meaning, as may plainly be seen in the transposition to ‫ב‬ֵ‫ל‬ , Jer_51:1. This is the case
with Sheshach also, which would be a contraction of ַ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫כ‬ֶ‫שׁ‬ (see Ew. §158, c), from ַ‫כ‬ָ‫,שׁ‬
to sink (of the water, Gen_8:1), to crouch (of the bird-catcher, Jer_5:26). The sig. is
therefore a sinking down, so that the threatening, Jer_51:64 : Babel shall sink and not
rise again, constitutes a commentary on the name; cf. Hgstb. Christ. iii. p. 377. The name
does not sig. humiliation, in support of which Graf has recourse partly to ‫,שׁחה‬ partly to
the Arabic usage. For other arbitrary interpretations, see in Ges. thes. p. 1486.
(Note: As has been done with the whole or with parts of Jer_25:12-14, so too the
last clause of Jer_25:26 is pronounced by Ew., Hitz., and Graf to be spurious, a gloss
86

87. that had ultimately found its way into the text. This is affirmed because the clause is
wanting in the lxx, and because the prophet could not fitly threaten Babylon along
with the other nations (Hitz.); or because "the specification of a single kingdom
seems very much out of place, after the enumeration of the countries that are to
drink the cup of wrath has been concluded by the preceding comprehensive
intimation, 'all the kingdoms of the earth' " (Gr.). Both reasons are valueless. By
"shall drink after them" Babylon is sufficiently distinguished from the other kings
and countries mentioned, and the reason is given why Babylon is not put on the
same footing with them, but is to be made to drink after them.)
CALVIN, "It may here be asked, why he connects Pharaoh with the Jews, and
assigns the second place to the Egyptians rather than to other nations? The reason is
evident, — because the Jews expected deliverance from them; and the cause of their
irreclaimable obstinacy was, that they could not be removed from that false
confidence by which the devil had once fascinated them. They departed from God
by making the Egyptians their friends; and when they found themselves unequal to
the Assyrians, they turned their hopes to the Egyptians rather than to God; the
prophets remonstrated with them, but with no success.
As, then, the occasion of ruin to the chosen people was Egypt, and as Pharaoh was,
as it were, the fountain and cause of destruction to Jerusalem, as well as to the
whole people, rightly does the Prophet, after having spoken of Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah, immediately mention Pharaoh in the second place; for he was a
friend to the Jews, and they were so connected together that they were necessarily
drawn together into destruction; for they had corrupted one another, and
encouraged one another in impiety, and with united minds and confederate hearts
kindled God’s wrath against themselves. (139) The Prophet, then, could not have
spoken of the Jews by themselves, but was under the necessity of connecting the
Egyptians with them, for the state of both people was the same.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes,
and all his people;
Ver. 19. Pharaoh king of Egypt.] Pharaohhophra, [Jeremiah 44:30] of whom
Herodotus (a) writeth that he persuaded himself and boasted, that his kingdom was
so strong that no god or man could take it from him. He was afterwards hanged by
his own subjects.
WHEDON, "19. Pharaoh, etc. — The enumeration begins with Egypt and goes
northward, mentioning Uz, Edom, Moab, and Ammon on the east, and Philistia,
Tyre, Zidon, and the isles of the Mediterranean on the west. Then, to the far east,
the kings of Arabia and Elam, with the Medes to the northward; and finally the
enumeration terminates with all the kings of the north and all the kingdoms of the
world… upon the face of the earth, but mentions last of all the king of Babylon by
the name of Sheshach. (Jeremiah 25:19-26.)
87

88. PETT, "Jeremiah 25:19-22
“Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and
all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of
the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; and all the kings of Tyre, and all the
kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;”
The list commences with Judah’s nearest neighbours, commencing with the most
powerful. It is comprehensive in scope covering not only the kings and their peoples,
but also any who had come to dwell among them (‘all the mingled people’). Once
mentioned of Egypt it is assumed for the remainder in the mention of their kings.
Egypt and Uz (a part of Edom, possibly mentioned because at this time seen as
under the control of Egypt) were to the south, Philistia with its principal cities to the
west, Edom, Moab and Ammon to the south east and the east, and Tyre and Sidon
to the north west. The isle which was beyond the sea may have been Cyprus. The
description of Ashdod demonstrated how it had suffered at the hands of Egypt
under Psammeticus who had subjected it to a 29 year siege..
PETT, "Pharaoh king of Egypt. After leaving Judah and Jerusalem, the prophet
turns to the far south—to Egypt; then he ascends to the south-east (Uz), and the
south-west (the Philistines); thence he passes to the east (Edom, Moab, Ammon);
and thence to the west of the Holy Land (Phoenicia). This suggests the maritime
lands "beyond the sea" (including especially Cyprus); a sudden transition brings
the prophet to the Arabian tribes (Dedan, etc.), from whence he passes by the road
of the northeast (Elam, Media) to the indefinitely distant north. Last of all, in
solitary grandeur or infamy, Babylon is mentioned.
20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of
Uz; all the kings of the Philistines (those of
Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the people left at
Ashdod);
88

89. BARNES, "The mingled people - Either auxiliaries; or, rather, a constituent
portion of the people of Egypt, who were not of pure blood.
Azzah - i. e., Gaza.
The remnant of Ashdod - A sentence which none but a contemporary writer could
have used. Psammetichus, after a siege of 29 years, had captured and destroyed Ashdod,
except for a feeble remnant.
CLARKE, "All the mingled people - The strangers and foreigners; Abyssinians
and others who had settled in Egypt.
Land of Uz - A part of Arabia near to Idumea. See on Job_1:1 (note).
GILL, "And all the mingled people,.... Not the Arabians, who are mentioned
afterwards, Jer_25:24; but rather a mixed people in the land of Egypt, such as came out
of it along with the Israelites; or were near it, and bordered upon it, as the Targum;
which renders it, all the bordering kings; or rather a mixture of people of different
nations that dwelt by the sea coasts, either the Mediterranean, or the Red sea, as others
think:
and all the kings of the land of Uz; not the country of Job, called by the Greeks
Ausitis, as the Vulgate Latin version; but rather a country of Idumea, so called from Uz
the son of Dishan, the son of Seir, Lam_4:21;
and all the kings of the land of the Philistines; the petty kings of it, called the
lords of the Philistines elsewhere, who were great enemies to the people of the Jews: the
prophecy of their destruction is in forty seventh chapter, and whose principal cities are
next mentioned:
and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; of
Ashkelon, and the sword in it, and ruin, see Jer_47:5. "Azzah" is the same with Gaza,
whose destruction is also foretold in Jer_47:1; see Act_8:26; "Ekron" was another of the
cities of the Philistines; see 1Sa_5:10; and "Ashdod" is the same with Azotus, another of
their cities, Act_8:40; called "the remnant of Ashdod", because the remains only of a
once very strong and fortified place; but was so weakened and wasted by Psammiticus,
king of Egypt, in a blockade of it, for the space of nine and twenty years (k), before he
took it, that when he had got in it, it was but as the carcass of a city, to what it was before
(l).
JAMISON, "mingled people — mercenary foreign troops serving under Pharaoh-
hophra in the time of Jeremiah. The employment of these foreigners provoked the native
Egyptians to overthrow him. Psammetichus, father of Pharaoh-necho, also had given a
settlement in Egypt to Ionian and Carian adventurers [Herodotus, 2.152, 154]. (Compare
Jer_50:37; see on Isa_19:2, Isa_19:3; Isa_20:1; Eze_30:5. The term is first found in
Exo_12:38.
89

90. Uz — in the geographical order here, between Egypt and the states along the
Mediterranean; therefore not the “Uz” of Job_1:1 (north of Arabia-Deserta), but the
northern part of Arabia-Petraea, between the sea and Idumea (Lam_4:21; see Gen_
36:20, Gen_36:28).
remnant of Ashdod — called a “remnant,” because Ashdod had lost most of its
inhabitants in the twenty-nine years siege by Psammetichus. Compare also see on Isa_
20:1. Gath is not mentioned because it was overthrown in the same war.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah, after having spoken of his own nation and of the Egyptians,
now mentions other nations who were probably known by report to the Jews; for we
see in the catalogue some who were afar off. He then does not only speak of
neighboring nations, but also of others. His object, in short, was to shew that God’s
vengeance was near, which would extend here and there, so as to include the whole
world known to the Jews.
We stated yesterday the reason why he connected the Egyptians with the Jews; but
now nothing certain can be assigned as a reason with regard to each of these
nations; only it may be said in general, that the Jews were thus reminded, not only
to acknowledge God’s judgment towards them as an evidence of his wrath, but also
to extend their thoughts farther and to consider all the calamities, which would
happen to nations far as well as nigh, in the same light, so that they might know that
human events revolve, not by chance, but that God is a righteous judge, and that he
sits in heaven to chastise men for their sins.
It is a common proverb, that it is a solace to the miserable to see many like them;
but the Prophet had something very different in view; for it was not his object to
alleviate the grief of his people by shewing that no nations would be free from
calamities; but his intention was to shew them in due time that whatever happened
would proceed from God; for if it had not been predicted that the Chaldeans would
have the whole of the east under their dominion, it would have been commonly said,
that the world was under the rule of blind fortune, and thus men would have
become more and more hardened in their impiety; for it becomes the cause of
obstinacy, when men imagine that all things happen by chance. And for this reason
God severely reproves those who acknowledge not that he sends wars, famine, and
pestilence, and that nothing adverse takes place except through his judgment. Hence
the Jews were to learn before the time, that when God afflicted them and other
nations, they might know that it had been predicted, and that therefore God was the
author of these calamities, and that they might also examine themselves so as to
acknowledge their sins; for they who dream that the world as to its evils is governed
at random by fortune, do not perceive that God is displeased with them; and so they
regard not what they suffer as a just punishment.
Many indeed confess God as the inflicter of punishment, and yet they complain
against him. But these two things ought to be remembered, — that no adversity
happens fortuitously, but that God is the author of all those things which men
regard as evils, — and that he is so, because he is a righteous judge; which is the
90

91. second thing. God then in claiming for himself the disposal of all events, and in
declaring that the world is governed at his will, not only declares that the chief
power and the supreme government is in his hand, but goes farther and shews, that
things happening prosperously are evidences of his goodness and justice, and that
calamities prove that he cannot endure the sins of men, but must punish them. To
set forth this was the Prophet’s design.
He says that God threatened all the promiscuous multitude (140) The word ‫ערב‬ ,
means a swarm of bees; and it means also any sort of mixture; and hence, when
Moses said that many went up with the people, he used. this word. (Exodus 12:38.)
Nehemiah also says that he separated such mixtures from the people of God, lest
they who had become degenerated, should corrupt true religion. (Nehemiah 13:3.)
That the Church, then, might remain true and faithful, he says that he took away
‫ערב‬ , oreb, or this mixture. Now as to this passage, I have no doubt but that the
Prophet speaks thus generally of the common people; and I extend this name to all
the kingdoms, of which he will hereafter speak. He then adds, And all the kings of
the land of Uz. We know that this was an eastern land. I know not why Jerome
rendered it “Ausitis,” and not as in the Book of Job, for the same word is found
there, (Job 1:2) and we find that Job was born in the eastern part of the world, for
he was plundered by his neighbors, who were men of the east. Some think that it
was Armenia; but it could hardly be a country so far off, for Cilicia was, with
regard to Judea, in the middle between them. I, then, rather think that Uz was
directly east to Judea.
He adds, And all the kings of the land of the Philistines Whether Palestine had then
many kings is uncertain; it seems indeed probable; but what seems doubtful to me, I
leave as such. It is no objection that he mentions all the kings, since he afterwards
speaks of all the kings of Tyre and Sidon, though neither Tyre nor Sidon had many
kings; for they were only two cities. There is then no doubt, but that the Prophet in
speaking of all the kings of the land, meant that though they succeeded one another,
it was yet decreed in heaven, that all these nations should perish. He therefore
intended to obviate every doubt; for the prophecy was not immediately fulfilled; but
the nations, of whom he now speaks, retained for a time their state, so that the
Prophet might have appeared false in his predictions. Hence he distinctly mentions
all the kings, so that the faithful might suspend their judgment until the appointed
time of God’s vengeance came.
He afterwards mentions Ashkelon; which was not a maritime city, though not far
from the sea. Then he adds ‫,עזה‬oze, which we call Gaza, for the Greek translators
have so rendered it. But what the Greek and Latin writers have thought, that it was
called Gaza, because Cyrus deposited there his treasures while carrying on war here
and there, is wholly absurd; and it was a frivolous conjecture which occurred to
their minds, because Gaza means a treasure, and the Greek translators rendered
Oze, Gaza; but it was entertained without much thought. The situation of the city is
well known. He then mentions Ekron, a neighboring city, not far from Azotus,
which is also named. The Prophet says Ashdod, which the Greeks have rendered
91

92. Azotus, and the Latins have followed them. We hence see that the Prophet refers to
that part of the country which was towards Syria.
But it may be asked, why he names the remnant of Ashdod? Some think that he
refers to neighboring towns, not so much known, as Gath, which is elsewhere
named, but less celebrated But this exposition seems to me forced and absurd. The
probability is, that Ashdod had been conquered, but that owing to its advantageous
locality it was not wholly forsaken. For ‫,שארית‬ sharit, means what is left or remains
after a slaughter. What remained then in Ashdod, he delivered up to God’s sword,
that it might be destroyed. It follows, —
COFFMAN, ""And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and
all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and
the remnant of Ashdod; Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; and all the
kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond
the sea; Dedan and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners of their hair cut
off; and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in
the wilderness; and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the
kings of the Medes; and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another;
and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the
king of Sheshach shall drink after them."
Jeremiah 25:26 leaves no doubt that every nation under the sun of heaven was
included in this promise of the punitive judgment of God.
"And the king of Sheshach shall drink after them ..." (Jeremiah 25:26). Sheshach
here stands for Babylon, indicating that the judgment of Babylon will come
chronologically after the judgment of the other nations, the reason for that being
that Babylon would be the instrument of punishment to the others before the
punishment was executed upon themselves.
Sheshach in this passage is identified as an Atbasch, a form of writing in which the
last letter of the alphabet is used for the first, and the letter next to the last is used
for the second, etc. Here the word stands for Babylon.[11]
It is surprising that the singular word "isle" is used instead of the plural in
Jeremiah 25:22. "The word means any coastland; but as it is here distinguished
from Tyre and Sidon, it probably refers to Cyprus.[12]
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land
of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and
Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
Ver. 20. The mixed people.] That lay scattered in the deserts, and had no certain
abode; Scenitae and Hamaxobii.
92

93. And all the kings of the land of Uz.] Job’s country, called by the Greeks, Ausitis.
WHEDON, " 20. Uz — This passage falls in with Lamentations 4:21, in fixing the
locality of this land somewhere between the Egyptian border and Palestine,
probably in the neighbourhood of Idumea.
Philistines — The towns which are mentioned were probably capitals of separate
principalities. Gath, which is elsewhere mentioned as one of the five royal cities of
the Philistines, (Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 6:17,) is not here mentioned, probably
because it was no longer a capital city. The remnant of Ashdod was what had
survived the twenty-nine years’ siege of Psammeticus, and its capture and
destruction. (Herod. 2:157.)
PETT, "The mingled people; Septuagint, καὶ πάντας τοὺς συμμίκτους: Vulgate, et
universes generaliter. The Hebrew ‛erebh probably means, not "mingled [i.e.
'motley'] people," as the Authorized Version, but "foreign people," i.e. a body of
men belonging to some particular nation intermixed or interspersed among those
belonging to another. This explanation will account for the use of the word in all the
passages in which it occurs (here and in Jeremiah 25:24; also Exodus 12:38;
Nehemiah 13:3; ‹je-1›, 1 Kings 10:15; Jeremiah 1:1-19 :37; Ezekiel 30:5; and
perhaps 2 Chronicles 9:14). The context here and in 1 Kings 10:15 seems to imply
that the name was given especially to the tribes (probably Bedawin tribes) on the
frontier of Judah towards the desert, though in Ezekiel 30:5 it is evidently applied to
a people which in some sense belonged to Egypt. In Exodus 12:38 it may be doubted
whether the phrase is used from the point of view of Egypt or of the Israelites; in
Jeremiah 50:37 it is used of the foreigners in Babylon in 2 Chronicles 9:14 the
Massoretic critics have pointed the consonants of the text wrongly (‛arabh, Arabia,
instead of ‛erebh), but without injury to the sense; the Vulgate and Syriac have done
the same in 1 Kings 10:15. The notion that the word means ' auxiliary troops" arises
(as Thenius on 1 Kings 10:15 remarks) from the free rendering of the Targum at 1
Kings 10:15 and Jeremiah 1:1-19 :37. Uz. The land associated with the name of Job,
and probably east or south-east of Palestine, and adjacent to the Edomites of Mount
Seir (Lamentations 4:21). Of the Philistines. Observe, Gath is alone omitted of the
five Philistine towns (Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 6:17). It had been reduced to complete
insignificance (Amos 6:2), through Uzziah's having "broken down" its walls (2
Chronicles 26:6), and is equally passed over in Amos (Amos 1:6-8), Zephaniah
(Zephaniah 2:4), and Zechariah (Zechariah 9:5, Zechariah 9:6). Azzah; i.e. Gaza,
the Septuagint form (the G representing the initial ayin), which is everywhere else
adopted by the Authorized Version. The remnant of Ashdod. A significant phrase,
which can be explained from Herodotus (2.157): For twenty-nine years
Psamnutichus "pressed the siege of Azotus without intermission." We can imagine
that he would not be disposed to lenient dealings with the town upon its capture.
(An earlier and shorter siege of Ashdod is mentioned in Isaiah 20:1-6.)
93

94. 21 Edom, Moab and Ammon;
GILL, "Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon. All well known and
implacable enemies of Israel. The Edomites descended from Esau; and the Moabites and
Ammonites from Moab and Ammon, the two sons of Lot by his daughters. Their
destruction is prophesied of in the forty eighth and forty ninth chapters.
JAMISON, "Edom ... Moab ... Ammon — joined together, as being related to
Israel (see Jeremiah 48:1-49:39).
CALVIN, "The same words are ever to be repeated, that Jeremiah made all these
nations to drink the cup. He mentions the Idumeans, the posterity of Esau, and also
the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, as also were the Ammonites There was a
relationship between these three nations and the Israelites; hence the Prophet seems
designedly to have connected these three nations together. He adds —
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,
Ver. 21. Edom and Moab, &c.] By the destruction of all these nations we may make
a conjecture at the destructiou of all the wicked, when Christ shall come to
judgment. All that befalleth them in this world, is but as drops of wrath forerunning
the great storm: or as a crack foretokening the fall of the whole house. Here the
leaves only fall upon them as it were, but then the body of the tree in its full weight
to crush them for ever.
22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the
coastlands across the sea;
94

95. BARNES, "The isles - Rightly explained in the margin; it probably refers here to
Cyprus.
CLARKE, "yrus and - Zidon - The most ancient of all the cities of the Phoenicians.
Kings of the isles which are beyond the sea - As the Mediterranean Sea is most
probably meant, and the Phoenicians had numerous colonies on its coasts, I prefer the
marginal reading, the kings of the region by the sea side.
GILL, "And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon,.... Two very
ancient cities in Phoenicia, frequently mentioned together in Scripture, being near each
other. Their ruin is foretold in Jer_47:4;
and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea; which some understand of
Greece and Italy; others of Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete, and other islands in the
Mediterranean sea; the Cyclades, as Jerom: but the words may be rendered, "and the
kings of the country by the seaside"; and may design those that dwell upon the coast of
the Mediterranean sea.
JAMISON, "all the kings of Tyrus — the petty kings of the various dependencies
of Tyre.
isles — a term including all maritime regions (Psa_72:10).
CALVIN, "As to the word Island, the number is to be changed; for the Prophet
means not one island, but the countries beyond the sea. Some restrict the reference
to Cyprus, Crete, Mitylene, and other islands in the Mediterranean; but it is a
common way of speaking in Hebrew, to call all countries beyond the sea islands.
“The kings of the islands shall come.” (Psalms 72:10.)
The Prophet in that passage calls those the kings of the islands who would come in
ships to Judea. So also in this place we may understand by the kings of the islands
all those who were beyond the sea.
We now see that kings of one age only are not those summoned to God’s tribunal;
for why does the Prophet mention all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon?
Was it possible for these two cities to have four or two kings at the same time? But
we must bear in mind what I have already stated, — that the children of God were
warned, lest they should entertain a too fervid expectation as to the fulfillment of
this prophecy. It is then the same as if he had said, “Though God’s vengeance may
not come upon the present king of Tyre or of Sidon, it is yet suspended over all
kings, and shall be manifested in its time.” (141) Tyre and Sidon, we know, were
cities of Phoenicia, and very celebrated; and Tyre had many colonies afar off,
among which the principal was Carthage; and the Carthaginians offered honorable
95

96. presents to it every year, in order to shew that they were its descendants. And Tyre
itself was a colony of Sidon, according to historians; but it so prospered, that the
daughter as it were swallowed up the mother. But it appears evident that there were
kings there in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah, though in the time of Alexander both
cities were republics; for many changes during that period had taken place in them.
Now the Prophet says only, that Tyre and Sidon would be involved in the
punishment which he denounced on both kings and people. It follows —
As we find in Isaiah 23:2, the people of Tyre called “the inhabitants of the isle,” we
may render the verse thus, —
22.And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, even all the kings of the isle
which is by the side of the sea.
This repetition was made on account of the power and wealth of Tyre, a place
thought impregnable. See Isaiah 23:0. — Ed.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and
the kings of the isles which [are] beyond the sea,
Ver. 22. And all the kings of the isles.] As Cyprus, Rhodes, and the Cyclades,
subdued also by the Babylonian, saith Jerome, Rabanus, and Vatablus.
PETT, "Kings of Tyrus, kings of Zidon. Under the names of the two leading cities,
the prophet includes the various dependent Phoenician commonwealths. Hence the
plural "kings." The isles. The Hebrew has the singular, "the isle," or rather, "the
coast-land" (more strictly, the region), i.e. perhaps either Tartessus in Spain, or
Cyprus (which Esarhaddon describes as "lying in the midst of the sea," and as
having two kings, 'Records of the Past,' 3:108).
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who are in distant
places[d];
BARNES, "Dedan - See the Isa_21:13 note.
Buz - See Job_32:2 note.
All that are ... - See the marginal reference note.
96

97. CLARKE, "Dedan - Was son of Abraham, by Keturah, Gen_25:3.
Tema - Was one of the sons of Ishmael, in the north of Arabia, Gen_36:15.
Buz - Brother of Uz, descendants of Nahor, brother of Abraham, settled in Arabia
Deserta, Gen_22:21.
GILL, "Dedan, and Tema, and Buz,.... These seem to be places in Edom or Idumea,
of whose destruction Jeremiah prophesies in Jer_49:7; or rather in Arabia and
Mesopotamia. Jerom reckons them among the Ishmaelites and Saracens, The persons
from whom they descended are mentioned in Gen_22:21;
and all that are in the utmost corners; that is, either of the above countries, or of
the whole earth: or "all that had their hair shorn" (m); or the corners of their beards;
which Jerom says is applicable to the Saracens.
JAMISON, "Dedan — north of Arabia (Gen_25:3, Gen_25:4).
Tema ... Buz — neighboring tribes north of Arabia (Job_32:2).
all ... in ... utmost corners — rather, “having the hair cut in angles,” a heathenish
custom (see on Jer_9:26).
CALVIN, "I shall now only touch briefly on the extreme ones in a corner, or those
bounded by a corner, who were almost unknown to the Jews on account of their
distance. (142) After having spoken of nations so very remote, that he might not by
prolixity be tedious, he mentions all the extreme ones in a corner, that is, those who
were bounded by the farthest limits. As to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, we know that
these countries derived their names from their founders. Who Dedan was, we learn
from Moses, and also who Tema and Buz were. (Genesis 25:3; 1 Chronicles 5:14.)
Two of them were descendants of Abraham by Keturah. (143) There is no need of
saying more of these countries, for they are not known by us at this day, and we
cannot learn from geographers the extent of any of these countries; for there was
hardly a place at the time when heathen writers began their records, which had not
long before changed its name. We however conclude that these were eastern
countries. It follows —
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:23-24
“Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who have the corners of their hair cut off; and
all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people who dwell in the
wilderness;”
The description then goes beyond the nearest neighbours to those more distant, in
the south east, the Arab cities in Arabia, whose distinctive hair style is described (it
97

98. was always seen as indicative of idolatry), and all the varied tribes which occupied
the desert.
PETT, "Dedan, and Tema, and Buz. Three tribes of North Arabia, bordering on
Edom. The two former are mentioned as commercial peoples in Isaiah 21:13, Isaiah
21:14; Ezekiel 27:15, Ezekiel 27:20; Ezekiel 38:13; Job 6:19. Elihu, Job's youngest
friend, was of Bus (Job 32:2). All that are in the utmost corners; rather, all the
corner-clipped (see on Jeremiah 9:26).
24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the
foreign people who live in the wilderness;
BARNES, "Arabia - That part which bordered on Palestine, and was inhabited
mainly by Ishmaelites.
The mingled people - Compare the Jer_25:20 note. In Arabia there seem to have
been many tribes of Cushite origin, who by intermarriage with other tribes had become
of mixed blood.
CLARKE, "The mingled people - Probably the Scenite Arabians.
GILL, "And all the kings of Arabia,.... Of Arabia Petraea;
and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert; the other
Arabians or mixed people, that dwell in Arabia Deserta, as the Scenites, Nomades,
Kedarenes, and others; and so the Targum,
"and all the kings of the Arabians, that dwell in tents in the desert.''
Of these, see the prophecy in Jer_49:28.
JAMISON, "mingled people — not in the same sense as in Jer_25:20; the “motley
crowd,” so called in contempt (compare Jer_49:28, Jer_49:31; Jer_50:37). By a
different pointing it may be translated the “Arabs”; but the repetition of the name is not
likely. Blaney thinks there were two divisions of what we call Arabia, the west (Araba)
98

99. and the east. The west included Arabia-Petraea and the parts on the sea bordering on
Egypt, the land of Cush; the east, Arabia-Felix and Deserta. The latter are “the mixed
race” inhabiting the desert.
CALVIN, "The Prophet now mentions the kings of Arabia, who were neighbors on
one side to the Jews. He has hitherto mentioned nations towards the sea; he has
named many maritime towns, and also others which were at some distance from the
sea, and yet were not remote; for they were towns and countries intermediate
between Judea and Syria or Cilicia, or verging towards Cilicia. He now speaks of
Arabia, which was between Egypt and Babylon. And though Arabia was divided
into three parts; it was however sterile where it bordered on Judea; it might
therefore be said to be a desert.
But the Prophet, in the first place, mentions the kings of Arabia, and then the
miscellaneous kings, as we may call them, that is, those who ruled in desert regions
and were hardly of any repute; we, indeed, know that they were petty robbers; and
these Arabs were sometimes called Schenites, because they dwelt in tents. I therefore
consider that these, by way of contempt, were called kings of the promiscuous
multitude, who excelled not in dignity nor in wealth; and hence the Prophet adds,
that they dwelt in the desert, being a wandering people. It follows, —
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:24. The mingled people that dwell in the desert— The
Scenites or inhabitants of tents, who dwell, &c. Houbigant. That is, the mixture of
people dwelling in that part of Arabia called the Desert; consisting of Nabathaeans,
Amalekites, Midianites, and other nations, called in Scripture by the general name
of the children of the East.
PETT, "All the kings of Arabia. Not "Arabia" in our sense (which is never found in
the Old Testament), but the desert region to the east and south-east of Palestine,
occupied by nomad or "Ishmaelitish" tribes. The mingled people; rather, the
intermingled people (see on Jeremiah 25:20); i.e. probably in this passage
populations of a different race interspersed among the Aramaic tribes to which most
of the inhabitants of the desert belonged.
25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam and Media;
99

100. BARNES, "Zimri - Probably a district between Arabia and Persia. “Elam” is put in
Scripture for the whole of Persia.
CLARKE, "Zimri - Descendants of Abraham, by Keturah, Gen_25:2, Gen_25:6.
Elam - Called Elymais by the Greeks, was on the south frontier of Media, to the north
of Susiana, not far from Babylon.
GILL, "And all the kings of Zimri,.... Of Arabia Felix, so called from Zimran, a son
of Abraham by Keturah, Gen_25:2; the same whom Pliny (n) calls Zamerenes;
and all the kings of Elam; or Persia; who are prophesied against in Jer_49:34;
and all the kings of the Medes; who commonly go together with the Persians.
JAMISON, "Zimri — perhaps the Zabra mentioned by Ptolemy between Mecca and
Medina. Zimran also, as Dedan, was one of Abraham’s sons by Keturah (Gen_25:2).
Elam — properly, west of Persia; but used for Persia in general.
CALVIN, "He now mentions nations more remote, but whose fame was more
known among the Jews. We, indeed, know that the Elamites, who dwelt between
Media and Persia, had ever been people of great repute. As to Media, it was a very
large kingdom and wealthy, abounding in all delicacies; and we also know how fond
of display were the Medes. With regard to Zimri, (144) it was an obscure nation in
comparison with the Elamites and the Medes. The Prophet, however, intimates that
every part of the earth, even the smallest kingdom, known to the Jews, would be
visited by God’s judgment, so that the whole earth, in every direction, would
become a witness that God sits in heaven as a judge. It follows, — HEDON, " 25.
Zimri — This name occurs only here; but from the order in which it is introduced
we may safely conclude that it represents a people to the extreme east, between the
Arabs and the Elamites.
Elam — As is common in the Bible this name is not limited to Elymais, but is put for
the whole of Persia.
Medes — Located still farther to the north and east, and destined to hold a
conspicuous place in the history of the near future.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:25-26
“And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the
Medes; and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the
kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach
100

101. shall drink after them.”
Zimri is unknown but was seemingly within the same area as the Elamites and the
Medes to the north east. ‘All the kings of the north far and near’ is comprehensive,
and any nation omitted is swept up in the description of ‘all the kingdoms of the
(known) world, which are on the face of the earth’ which indicates those beyond
Judah’s usual purview.
Finally Sheshach (Babylon) would drink after them. Sheshach is written in ‘code’
with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet reversed. Thus for Aleph Taw would be
written, for Beth SHin would be written, for Gimel Resh would be written, and so
on. Thus SheSHaCH signifies BaBeL. The purpose was probably not in order to
hide the name from the uninitiated (the Babylonian spies were not stupid and such
codes were well known) but in order to indicate that the world would be turned
upside down.
PETT, "Zimri. The Zimri were a people to the northeast of Assyria, against whom
various Assyrian kings waged war. Whether they axe to be connected with the
Zimran of Genesis 25:2 seems doubtful; their locality hardly suits. Elam. Elam, one
of the most ancient monarchies in the world (comp. Genesis 14:1-24.), is again
coupled with Media in Isaiah 21:2. It was a region on the east of the lower Tigris,
bounded westward by Babylonia, northward by Assyria and Media, southward by
the Persian Gulf. To say that it is put either here or anywhere else in the Old
Testament for the whole of Persia seems a mistake, as the Persians were hardly
known before the time of Cyrus.
26 and all the kings of the north, near and far, one
after the other—all the kingdoms on the face of
the earth. And after all of them, the king of
Sheshak[e] will drink it too.
BARNES, "All the kingdoms of the world ... - In accordance with the usage of
Holy Scripture this universality is limited. It is moral and not geographical.
Sheshach - Jerome says that this is the name Babel written in cypher, the letters
101

102. being transposed. Another example occurs in Jer_51:1, where the words “the heart of my
risers up” become the Chaldaeans. The Septuagint omits the clause containing the name.
CLARKE, "The kings of the north, far and near - The first may mean Syria; the
latter, the Hyrcanians and Bactrians.
And the king of Sheshach shall drink after them - Sheshach was an ancient
king of Babylon, who was deified after his death. Here it means either Babylon, or
Nebuchadnezzar the king of it. After it has been the occasion of ruin to so many other
nations, Babylon itself shall be destroyed by the Medo-Persians.
GILL, "And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another,.... That
were on the north of Judea, the kings of Syria, and those that were near to the kingdom
of Babylon, whether more remote from Judea, or nearer it and which joined one another
in that part of the world;
and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; the
whole Babylonian monarchy, called the whole world; as the Roman empire afterwards
was, Luk_2:1;
and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them; or the king of Babylon, as the
Targum; and that Babylon is meant by "Sheshach" is certain from Jer_51:41; but why it
is so called is not so easy to say. The Jewish writers make it to be the same with Babylon,
by a change of the letters in the alphabet, put in such a situation, which they call
"Athbash", in which "shin" is put for "beth", and "caph" for "lamed"; and so, instead of
Babel or Babylon, you have "Sheshach", which is thought to be used rather than
Babylon, that Nebuchadnezzar, now besieging Jerusalem, might not be irritated: but
others take it to be the name of an idol of the Babylonians, from whence the city was
called, which is not improbable; for, as Hillerus (o) has observed, their god Bel and
Sheshach signify the same thing. Bel is the same as Behal, "swift"; and "Sheshach" may
be derived from the Arabic word which signifies "to move swiftly" (p); and may both be
names of the sun, worshipped by the Chaldeans, so called from the swiftness of its
motion. Now in Babylon stood the temple of Bel or Sheshach, and so might have its
name from thence: and it may be further observed, what has been by others, that the
Babylonians had a public festival, like the Saturnalia of the Romans, which held five
days, and was called Sacchoea or Shace, as is supposed from their god Shach, to whom it
was kept: to which may be added, that Mishael had the name of Meshach given him in
Babylon; "Shach", in the one, answering to "El" in the other; which signifies God, Dan_
1:7. Shach is used for a king or prince in the Persic language to this day. And now the
king of Sheshach or Babylon must drink of the cup, or be punished last of all; who was
the instrument of destroying most of the rest, yet should not go unpunished.
JAMISON, "Sheshach — Babylon; as the parallelism in Jer_51:41 proves. In the
Cabalistic system (called Athbash, the first Hebrew letter in the alphabet being
expressed by the last) Sheshach would exactly answer to Babel. Jeremiah may have used
this system (as perhaps in Jer_51:41) for concealment at the time of this prediction, in
102

103. the fourth year of Jehoiakim, while Nebuchadnezzar was before Jerusalem. In Jer_51:41
there can be no concealment, as Babylon is expressly mentioned. Michaelis more simply
explains the term “brazen-gated” (compare Isa_45:2); others, “the house of a prince.”
Rather, it comes from the Babylonian goddess, Shach, by reduplication of the first letter;
from her Misael was named Meshach by the Babylonians. The term Shace was applied to
a festival at Babylon, alluded to in Jer_51:39, Jer_51:57; Isa_21:5. It was during this
feast that Cyrus took Babylon [Herodotus, 1]. Thus Jeremiah mystically denotes the time
of its capture by this term [Glassius].
CALVIN, "The Prophet speaks now of the kings of the north who bordered on the
king of Babylon; for as to Judea, Babylon was northward. He calls all those who
were towards Chaldea the kings of the north. He then says, Whether near or remote,
every one shall be against his brother, and, in short, all the kingdoms of the earth on
the face of the earth There is no doubt, as we shall see, but that the Prophet put in
the last place the Chaldeans and their king. It is hence probable that what he here
predicts was to be accomplished by the hand and power of the king of Babylon, who
executed God’s vengeance on all these nations. God, then, chose for himself the king
of Chaldea as a scourge, and guided him by his hand in punishing all the lands
mentioned here.
I have already reminded you that this was not predicted for the sake of the Jews,
that they might derive any alleviation to their grief from the circumstance of having
associates, because the condition of others was nothing better; but that God’s design
was another, that is, that in so great a confusion of all things, when heaven and
earth, as they say, were blended together, they might know that nothing happens
through the blind will of fortune. For God had already testified by the mouth of his
servant what he would do, and from this prophecy it was easy to conclude that all
these changes and violent commotions were the effects of God’s judgment.
The Prophet, after having shewn that the most grievous calamities were nigh all the
nations who were neighbors to the Jews, and whose fame had reached them, says, in
the last place, that the king of Sheshach would drink after them Hitherto the
Prophet seems to have exempted the king of Babylon from all trouble and danger;
for he has mentioned all the nations, and has spoken not only of those who were
nigh the Jews, but also of the Persians, the Medes, and others. What, then, could
have been the design of all this, if the king of Babylon had been passed by? It might
have been asked, how can it be right and consistent that this tyrant should escape
punishment, though he was of all the most cruel and the most wicked? Hence the
Prophet now says, that the king of Babylon, how much soever his violence prevailed
among all nations, and raged unpunished, would yet in his time be brought to a
reckoning. The meaning then is, that God would defer the punishment of the
Chaldeans until he employed them in destroying all the nations of which Jeremiah
has hitherto spoken.
Respecting the king of Babylon being called the king of Sheshach, a question has
been raised, and some think that some unknown king is intended; for we know that
103

104. the word is a proper name, as it appears from some passages of Scripture. (1 Kings
11:40; 2 Chronicles 12:2.) But this opinion is not well founded; for the Prophet no
doubt speaks here of some remarkable king; and there is also no doubt but that he
reminded them of some most important event, so that there was no reason why
delay should depress the minds of the faithful, though they saw that this Sheshach
was not immediately punished with the rest. Others conjecture that Sheshach was a
renowned city in Chaldea. But there is no necessity for us to adopt such light and
frivolous conjectures. I have no doubt but that the opinion which the Chaldee
paraphraser has followed is the true one, that is, that Sheshach was Babylon. For
the sort of alphabet which the Jews at this day call ‫,אתבש‬ atbash, is no new
invention; it appears from Jerome it had been long known; he, indeed, derived from
great antiquity the practice, so to speak, of counting the letters backwards. They
put, the last letter, ‫,ת‬ in the place of ‫,א‬ the first, and then ‫ש‬ in the place of ‫,ב‬ and ‫כ‬
being in the middle of the letters was put for ‫;ל‬ and so they called Babel Sheshach.
(145) And to designate Babylon by an obscure name was suitable to the design of the
Prophet. But every doubt is removed by another passage in this Prophet,
“How is Sheshach demolished! how fallen is the glory (or praise) of the whole earth!
how overthrown is Babylon!”
(Jeremiah 51:40.)
There, no doubt, the Prophet explains himself; there is therefore no need to seek any
other interpretation. It is a common thing, as we know, with the prophets to repeat
the same thing in other words; as he had mentioned Sheshach in the first clause, to
prevent any doubt he afterwards mentioned Babylon.
But here a question arises; why did not the Prophet openly and plainly denounce
ruin on the king as well as on the Chaldean nation? Many think that this was done
prudently, that he might not create an ill-will towards his own people; and Jerome
brings forward a passage from Paul, but absurdly, where he says,
“Until a defection shall come,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
but he did not understand that passage, for he thought that Paul spoke of the
Roman empire. One error brings another; he supposed that Paul was cautious that
he might not excite the fury of the Roman Emperor against the Church; but it was
no such thing. Now, they who reject the opinion, which is the most correct, that
Sheshach was Babylon, make use of this argument, — that the Prophet was not
afraid to speak of Babylon, because he had declared openly of it what he had to say,
as we have already seen in other places, and as it will appear more clearly hereafter.
But I do not allow that the Prophet was afraid to speak of Babylon, for we find that
he boldly obeyed God, so that he stood firm, as we may say, in the midst of many
deaths; but I think that he concealed the name for another reason, even that the
Jews might know that they had no cause to be in a hurry, though the punishment of
Babylon had been predicted, for the prophecy was, as it were, buried, inasmuch as
the Prophet withheld the very name of Babylon. It was not, then, his purpose to
104

105. provide for the peace of the Church, nor was he afraid of the Chaldeans, lest he
should kindle their fury against God’s people; he had no such thing in view, but
wished rather to restrain too much haste.
And this appears from the context; Drink, he says, shall the king of Sheshath after
them; that is, all these nations must drink before God shall touch the king of
Babylon. He will not, then, be an idle spectator of all these calamities, but his
severity will proceed through all lands until it reaches its summit; and then, he says,
this king shall drink after the rest. Now, it might have seemed a poor consolation
that God would for so long a time spare the king of Babylon; but all God’s children
ought nevertheless to have acquiesced in the admonition given them, that though
they were to bear in mind that each of these nations were to be punished by God’s
hand, they were yet to believe that the king of Babylon would have his turn, and
that they therefore were to restrain themselves, and not to be carried away by too
hasty a desire to look for his punishment, but patiently to bear the yoke of tyranny
laid on them, until the seasonable time came of which they had been reminded. It
follows, —
But the most probable account is that given by Gataker, that Babylon was thus
called from an idol in great repute in the city, named Sheshach or Shach, and that it
was on the festival of this idol that the city was taken. This accounts for this name
being given to it, when its destruction is especially referred to. Mishael, which
terminated with God’s name, was changed into Meschach, or rather Mishach, which
contained the name of the Babylonian idol. (Daniel 1:7.) — Ed
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:26 And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with
another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which [are] upon the face of the earth:
and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
Ver. 26. And all the kingdoms.] See on Jeremiah 25:16.
And the king of Sheshak,] i.e., Belshazzar, that bezzling king of Babylon, while he is
quaffing in the vessels of God’s house to the honour of Shat, (a) the Babylonian
goddess; whence those feast days were called σακεαι ημεραι, being like the Roman
Saturnalia. Antichrist also, who hath troubled all the kingdoms of the earth, shall
himself perish, together with his Babylon the great, which hath made the nations
drunk with the wine of her fornications. WHEDON, " 26. Kings of the north —
Completing the survey.
Sheshach — See also Jeremiah 51:41. In the opinion of many we have here and in
Jeremiah 51:1, an example of that cabalistic figure called the atbash. This consisted
in substituting for each letter in a word the letter holding the corresponding place
counting from the other end of the alphabet, namely, for ‫א‬ (aleph) ‫(ת‬tav;) for ‫(ב‬beth)
‫(שׁ‬shin,) etc. On this plan Sheshach would answer to Babel, which it certainly
means; and in Jeremiah 51:1, the words rendered “in the midst of them that rise
up,” literally, heart of the risers up, would answer to Chasdim, (Chaldea,) which
105

106. also seems to be the sense intended. Jerome, in the fourth century, gives this
explanation, which he had probably derived from his rabbinical teachers. If this
explanation is correct, it is doubtless true, as Dean Smith says, that this is the “oldest
known cipher.”
But even if this view be taken, it will still be questioned whether this device was
originated by Jeremiah for some purpose of his own, or whether he simply
appropriated what was formed to his hand. For the former no good reason can be
given, as there was evidently no concealment by means of this name. Besides, there
is some sense of incongruity between the character and work of a prophet feeling
almost insupportably the burden of the Lord’s message of judgment, and such an
artificial, not to say puerile, expedient as this. But if these words were already in
common use there is no reason why Jeremiah may not have employed them,
especially if the baldness of his reference to Babylon might thus be in any measure
relieved. And yet it is more than possible that the origin of these words is altogether
of a different character. For instance, as Professor Rawlinson suggests, this name
Sheshach may belong to a Babylonian divinity, and for that reason be taken for the
land.
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:26. And the king of Sheshach shall drink, &c.— By Sheshach
is meant Babylon, as appears from chap. Jeremiah 51:41. Houbigant renders it, And
king Sheshach, &c. whereby, says he, Nebuchadnezzar himself is meant, who is
spoken of under the name of Sheshach, a king who reigned formerly in Babylon,
and who was deified among that people. See Calmet.
PETT, "The kings of the north. The distant, mysterious north. Far and near, one
with another. The Hebrew has, "the near and the far, the one to the other;" i.e.
whether near or far in relation to each other, for of course with regard to Judah
they were all "the far north." All the kingdoms of the world, etc. This is far from
being the only instance in which a special judgment upon a nation or nations is
apparently identified with a great final judgment upon the world (see Isaiah 2:12;
Isaiah 3:13; Isaiah 13:9; Isaiah 24:1-12). The truth is that every great serf-
manifestation of the Divine Governor of the world is a fresh act in that great drama
of which the universal judgment will be the close. Hence the prophets, whose
perspective was necessarily limited, seeing the cud but not all that was to precede it,
speak as if the end were nearer at hand than it really was. The king of Sheshach, etc.
This clause, however, is omitted in the Septuagint, and is too manifestly the
insertion of an unwise copyist or editor. For, though perfectly true that Babylon was
to suffer punishment afterwards, it is most inappropriate to mention it here at the
end of a list of the nations which Babylon itself was to punish. "Sheshach," it should
be explained, is the form assumed by the word "Babylon" in the cypher called
Athbash (A=T, B=SH, etc.). It happens to convey a very appropriate meaning, viz.
"humiliation" (comp. Isaiah 47:1). A similar instance of cypher allegory occurs in
Jeremiah 51:1. "Sheshach" occurs again in Jeremiah 51:41, where, however, it is
omitted by the Septuagint. [Dr. Lauth, of Munich, thinks that Sheshach is
equivalent to Sisku, the name of a district in Babylonia; but the reading Sisku is
106

107. uncertain.]
27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord
Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get
drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because
of the sword I will send among you.’
BARNES, "The metaphors denote the helplessness to which the nations are reduced
by drinking the wine-cup of fury Jer_25:15.
CLARKE, "Be drunken, and spue - Why did we not use the word vomit, less
offensive than the other, and yet of the same signification?
GILL, "Therefore thou shalt say unto them,.... To the several nations before
mentioned, prophesied against:
thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; the Lord of armies, above and
below, the Sovereign of the whole universe; but in a special and peculiar manner the God
of Israel:
drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more; as is
sometimes the case of drunken men; they drink till they are quite intoxicated; and
become drunk, and then they spew up what they have drunk; and, attempting to walk,
fall, and sometimes so as never to rise more; not only break their bones, but their necks,
or fall into places where they are suffocated, or in one or other, where they lose their
lives. So it is signified, that these nations should drink of the cup of God's wrath and
fury; or his judgments should come upon them in such a manner as that they should be
obliged to part with all their riches, power, and authority; and should fall and sink into
such a ruinous condition, as that they should never be able to the more to a prosperous
one:
107

108. because of the sword that I will send among you; by which they should be
destroyed. The Targum joins this with the preceding clause, thus,
"and ye shall not rise from before those that kill with the sword, whom I send among
you.''
HENRY, "What should be the effect of it. The desolations which the sword should
make in all these kingdoms are represented by the consequences of excessive drinking
(Jer_25:16): They shall drink, and be moved, and be mad. They shall be drunken, and
spue, and fall and rise no more, Jer_25:27. Now this may serve, (1.) To make us loathe
the sin of drunkenness, that the consequences of it are made use of to set forth a most
woeful and miserable condition. Drunkenness deprives men, for the present, of the use
of their reason, makes them mad. It takes from them likewise that which, next to reason,
is the most valuable blessing, and that is health; it makes them sick, and endangers the
bones and the life. Men in drink often fall and rise no more; it is a sin that is its own
punishment. How wretchedly are those intoxicated and besotted that suffer themselves
at any time to be intoxicated, especially to be by the frequent commission of the sin
besotted with wine or strong drink! (2.) To make us dread the judgments of war. When
God sends the sword upon a nation, with warrant to make it desolate, it soon becomes
like a drunken man, filled with confusion at the alarms of war, put into a hurry; its
counsellors mad, and at their wits' end, staggering in all the measures they take, all the
motions they make, sick at heart with continual vexation, vomiting up the riches they
have greedily swallowed down (Job_20:15), falling down before the enemy, and as
unable to get up again, or do any thing to help themselves, as a man dead drunk is,
Hab_2:16.
JAMISON, "rise no more — The heathen nations in question should fall to rise no
more. The Jews should fall but for a time, and then rise again. Therefore, the epithet is
given, “the God of Israel.”
K&D 27-29, "
From Jer_25:27 onwards the commission from God (Jer_25:15.) is still more
completely communicated to Jeremiah, so that the record of its fulfilment (Jer_
25:17-26), together with the enumeration of the various peoples, is to be regarded as an
explanatory parenthesis. These might the less unsuitably be inserted after Jer_25:16,
inasmuch as what there is further of the divine command in Jer_25:27-29 is, if we
examine its substance, little else than an enforcement of the command. The prophet is
not merely to declare to them what is the meaning of this drinking of wrath (Hitz.), but
is to tell them that they are to drink the cup of wrath to the bottom, so that they shall fall
for drunkenness and not be able to stand again (Jer_25:27); and that they must drink,
because when once Jahveh has begun judgment on His own people, He is determined
not to spare any other people. ‫יוּ‬ ְ‫ק‬ from ‫ָה‬‫י‬ ָ‫ק‬ = ‫א‬ ‫ק‬ serves to strengthen the ‫רוּ‬ ְ‫כ‬ ִ‫;שׁ‬ in the
second hemistich the figurative statement passes into the real, as at Jer_25:16. In Jer_
25:28 ‫ת‬ ָ‫שׁ‬ ‫תּוּ‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫ת‬ is a peremptory command; ye shall = must drink. Jer_25:29 gives the
reason; since God spares not His own people, then the heathen people need not count on
immunity. "And ye think to go unpunished" is a question of surprise. Judgment is to be
108

109. extended over all the inhabitants of the earth.
As to the fulfilment of this prophecy, see detail sin the exposition of the oracles against
the nations, Jer 46-51. Hence it appears that most of the nations here mentioned were
subject to Nebuchadnezzar. Only of Elam is no express mention there made; and as to
Media, Jeremiah has given no special prophecy. As to both these peoples, it is very
questionable whether Nebuchadnezzar ever subdued them. For more on this, see on
Jer_49:34-39. Although it is said in Jer_25:9 of the present chapter and in Jer_27:5.
that God has given all peoples, all the lands of the earth, into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar, yet it does not follow thence that Nebuchadnezzar really conquered all.
The meaning of the prophetic announcement is simply that the king of Babylon will
obtain dominion over the world for the coming period, and that when his time is run, he
too must fall beneath the judgment. The judgment executed by Nebuchadnezzar on the
nations is the beginning of that upon the whole earth, before which, in course of time, all
inhabitants of the earth fall, even those whom Nebuchadnezzar's sword has not reached.
In the beginning of the Chaldean judgment the prophet sees the beginning of judgment
upon the whole earth.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet returns to his former discourse. He had said that a cup
was extended to him by God’s hand, that he might give it to all nations to drink. He
now repeats and confirms the same thing, not indeed that he brought this message
to all the nations; for we have said the benefit arising from these predictions
belonged only to the Jews. Neither the Tyrians nor the Sidonians ever knew that
they were punished by God’s hand when they were plundered by their enemies; this
never came to their minds, nor had this been ever taught them. The Prophet had not
been appointed their teacher; but his duty was only to warn his own nation.
However, the Prophet, that his predictions might have greater authority, is here
introduced as God’s herald, denouncing ruin on all nations, Thou shalt therefore
say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, etc. The true God was unknown to these heathens,
except they had heard that God was worshipped in Judea; but at the same time they
despised, yea, hated true religion. But, as I have already said, the Prophet addressed
his own people, the Jews alone, though he spoke of aliens and distant nations. I
cannot advance further now.
COFFMAN, ""And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God
of Israel: Drink ye, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because
of the sword which I shall send among you. And it shall be if they refuse to take the
cup at thy hand to drink, then thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of
hosts: ye shall surely drink. For, lo, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by
my name; and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I
will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts."
"If they shall refuse to take the cup ..." (Jeremiah 25:28). Of course, no person or no
nation can refuse to drink the cup of the wine of the wrath of God; and what this
signifies here is the surfacing of any complaint against God's judgment that might
109

110. be raised by sufferers of the consequences of their sins.
The judgment of God against the whole world derives from the fact that when the
world has become so wicked that God's people themselves are swept into the near-
universal rebellion against God, then the whole world at that time does indeed
deserve destruction. It happened once upon the occasion of the destruction of the
Old Israel; and it will occur again in the destruction of the New Israel at the end of
the age in the events culminating in the Final Judgment of the Great Day. When will
that happen? When the cities of the Gentiles have fallen, when the Great Whore,
when oppressive anti-theistic government, and Satan himself shall all three have
been cast into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone. See the last three
chapters of Revelation.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD
of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no
more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
Ver. 27. Drink ye, and be drunk, and spue, and fall.] Eckius, or Eccius, otherwise by
some called Jeccius, from his casting or spuing, being nonplussed by Melanchthon,
and well nigh madded, started drinking, for his own solace, and drank himself to
death. (a) So should these do of the cup of God’s wrath, not only till they were mad
drunk, {as Jeremiah 25:16} but dead drunk.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:27
“And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, Drink
you, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword
which I will send among you.”
The picture of the drunkard drinking, and becoming more and more drunk, and
vomiting, and then collapsing in a state of total inebriation is vividly descriptive of
the confusion irrationality and effects of warfare. Notice that it is YHWH of the
hosts of Heaven and earth, the God of Israel, Who is personally sending this sword
among them.
PULPIT, "Therefore thou shalt say, etc.; rather, And thou shalt say, etc. This verse
is probably a continuation of Jeremiah 25:16, Jeremiah 25:17, Jeremiah 25:18-26
being apparently inserted by an afterthought. The message given to Jeremiah to
deliver is that the judgment is both overpoweringly complete and irreversible. If
God's own people has not been spared, how should any other escape (comp.
Jeremiah 49:12)?
110

111. 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your
hand and drink, tell them, ‘This is what the Lord
Almighty says: You must drink it!
BARNES, "And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to
drink,.... To give credit to the prophecies of ruin and destruction delivered by the
prophet, but say, these things shall not be:
then shalt thou say unto them, thus saith the Lord of hosts, ye shall
certainly drink; or those judgments shall certainly be inflicted; there will be no
possibility of escaping, whether they were believed or not; or how unwilling soever they
were to believe the denunciations of them, or to have them come upon them; yet
assuredly so it would be; for thus saith the Lord of hosts, who is omnipotent, and does
what he pleases in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, over
whom he has a despotic power and government,
GILL, "And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink,....
To give credit to the prophecies of ruin and destruction delivered by the prophet, but
say, these things shall not be:
then shalt thou say unto them, thus saith the Lord of hosts, ye shall
certainly drink; or those judgments shall certainly be inflicted; there will be no
possibility of escaping, whether they were believed or not; or how unwilling soever they
were to believe the denunciations of them, or to have them come upon them; yet
assuredly so it would be; for thus saith the Lord of hosts, who is omnipotent, and does
what he pleases in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, over
whom he has a despotic power and government,
HENRY 28-29, "The undoubted certainty of it, with the reason given for it, Jer_
25:28, Jer_25:29. They will refuse to take the cup at thy hand; not only they will be loth
that the judgment should come, but they will be loth to believe that ever it will come;
they will not give credit to the prediction of so despicable a man as Jeremiah. But he
must tell them that it is the word of the Lord of hosts, he hath said it; and it is in vain for
them to struggle with Omnipotence: You shall certainly drink. And he must give them
this reason, It is a time of visitation, it is a reckoning day, and Jerusalem has been called
to an account already: I begin to bring evil on the city that is called by my name; its
relation to me will not exempt it from punishment, and should you be utterly
unpunished? No; If this be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? If those
who have some good in them smart so severely for the evil that is found in them, can
111

112. those expect to escape who have worse evils, and no good, found among them? If
Jerusalem be punished for learning idolatry of the nations, shall not the nations be
punished, of whom they learned it? No doubt they shall: I will call for a sword upon all
the inhabitants of the earth, for they have helped to debauch the inhabitants of
Jerusalem.
II. Upon this whole matter we may observe, 1. That there is a God that judges in the
earth, to whom all the nations of the earth are accountable, and by whose judgment they
must abide. 2. That God can easily bring to ruin the greatest nations, the most numerous
and powerful, and such as have been most secure. 3. That those who have been vexatious
and mischievous to the people of God will be reckoned with for it at last. Many of these
nations had in their turns given disturbance to Israel, but now comes destruction on
them. The year of the redeemer will come, even the year of recompenses for the
controversy of Zion. 4. That the burden of the word of the Lord will at last become the
burden of his judgments. Isaiah had prophesied long since against most of these nations
(ch. 13, etc.) and now at length all his prophecies will have their complete fulfilling. 5.
That those who are ambitious of power and dominion commonly become the troublers
of the earth and the plagues of their generation. Nebuchadrezzar was so proud of his
might that he had no sense of right. These are the men that turn the world upside down,
and yet expect to be admired and adored. Alexander thought himself a great prince when
others thought him no better than a great pirate. 6. That the greatest pomp and power in
this world are of very uncertain continuance. Before Nebuchadrezzar's greater force
kings themselves must yield and become captives.
JAMISON, "if they refuse to take the cup — No effort of theirs to escape
destruction will avail.
CALVIN, "Here the Prophet returns to his former discourse. He had said that a cup
was extended to him by God’s hand, that he might give it to all nations to drink. He
now repeats and confirms the same thing, not indeed that he brought this message
to all the nations; for we have said the benefit arising from these predictions
belonged only to the Jews. Neither the Tyrians nor the Sidonians ever knew that
they were punished by God’s hand when they were plundered by their enemies; this
never came to their minds, nor had this been ever taught them. The Prophet had not
been appointed their teacher; but his duty was only to warn his own nation.
However, the Prophet, that his predictions might have greater authority, is here
introduced as God’s herald, denouncing ruin on all nations, Thou shalt therefore
say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, etc. The true God was unknown to these heathens,
except they had heard that God was worshipped in Judea; but at the same time they
despised, yea, hated true religion. But, as I have already said, the Prophet addressed
his own people, the Jews alone, though he spoke of aliens and distant nations. I
cannot advance further now.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 25:28
“And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you will
112

113. say to them, Thus says YHWH of hosts, You shall surely drink.”
And that is why they have no choice but to drink. They cannot demur. They have no
option. For YHWH of Hosts has determined that they will drink. There is an
unashamed emphasis on the total sovereignty of YHWH as controller of all the hosts
of men, all men’s armies.
29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the
city that bears my Name, and will you indeed go
unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am
calling down a sword on all who live on the earth,
declares the Lord Almighty.’
CLARKE, "The city which is called by my name - Jerusalem, which should be
first given up to the destruction.
GILL, "For, lo, I begin to bring evil upon the city which is called by my
name,.... Jerusalem, the city of God, the holy city, where his name was called upon, and
he was worshipped; on this he would first bring down his judgments; and indeed he had
already begun to bring evil on it; for this very year Nebuchadnezzar came up to besiege
it, and carried some away captives:
and should ye be utterly unpunished? or could they expect to go free from
punishment, who had so grossly sinned, and were guilty of such abominable idolatries,
and had been the means of drawing in the people of God into the same; and therefore,
since the professing people of God, who had been drawn in by their examples, were
punished, they could not, they ought not, to think of escaping. See the like argument in
Luk_23:31;
ye shall not be unpunished; or cleared, or acquitted, or go free; but made instances
and examples of vindictive justice:
for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth,
113

114. saith the Lord of hosts; or I will call them that kill with the sword, as the Targum;
who will obey the call, answer to it, and come forth and slay the inhabitants of the earth,
and none shall escape.
JAMISON, "If I spared not Mine elect people on account of sin, much less will I spare
you (Eze_9:6; Oba_1:16; Luk_23:31; 1Pe_4:17).
be unpunished — “be treated as innocent.”
CALVIN, "A proof is added by comparing the less and the greater; for the Prophet
reasons thus, — “If God spares not the city in which he has chosen a temple for
himself, and designed his name to be invoked, how can he spare aliens to whom he
has never made any promise, as he regarded them as strangers? If then the green
tree is consumed, how can the dry remain safe?” This is the import of the passage.
The Apostle uses the same argument in other words; for after having said that
judgment would begin at God’s house, he immediately shews how dreadful that
vengeance of God was to be which awaited his open enemies! (1 Peter 4:17.)
We may hence gather a useful doctrine. Since God not only declares that he will be
indiscriminately the avenger of wickedness, but also summons in the first place his
Church which he has chosen before his tribunal, its condition may seem to be worse
than that of alien nations. Hence the minds of the godly, when they view things in
this light, might be much depressed. It seems a singular favor of God, that he unites
us to himself; but yet this honor seems only to lead to punishment: for God connives
at the wickedness of heathens, and seems to bury them in oblivion; but as soon as we
fall into sin, we perceive signs of his wrath. It would then be better to be at a
distance from him, and that he should not be so solicitous in his care for us. Thus
the faithful view the unbelieving as in a better state than themselves. But this
doctrine mitigates all the sharpness of that grief, which might otherwise occasion
greatbitterness. For when it is represented to us, that God begins at his Church, that
he may more heavily punish the unbelieving after having long endured them, and
that they may thus be far more grievously dealt with than the faithful, as the dry
tree is much sooner consumed than the green, — when therefore this is set before us,
we have doubtless a ground for comfort, and that not small nor common.
We hence see why Jeremiah added this, — that how much soever the nations would
resist God, they would yet be constrained, willing or unwilling, to yield, as God was
more powerful than they; and for this reason, that since God would not spare his
chosen people, the heathens could by no means escape unpunished, and not find him
to be the judge of the world. Let then this truth be remembered by us, whenever our
flesh leads us to complain or to be impatient; for it is better for us that God should
begin with us, as at length the wicked shall in their turn be destroyed, and that we
should endure temporal evils, that God may at length raise us up to the enjoyment
of his paternal favor. And for this reason Paul also says, that it is a demonstration of
the just judgment of God when the faithful are exposed to many evils. (2
Thessalonians 1:4.): For, when God chastises his own children, of whose obedience
114

115. he yet approves, do we not see as in a glass what is yet concealed? even the dreadful
punishment that awaits all the unbelieving. God, then, represents to us at this day
the destruction of his enemies by the paternal chastisements with which he visits us;
and they are a certain proof or a lively exhibition of that judgment which the
unbelieving fear not, but thoughtlessly deride.
Now, he says, Behold I begin to bring evil, etc. The verb ‫,הרע‬ ero, means properly to
do evil; and it would be a strange thing to say that God does evil, were it not that
common usage explains the meaning. They who are in any measure acquainted with
Scripture know that calamities are called evils, that is, according to the perceptions
of men. The Lord then is said to bring evil on men, not because he injures them or
deals unjustly and cruelly with them, but because what is adverse to men’s minds is
thought to be by them, and is called evil. Then he says, I begin to do evil in the city
on which my name is called (148) God’s name is called on a people, when he
promises to be their guardian and defender, and his name is said to be called upon
men, when they betake themselves to his guardianship and protection.
But we must notice the real meaning, — that God’s name is called on a people, when
they are deemed to be under his guardianship and keeping; as God’s name is called
on the children of Abraham, because he had promised to be their God; and they
boasted that they were his peculiar people, even on account of their adoption. So
God’s name was called on Jerusalem, because there was the Temple and the altar;
and as God called it his rest or habitation, his name was there well known,
according to what we say in French, Se reclamer, il se reclame d’un tel, that is, such
an one claims this or that as his patron, so that he shelters himself under his
protection. So also the Jews formerly called on God’s name, when they said that
they had been chosen to be his people: nay, this may also be applied to men; for the
name of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham was called on the twelve tribes, even for this
reason, — because they regarded, when seeking to rely on God’s covenant, their
own origin, for they had descended from the holy fathers, with whom God had
made his covenant, and to whom he had promised that he would be ever their God.
All the Israelites called on Abraham, not, that they offered him worship, but that, as
they were his offspring, they might feel justly assured that the gratuitous covenant
by which God had adopted them to himself, had been transmitted to them. But this
calling may be also taken in another sense, even because they daily appeased God by
sacrifices and prayers: when they committed their safety to God, there was a
sacrifice always added, and reconciliation was also promised. Then to be called
upon or invoked, ‫,נקרא‬ nukora, may be taken in this sense, even that they knew that
God was reconciled to them, when they from the heart repented. Since then God’s
name was called upon in that city, how was it possible that the Gentiles should
escape that judgment to which the holy city was of be exposed?
But the former view seems to me the best; and there is no doubt but that God speaks
here to the free adoption by which he had chosen that people for himself: hence was
the invocation or the glorying of which he now speaks.
115

116. But as it was difficult to make the Jews to believe what the Prophet had said, he
dwells on the subject, and repeats what was before sufficiently clear. He not only
says, Shall ye be treated as innocent? but he mentions the word twice, Shall ye by
being treated as innocent be treated as innocent? (149) And thus he rebuked the
perverse contumacy by which the heathens were filled, while looking on their
wealth, their number, and other things, and at the same time disregarding all that
the prophets proclaimed at Jerusalem, as though it was nothing to them. The
question is in itself emphatical, “Can ye by any means be treated as innocent?” The
verb ‫,נקה‬ nuke, means to be innocent, but it is applied to punishment; as the word
‫,עון‬ on, which means iniquity, is used to designate punishment. So he is said not to
be innocent who cannot exempt himself from God’s judgment, nor be free from it.
He confirms this sentence when he says, For a sword am I calling for on all the
inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts This confirmation is by no means
superfluous, for the insolence of the nations had increased through the forbearance
of God, for they had for a long time, yea, for many ages, been in a quiet state, and
had indulged themselves in their pleasures, and slept as it were in their own dregs,
according to what is said elsewhere. The Prophet then says now, that God was
calling for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth. For he had often and in
various ways chastised his own people, while the Gentiles were not in any danger
and free from troubles. (Jeremiah 48:11.) But he says now that he was calling for a
sword to destroy all those whom he seemed to have forgiven.
But God is said to have called for men as well as for a sword; for Nebuchadnezzar is
said to have fought under the banner of God; he is said to have been like a hired
soldier. But God now speaks of the sword, that we might know that it is in his power
to excite and to quell wars whenever it pleases him, and that thus the sword, though
wielded by the hand of man, is not yet called forth by the will of man, but by the
hidden power of God. It follows, —
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by
my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I
will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Ver. 29. The city that is called by my name.] Periphrasis Hierosolymae
argumentosa.
And should ye be utterly unpunished?] See on Jeremiah 25:18.
Ye shall not be unpunished.] But suffer as surely and as sorely.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 25:29
“For, lo, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name, and should you
be utterly unpunished? You will not be unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all
the inhabitants of the earth, says YHWH of hosts.”
116

117. And this had necessarily to be so because if YHWH was beginning to work evil on
‘the city which was called by His Name’ (Jerusalem) because they had followed the
ways of the nations, how could the nations whose ways they had followed go
unpunished? It would not be so, for YHWH of hosts was calling for the sword to
come upon them.
‘The city which is called by My Name.’ This is an unusual phrase occurring
elsewhere only in Daniel 9:18-19. Usually it is ‘the house which is called by My
Name’ (Jeremiah 7:10-11; Jeremiah 7:14; Jeremiah 7:30). But see 2 Kings 21:4; 2
Kings 21:7; 2 Kings 23:27. It was the place where YHWH had chosen to set His
Name.
30 “Now prophesy all these words against them
and say to them:
“‘The Lord will roar from on high;
he will thunder from his holy dwelling
and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
shout against all who live on the earth.
BARNES, "Yahweh has risen like a lion from His covert, and at His roaring the whole
world is filled with terror and confusion.
Upon his habitation - Against His pasture; i. e., Judaea. Yahweh comes forth as the
lion to destroy the sheep which lie terrified within the circle of the tents.
A shout - The vintage-shout, here used for the war-cry. Compare Isa_16:9; Isa_63:3.
GILL, "Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto
117

118. them,.... What follows, as well as declare all that is before spoken concerning the cup of
fury all nations must drink of:
the Lord shall roar from on high: from, heaven, like a lion, in violent claps of
thunder; or in such dreadful dispensations of his providence, as will be very amazing and
terrifying:
and utter his voice from his holy habitation; from heaven, as before; and though
it will be terrible, yet quite consistent with his holiness and justice:
he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; the temple at Jerusalem, where he had
his residence; but now should be deserted by him, and feel the effects of his wrath in the
destruction and desolation of it: or rather, since the address is made to the nations of the
world, and not to the Jews, it may be rendered, "in" or "out of his habitation" (q); and so
designs heaven, as before; and all these expressions are intended to show both the
certainty and terribleness of the dispensation;
he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the
inhabitants of the earth; or, "answer a shout" (r); give the onset for battle against the
inhabitants of the earth, as the general of an army; which is accompanied with a shout,
like that which is made by workmen treading in the wine press, to encourage one
another to go on the more cheerfully in their work.
HENRY 30-38, "We have, in these verses, a further description of those terrible
desolations which the king of Babylon with his armies should make in all the countries
and nations round about Jerusalem. In Jerusalem God had erected his temple; there
were his oracles and ordinances, which the neighbouring nations should have attended
to and might have received benefit by; thither they should have applied for the
knowledge of God and their duty, and then they might have had reason to bless God for
their neighbourhood to Jerusalem; but they, instead of that, taking all opportunities
either to debauch or to disturb that holy city, when God came to reckon with Jerusalem
because it learned so much of the way of the nations, he reckoned with the nations
because they learned so little of the way of Jerusalem.
They will soon be aware of Nebuchadrezzar's making war upon them; but the prophet
is here directed to tell them that it is God himself that makes war upon them, a God with
whom there is no contending. 1. The war is here proclaimed (Jer_25:30): The Lord shall
roar from on high; not from Mount Zion and Jerusalem (as Joe_3:16, Amo_1:2), but
from heaven, from his holy habitation there; for now Jerusalem is one of the places
against which he roars. He shall mightily roar upon his habitation on earth from that
above. He has been long silent, and seemed not to take notice of the wickedness of the
nations; the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now he shall give a shout, as the
assailants in battle do, against all the inhabitants of the earth, to whom it shall be a
shout of terror, and yet a shout of joy in heaven, as theirs that tread the grapes; for,
when God is reckoning with the proud enemies of his kingdom among men, there is a
great voice of much people heard in heaven, saying, Hallelujah, Rev_19:1. He roars as
a lion (Amo_3:4, Amo_3:8), as a lion that has forsaken his covert (Jer_25:38), and is
going abroad to seek his prey, upon which he roars, that he may the more easily seize it.
2. The manifesto is here published, showing the causes and reasons why God proclaims
this war (Jer_25:31): The Lord has a controversy with the nations; he has just cause to
118

119. contend with them, and he will take this way of pleading with them. His quarrel with
them is, in one word, for their wickedness, their contempt of him, and his authority over
them and kindness to them. He will give those that are wicked to the sword. They have
provoked God to anger, and thence comes all this destruction; it is because of the fierce
anger of the Lord (Jer_25:37 and again Jer_25:38), the fierceness of the oppressor, or
(as it might better be read) the fierceness of the oppressing sword (for the word is
feminine) is because of his fierce anger; and we are sure that he is never angry without
cause; but who knows the power of his anger? 3. The alarm is here given and taken: A
noise will come even to the ends of the earth, so loud shall it roar, so far shall it reach,
Jer_25:31. The alarm is not given by sound of trumpet, or beat of drum, but by a
whirlwind, a great whirlwind, storm, or tempest, which shall be raised up from the
coasts, the remote coasts of the earth, Jer_25:32. The Chaldean army shall be like a
hurricane raised in the north, but thence carried on with incredible fierceness and
swiftness, bearing down all before it. It is like the whirlwind out of which God answered
Job, which was exceedingly terrible, Job_37:1; Job_38:1. And, when the wrath of God
thus roars like a lion from heaven, no marvel if it be echoed with shrieks from earth; for
who can choose but tremble when God thus speaks in displeasure? See Hos_11:10. Now
the shepherds shall howl and cry, the kings, and princes, and the great ones of the earth,
the principal of the flock. They used to be the most courageous and secure, but now their
hearts shall fail them; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes, Jer_25:34. Seeing
themselves utterly unable to make head against the enemy, and seeing their country,
which they have the charge of and a concern for, inevitably ruined, they shall abandon
themselves to sorrow. There shall be a voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling
of the principal of the flock shall be heard, Jer_25:36. Those are great calamities indeed
that strike such a terror upon the great men, and put them into this consternation. The
Lord hath spoiled their pasture, in which they fed their flock, and out of which they fed
themselves; the spoiling of that makes them cry-out thus. Perhaps, carrying on the
metaphor of a lion roaring, it alludes to the great fright that shepherds are in when they
hear a roaring lion coming towards their flocks, and find they have no way to flee (Jer_
25:35) for their own safety, neither can the principal of their flock escape. The enemy
will be so numerous, so furious, so sedulous, and the extent of their armies so vast, that
it will be impossible to avoid falling into their hands. Note, As we cannot out-face, so we
cannot out-run, the judgments of God. This is that for which the shepherds howl and
cry. 4. The progress of this war is here described (Jer_25:32): Behold, evil shall go forth
from nation to nation; as the cup goes round, every nation shall have its share and take
warning by the calamities of another to repent and reform. Nay, as if this ere to be a little
representation of the last and general judgment, it shall reach from one end of the earth
even unto the other end of the earth, Jer_25:33. The day of vengeance is in his heart,
and now his hand shall find out all his enemies, wherever they are, Psa_21:8. Note,
When our neighbour's house is on fire it is time to be concerned for our own. When one
nation is a seat of war every neighbouring nation should hear, and fear, and make its
peace with God. 5. The dismal consequences of this war are here foretold: The days of
slaughter and dispersions are accomplished, that is, they are fully come (Jer_25:34),
the time fixed in the divine counsel for the slaughter of some and the dispersion of the
rest, which will make the nations completely desolate. Multitudes shall fall by the sword
of the merciless Chaldeans, so that the slain of the Lord shall be every where found: they
are slain by commission from him, and are sacrificed to his justice. The slain for sin are
the slain of the Lord. To complete the misery of their slaughter, they shall not be
lamented in particular, so general shall the matter of lamentation be. Nay, they shall not
119

120. be gathered up, nor buried, for they shall have no friends left to bury them, and the
enemies shall not have so much humanity in them as to do it; and then they shall be as
dung upon the earth, so vile and noisome: and it is well if, as dung manures the earth
and makes it fruitful, so these horrid spectacles, which lie as monuments of divine
justice, might be a means to awaken the inhabitants of the earth to learn righteousness.
The effect of this war will be the desolation of the whole land that is the seat of it (Jer_
25:38), one land after another. But here are two expressions more that seem to make the
case in a particular manner piteous. (1.) You shall fall like a pleasant vessel, Jer_25:34.
The most desirable persons among them, who most valued themselves and were most
valued, who were looked upon as vessels of honour, shall fall by the sword. You shall fall
as a Venice glass or a China dish, which is soon broken all to pieces. Even the tender and
delicate shall share in the common calamity; the sword devours one as well as another.
(2.) Even the peaceable habitations are cut down. Those that used to be quiet, and not
molested, the habitations in which you have long dwelt in peace, shall now be no longer
such, but cut down by the war. Or, Those who used to be quiet, and not molesting any of
their neighbours, those who lived in peace, easily, and gave no provocation to any, even
those shall not escape. This is one of the direful effects of war, that even those who were
most harmless and inoffensive suffer hard things. Blessed be God, there is a peaceable
habitation above for all the sons of peace, which is out of the reach of fire and sword.
JAMISON, "roar — image from a destructive lion (Isa_42:13; Joe_3:16).
upon his habitation — rather, “His pasturage”; keeping up the image of a lion
roaring against the flock in the pasture. The roar was first to go forth over Judea wherein
were “the sheep of His pasture” (Psa_100:3), and thence into heathen lands.
shout ... tread ... grapes — (Jer_48:33; Isa_16:9, Isa_16:10).
K&D 30-31, ""But do thou prophesy to them all these words, and say unto them:
Jahveh will roar from on high, and from His holy habitation let His voice resound; He
will roar against His pasture, raise a shout like treaders of grapes against all the
inhabitants of the earth. Jer_25:31. Noise reacheth to the end of the earth, for
controversy hath Jahveh with the nations; contend will He with all flesh; the wicked He
gives to the sword, is the saying of Jahveh. Jer_25:32. Thus saith Jahveh of hosts:
Behold, evil goeth forth from nation to nation, and (a) great storm shall raise itself
from the utmost coasts of the earth. Jer_25:33. And the slain of Jahveh shall lie on that
day from one end of the earth unto the other, shall not be lamented, neither gathered
nor buried; for dung shall they be upon the ground. Jer_25:34. Howl, ye shepherds,
and cry! and sprinkle you (with ashes), ye lordliest of the flock! For your days are filled
for the slaughter; and I scatter you so that ye shall fall like a precious vessel. Jer_
25:35. Lost is flight to the shepherds, and escape to the lordliest of the flock. Jer_25:36.
Hark! Crying of the shepherds and howling of the lordliest of the flock; for Jahveh
layeth waste their pasture. Jer_25:37. Desolated are the pastures of peace because of
the heat of Jahveh's anger. Jer_25:38. He hath forsaken like a young lion his covert;
for their land is become a desert, because of the oppressing sword, and because of the
heath of His anger."
In this passage the emblem of the cup of the Lord's anger (Jer_25:25-29) is explained
120

121. by a description of the dreadful judgment God is to inflict on all the inhabitants of the
earth. This is not the judgment on the world at large as distinguished from that
proclaimed in Jer_25:15-29 against the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world,
as Näg. supposes. It is the nature of this same judgment that is here discussed, not
regard being here paid to the successive steps of its fulfilment. Jer_25:30 and Jer_25:31
are only a further expansion of the second half of Jer_25:29. "All these words" refers to
what follows. The clause"Jahveh will roar" to "let His voice resound" is a reminiscence
from Joe_3:16 and Amo_1:2; but instead of "out of Zion and out of Jerusalem" in those
passages, we have here "from on high," i.e., heaven, and out of His holy habitation (in
heaven), because the judgment is not to fall on the heathen only, but on the theocracy in
a special manner, and on the earthly sanctuary, the temple itself, so that it can come only
from heaven or the upper sanctuary. Jahveh will roar like a lion against His pasture (the
pasture or meadow where His flock feeds, cf. Jer_10:25); a name for the holy land,
including Jerusalem and the temple; not: the world subject to Him (Ew.). '‫ד‬ ָ‫יד‬ ֵ‫ה‬ , He will
answer Hedad like treaders of grapes; i.e., raise a shout as they do. Answer; inasmuch as
the shout or wary-cry of Jahveh is the answer to the words and deeds of the wicked.
Grammatically ‫ד‬ ָ‫יד‬ ֵ‫ה‬ is accus. and object to the verb: Hedad he gives as answer. The
word is from ‫ד‬ ַ‫ד‬ ָ‫,ה‬ crash, and signifies the loud cry with which those that tread grapes
keep time in the alternate raising and thrusting of the feet. Ew. is accordingly correct,
though far from happy, in rendering the word "tramping-song;" see on Isa_16:9. As to
the figure of the treader of grapes, cf. Isa_63:3.
Jer_25:31
‫ן‬ ‫א‬ָ‫שׁ‬ is the din of war, the noise of great armies, cf. Isa_17:12., etc. For the Lord
conducts a controversy, a cause at law, with the nations, with all flesh, i.e., with all
mankind; cf. Jer_2:9, Jer_2:35. - ‫ים‬ ִ‫ע‬ָ‫שׁ‬ ְ‫ר‬ ָֽ‫ה‬ is for the sake of emphasis put first and
resumed again in the suffix to ‫ָם‬‫נ‬ ָ‫ת‬ ְ‫.נ‬ "Give to the sword" as in Jer_15:9.
CALVIN, "The word ‫הידד‬ , eidad, is rendered celeusma, a shout; but some render it
a mournful singing; and it often occurs when the vintage is spoken of. Celeusma, as
it is well known, is the shout of sailors. Its etymology is indeed general in its
meaning; for κελεύειν is to exhort, to encourage; and then the noun is exhortation.
But as this word is only used as to sailors, I prefer to adopt the word sound, or a
loud noise.
Then he says, Prophesy thou against them all these words, and say to them, etc. I
have already reminded you that no command was given to the Prophet to go to the
heathens and to address each nation among them, or, in other words, to perform
among them his prophetic office. But though he did not move a foot from the city,
yet the influence of his prophecy reached through every region of the earth. The
preaching therefore of Jeremiah was not in vain, for the Jews understood by what
happened, that there was in the language of the holy man the power of the Spirit for
the salvation of all the godly, and for the destruction of all the unbelieving. It is,
then, in this sense that God bids and commands him again to prophesy against all
nations, and to speak to them, not that he actually addressed them; but when he
taught the Jews, his doctrine had an influence on all nations.
121

122. And he says, Jehovah from on high shall roar, and from the habitation of his
holiness shall send forth his voice The metaphor of roaring is sufficiently common.
It seems indeed unsuitable to apply it to God; but we know how tardy men are, and
how they indulge themselves in their own insensibility, even when God threatens
them. Hence God, adopting a hyperbolical mode of speaking, reproves their
stupidity, as he cannot move them except he exceeds the limits of moderation. This
then is the reason why he compares himself to a lion, not that we are to imagine that
there is anything savage or cruel in him; but as I have said, men cannot be moved,
except God puts on another character and comes forth as a lion, while yet he
testifies not in vain elsewhere, that he is slow to wrath, inclined to mercy and long-
suffering. (Psalms 86:5.) Let us then know that the impious contempt, by which
most men are fascinated, is thus condemned, when God does as it were in this
manner transform himself, and is constrained to represent himself as a lion.
Roar, then, he says, shall Jehovah, from on high, and from the habitation of his
holiness shall he send forth his voice When he speaks of on high, it is probable that
heaven is meant; and the habitation of his holiness is often taken for the sanctuary
or the Temple; but in other places, when the same words are repeated, heaven is
also meant by the habitation of his holiness. There is yet nothing unsuitable, if we
say that the Prophet here refers to the Temple, and that he thus refers to it, that he
might raise upwards the minds of the Jews, who had their thoughts fixed on the
visible Temple: nay, this seems to be required by the context. They indeed foolishly
thought that God was bound to them, because it had been said,
“Here is my rest for ever; here will my name and power dwell.” (Psalms 132:14)
They strangely thought that there was no God but he who was inclosed in that
visible and external sanctuary. Hence was that pride which Isaiah reproves and
severely condemns when he says,
“Where is the place for my rest? the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my
footstool; what place then will you build for me?” (Isaiah 66:1.)
The Prophet there does not merely speak, as many think, against superstition; but
he rather beats down that foolish arrogance, because the people thought that God
could never be separated from the material Temple. And yet it was not for nothing
that the Temple had the name of being the royal throne of God, provided vices were
removed. So now the Prophet, though he exalts God above the heavens, yet alludes
to the visible sanctuary, when he says, “Roar shall Jehovah from on high, and from
the habitation of his holiness shall he send forth his voice;” that is, though the
Gentiles think that God sits and rests in a corner, yet his throne is in heaven: that he
has chosen for himself a terrestrial habitation, is no reason why the government of
the whole earth should not be in his hands; and therefore he manifests proofs of his
vengeance towards all nations; but for the sake of his Church he will go forth as it
were from his Temple: and he repeats again, Roaring he shall roar on his dwelling,
122

123. or habitation. (150) Jerome usually renders the last word ornament, beauty; and yet
this passage sufficiently proves that it cannot mean any other thing than habitation,
as well as many other passages.
He afterwards proceeds to another comparison, He will respond a shout, as those
who tread the wine-press against all the inhabitants of the earth This repetition and
variety confirm what I have said, — that God hyperbolically set forth the
vehemence of his voice in order to fill with terror the secure and the torpid. And the
Prophet seems here to intimate, that though there would be none to cheer, yet God’s
voice would be sufficiently powerful. For they who tread the wine-press mutually
encourage one another by shouting; one calls on another, and thus they rouse
themselves to diligence. There is also a mutual concord among sailors, when they
give their shouts, as well as among the workmen who tread the grapes in the wine-
press. But though God would have no one to rouse him, yet he himself would be
sufficient; he will respond a shout (151) The Prophet might have used another word;
but he says, he will respond — to whom? even to himself; that is, though all united
to extinguish God’s vengeance, yet he will come forth a conqueror, nor will he have
any need of help. It then follows, —
Roaring he will roar against his own habitation; A shout like that of treaders of
grapes Will he respond to all the inhabitants of the earth.
This rendering prevents the necessity of giving an unusual meaning to ‫,אל‬ as it is
commonly done. Coccius takes this view of the passage. — Ed
COFFMAN, ""Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto
them, Jehovah will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation;
he will mightily roar against his fold; he will give a shout as they that tread the
grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even unto the end
of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into
judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith
Jehovah."
Notice how repeatedly the message is emphasized: (1) that all nations shall suffer
judgment and destruction; (2) that death shall overtake the wicked; and (3) that
there shall be no national exceptions to God's wrath.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words,
and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his
holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as
they that tread [the grapes], against all the inhabitants of the earth.
Ver. 30. The Lord shall roar from on high.] As a lusty lion, having discovered his
prey, runneth upon it, roaring so horribly that he astonisheth the creatures and sets
them at a stand.
123

124. He will mightily roar upon his habitation.] Pliny reporteth of the lioness, that she
bringeth forth her whelps dead, and so they remain for the space of three days, until
the lion, coming near to the den where they lie, lifteth up his voice, and roareth so
fiercely, that presently they revive and rise. The "Lion of the tribe of Judah" will
roar to like purpose at the last day; and doth afore, when he pleaseth, roar terribly
upon his enemies, to their utter amazement. [Joel 3:16 Amos 1:2; Amos 3:8]
He shall give a shout, as those that tread the grapes.] When they have their feet in
the winepress, and the new liquor in their heads, as one phraseth it.
WHEDON, " THE JUDGMENT ON THE WORLD, Jeremiah 25:30-38.
30. The Lord shall roar — As a lion furious for his prey, (see Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2,)
before whom sheep and shepherds (Jeremiah 25:34-36) fall helplessly on the ground
in consternation and despair.
They that tread the grapes — Who raise the vintage-shout, keeping time, as was the
custom, by the alternate raising and pushing down of the feet.
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:30. The Lord shall roar from on high— The metaphor in the
first part of the verse is taken from a lion roaring over his prey, (see Jeremiah
25:38.) and in the latter from the triumphant shouts of the treaders of the grapes.
The meaning is, that he should pronounce and execute a terrible judgment upon the
temple, the place that he had chosen for his habitation.
PETT, "Verses 30-38
YHWH Will Roar From Heaven And The Earth Will Face Its Judgment (Jeremiah
25:30-38).
What is coming on the world is pictured in terms of ‘universal’ catastrophe, as so
often in the prophets. The idea is that the world will be turned upside down. But the
nations described, and the context of the prophecy, make clear that this is not
intended as eschatological but as practical. It was the world of Jeremiah’s own day
that was to be affected. On the other hand it can also be seen as a reminder that
man’s sinfulness is always such that it can only bring on him God’s future judgment
from which none will be excluded. In that sense therefore it can be seen as
eschatological. It is a principle of creation. ‘The soul who sins will die’. The
significance of eschatological judgment lies in the fact that the hope of mankind is
not be placed in the expectation of the world getting better, but awaits the coming of
a Deliverer Who will restore all things, especially the hearts of men.
Jeremiah 25:30
“Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and say to them,
124

125. ‘YHWH will roar from on high,
And utter his voice from his holy habitation,
He will mightily roar against his pasture,
He will give a shout, as those who tread (the grapes),
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.’ ”
The initial picture is of YHWH roaring from ‘on High’ and speaking from His holy
habitation, which in parallel with ‘on High’ must indicate Heaven. God is acting
from above. The roaring is that of the Divine Lion as He comes to His pasture, here
seen as the whole world, in order to attack the shepherds and seize the sheep
(Jeremiah 25:34-36). For such roaring we can compare Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2. And
like ‘the treaders’ He will cry out in enthusiastic vigour as He treads the grapes
(compare Jeremiah 48:33;Jeremiah 16:9-10). The treading of grapes represents His
bringing judgment on the people, compare Isaiah 63:2-6; Revelation 14:14-15. And
this will ‘on all the inhabitants of the (known) earth’. The whole area will be in
turmoil.
PULPIT, "Therefore prophesy thou, etc. Babylon, like the smaller kingdoms which
it absorbed, has fallen, and nothing remains (for nothing had been revealed to the
prophet concerning an interval to elapse previously) but to picture the great assize
from which no flesh should be exempt. As the lion suddenly bursts, roaring, from
his lair, so Jehovah, no longer the "good Shepherd," shall roar from on high (comp.
Amos 1:2; Joel 3:16) even upon his habitation, or rather, against his pasture, where
his flock (Jeremiah 23:1) has been feeding so securely. He shall give a shout. It is the
technical term used at once for the vintage-shout and for the battle-cry. In Isaiah
16:9, Isaiah 16:10, there is a beautiful allusion to this double meaning, and so
perhaps there is here (comp. Jeremiah 51:14).
31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the
earth,
for the Lord will bring charges against the
nations;
125

126. he will bring judgment on all mankind
and put the wicked to the sword,’”
declares the Lord.
BARNES, "A noise - The trampling of an army in motion. Compare Amo_2:2.
A controversy - i. e., a suit at law.
Will plead - Or, will hold judgment. As judge He delivers the wicked to the sword.
GILL, "A noise shall come up even to the ends of the earth,.... Wars, and
rumours of wars, everywhere, till the cup has gone round, and all nations have drank of
it, and have felt the power of divine wrath for their sins:
for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations; will enter into a judicial
process with them; will litigate the point with them, and try it openly; that it may be seen
who is in the right, and who in the wrong:
he will plead with all flesh; or enter into judgment with them, as Kimchi; or reprove
them in judgment, as Jarchi; he will be too many for them; he will carry his case,
overcome them in judgment, and reprove and condemn them. Or the words may be
rendered, "he will be judged by all flesh" (s); he will submit it to the judgment of the
whole world, if it is not a righteous thing in him to do what he is about to do, and will do;
he will make it clear and manifest that he does nothing unjustly, but all according to the
strict rules of justice and equity:
he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord; to be destroyed
by it, and none but them; and seeing they are such that deserve it, he is not to be charged
with unrighteousness in so doing.
JAMISON, "controversy — cause at issue (Mic_6:2).
plead with all flesh — (Isa_66:16). God shows the whole world that He does what is
altogether just in punishing.
BI, "He will plead with all flesh.
No excuse needed for faith in God
I. God pleads with men chiefly through the Spirit of the life of Jesus Christ. This part of
our life is a probation, like being at school; it is an apprenticeship to eternal life, a life in
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127. which we are to be journeymen and masters of the work of being good and doing good.
We are learners here. Some learn their life’s lesson thoroughly, and others only partially.
God means us to learn; and if a man will not do God’s will, he can only learn by the bitter
pain of experience. There are only two ways of learning—either by doing God’s will, or by
disobeying it; either way will bring us to our senses at some time or other, either in this
world or in that which is to come.
II. Christianity urges that if we be wise every one will choose the highest aim of life.
Unless we have some great object in view, our life is a task which is hard to bear; it is like
being rubbed with sandpaper, everything seeming to be in unpleasant friction with us.
Yet you cannot get a polish without friction; and so the friction of daily life that vexes
and torments us, is an experience which is good for us. It is one of God’s means of
polishing us; but it is unpleasant, like having small pebbles in one’s boots. It is, however,
a needful discipline. But were we humbly and lovingly to do God’s will, as you would
have your little child do your will, life would not be a painful task, nor would it be a state
of perpetual friction.
III. Christianity also teaches us that God is worthy to be both esteemed and loved.
IV. Christianity sweetly teaches us of the other life. Have you ever lived in the country,
and after being away for a time felt the joy of returning home? (W. Birch.).
CALVIN, "He pursues the same subject; he says that there would be a dreadful
assault, and that it would extend to the extreme parts of the earth. The word ‫,שאון‬
shaun, means a noise or sound; but it is also taken for violence or assault; and either
meaning would not be unsuitable here. The sound then, or assault, shall come to the
extreme parts of the earth It then follows, that God had a strife with all nations; and
here the Prophet seems to obviate a question that might have been raised, “What
does this mean? that God will suddenly raise a commotion, after having been quiet
and still for so many ages, without giving any symptom of his vengeance?” For we
have said that the nations here mentioned had been long in a tranquil state. Hence
the Prophet answers this unexpressed objection and says, that God had a contention
with them.
The time of contending is not always: he who does not immediately bring his
adversary before the judge, but deals kindly with him, and seeks to obtain amicably
from him what is right, does not thereby forego what is justly due to him; but when
he finds that the contumacy of his adversary is such that his kind dealing effects
nothing, he may then litigate with him. The same thing is now expressed by the
Prophet, even that God would now contend with the nations and dispute with all
flesh God is indeed, properly speaking, the judge of the world; and there is no
arbiter or a judge in heaven or on earth to be found before whom he can dispute;
but yet this mode of speaking ought to be especially noticed; for God thus silences
all those complaints which men are wont to make against him. Even they who are a
hundred times proved guilty, yet complain against God when he severely punishes
them, and they say that they are made to suffer more than they deserve. Hence God
for this reason says, that when he punishes he does not exercise a tyrannical power,
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128. but that he does as it were dispute with sinners. At the same time he sets forth his
own goodness by representing the end he has in view; for what he regards in rigidly
punishing wickedness, is nothing else than to obtain his own rights; and as he
cannot secure these by kind means, he extorts them as it were by the aid of laws.
(152)
Let us then observe, that nothing is detracted from God’s power and authority,
when it is said, that he disputes or contends with men; but that in this way all those
clamors are checked which the ungodly raise against him, as though he raged
immoderately against them, and also that thus the end of all punishment is pointed
out, even that God condescends to assume the character of an opponent, and
proposes nothing else than to require what is reasonable and just, like him who
having a cause to try before the judge, would willingly agree beforehand, if possible,
with his adversary; but as he sees no hope, he has recourse to that remedy. So God
contends with us; for except we were wholly irreclaimable, we might be restored to
his favor; and reconciliation would be ready for us, were we only to allow him his
rights.
31.Gone has the sound to the extremity of the earth; For a contention had Jehovah
with the nations, Into judgment hath he entered with all flesh; The wicked — he
gave them to the sword, saith Jehovah.
The past is evidently used for the future. “The sound” then was to go forth, and for
the reasons here assigned, — God would have a dispute with all, would try the
matter as it were by a judicial process, and would give up the condemned, the
wicked, to the sword. The object of this representation is very correctly stated by
Calvin. — Ed.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:31 A noise shall come [even] to the ends of the earth; for 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.
Ver. 31. For the Lord hath a controversy with the nations.] (a) A disceptation, which
showeth that his revenge to be taken upon them shall be just and lawful. It shall well
appear to be so, at that day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
[Romans 2:5]
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:31
“A noise will come even to the end of the earth,
For YHWH has a controversy with the nations,
He will enter into judgment with all flesh.
As for the wicked, he will give them to the sword,
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129. The word of YHWH.”
The noise is the noise of approaching armies (Jeremiah 4:29; Jeremiah 11:16; Jeremiah
47:3; Jeremiah 50:46) and it comes from distant places, because YHWH is, as it were,
bringing the nations to court to face up to His charges and there He will enter into
judgment with all flesh, and will give the wicked to the sword. And this is the sure word
of YHWH.
PULPIT, "A noise. The word is used elsewhere for the tumultuous sound of a marching
army (see Isaiah 13:4; Isaiah 17:12). He will plead; rather, he will hold judgment.
Jehovah's "contending" sometimes involves the notion of punishing, e.g. Ezekiel 38:22;
Isaiah 66:16. In 2 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles 22:8, the same verb in the same conjugation is
forcibly rendered in the Authorized Version, "to execute judgment."
32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Look! Disaster is spreading
from nation to nation;
a mighty storm is rising
from the ends of the earth.”
BARNES, "A great whirlwind - Or, storm.
The coasts of the earth - See Jer_6:22 note. The thunderstorm seen first on the
edge of the horizon overspreads the heaven, and travels from nation to nation in its
destructive course.
CLARKE, "Evil shall go forth from nation to nation - One nation after another
shall fall before the Chaldeans.
GILL, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth from nation
129

130. to nation,.... Begin in one nation, and then go on to another; first in Judea, and then in
Egypt; and so on, like a catching distemper, or like fire that first consumes one house,
and then another; and thus shall the cup go round from nation to nation, before
prophesied of: thus, beginning at Judea, one nation after another was destroyed by the
king of Babylon; then he and his monarchy were destroyed by the Medes and Persians;
and then they by the Macedonians; and then the Greeks by the Romans;
and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth; or
"from the sides of it" (t); that is, "from the ends of it"; as the Targum, which
paraphrases it,
"and many people shall come openly from the ends of the earth;''
this was first verified in the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar, compared to a
whirlwind, Jer_4:13; and then in the Medes and Persians under Cyrus; and after that in
the Greeks under Alexander; the great and last of all in the Romans under Titus
Vespasian.
JAMISON, "from the coasts — rather, “from the uttermost regions.” Like a storm
which arises in one region and then diffuses itself far and wide, so God’s judgments shall
pass “from nation to nation,” till all has been fulfilled; no distance shall prevent the
fulfillment.
not be lamented — (Jer_16:4, Jer_16:6).
neither gathered — to their fathers, in their ancestral tombs (Jer_8:2).
dung — (Psa_83:10).
K&D 32-33, "Jer_25:32-33
As a fierce storm (cf. Jer_23:19) rises from the ends of the earth on the horizon, so will
evil burst forth and seize on one nation after another. Those slain by Jahveh will then lie,
unmourned and unburied, from one end of the earth to the other; cf. Jer_8:2; Jer_16:4.
With "slain of Jahveh," cf. Isa_66:16. Jahveh slays them by the sword in war.
CALVIN, "Jeremiah goes on with the subject which we began to explain in the last
Lecture. He had before prophesied of God’s judgments, which were nigh many
nations, and which referred to almost all the countries near and known to the Jews,
and to some that were afar off. The substance of what has been said is, — that God,
who had long spared the wickedness of men, would now become an avenger, so that
it might openly appear, that though he had deferred punishment, he would not
allow the ungodly to escape, for they would in proper time and season be called to
give an account.
To the same purpose is what he adds here, go forth shall evil from nation to nation
The explanation by some is, that one nation would make war on another, and that
thus they would destroy themselves by mutual conflicts; and this meaning may be
admitted. It seems, however, to me that the Prophet meant another thing, even that
130

131. God’s vengeance would advance like a contagion through all lands. And according
to this view he adds a metaphor, or the simile of a storm, or a tempest, or a
whirlwind; for when a tempest arises, it confines not itself to one region, but spreads
itself far and wide. So the Prophet now shews, that though God would not at one
time punish all the nations, he would yet be eventually the judge of all, for he would
pass far and wide like a storm. Thus, then, I interpret the passage, not that the
nations would make war with one another, but that when God had executed his
judgment on one nation, he would afterwards advance to another, so that he would
make no end until he had completed what Jeremiah had foretold.
And this view appears still more evident from the second clause of the verse, for this
cannot be explained of intestine wars, raised shall be a tempest from the sides of the
earth We hence see that the meaning is, that God would not be wearied after having
begun to summon men to judgment, but would include the most remote, who
thought themselves beyond the reach of danger. As when a tempest rises, it seems
only to threaten a small portion of the country, but it soon spreads itself and covers
the whole heavens; so also God says, that his vengeance would come from the sides
of the earth, that is, from the remotest places, so that no distance would prevent the
completion of what he had foretold by his servant.
But this may also be accommodated to our case; for whenever we see that this or
that nation is afflicted by any calamity, we ought to remember this truth, that God
seasonably warns us, that we may not abuse his patience, but anticipate him before
his scourge passes from some side of the earth to us. In short, as soon as God
manifests any sign of his wrath, it ought instantly to occur to us, that it may spread
in a moment through all the extremities of the earth, so that no corner would be
exempted. For if he makes known his power in the whirlwind or the storm, how will
it be, when he makes a fuller and a nearer manifestation of his judgment, by
stretching forth his hand as it were in a visible manner? This, then, is the import of
this verse. It afterwards follows, —
COFFMAN, ""Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation
to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the
earth. And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even
unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor
buried; they shall be dung upon the face of the ground. Wail ye shepherds, and cry;
and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of
your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel. And the
shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice
of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah
layeth waste their pasture. And the peaceable folds are brought to silence because of
the fierce anger of Jehovah. He hath left his covert as a lion; for this land is become
an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of
his fierce anger."
This graphic description has a double application, referring at once to the
131

132. forthcoming destruction of the Old Israel and remotely to the Eternal Judgment of
the Last Day. Some of the radical critics prefer to assign this passage to some other
author than to Jeremiah, but, as Feinberg stated, "Such a denial of Jeremiah's
authorship is based, not upon any evidence at all, but the subjective opinions of
certain critics."[13] "The prophecy is certainly not later than the mid-sixth century
B.C., and we may credit it to Jeremiah."[14]
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:32-33
“Thus says YHWH of hosts,
Behold, evil will go forth from nation to nation,
And a great tempest will be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
And the slain of YHWH will be at that day
From one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth.
They will not be lamented, nor gathered, nor buried.
They will be dung on the face of the ground.”
The local judgment is seen in terms of the eschatological judgment, for the one
merges into the other. Nation after nation will experience ‘evil’ from YHWH as the
enemy armies arrive, and those armies will be like a great tempest raised up from
the furthest points on earth (as known at that time). And those who are slaughtered
in battle or as a result of invading armies will in fact be ‘the slain of YHWH’ for it is
He Who is bringing their judgment on them. The slaughter will be so great that
there will be none left to lament, none left to gather the bodies, none left to bury the
dead (compare Jeremiah 8:2; Jeremiah 16:4; Ezekiel 39:12). They will simply lie
like pats of cow dung on the face of the ground.
33 At that time those slain by the Lord will be
everywhere—from one end of the earth to the
other. They will not be mourned or gathered up
or buried, but will be like dung lying on the
ground.
132

133. BARNES, "Lamented - See the marginal reference and Jer_8:2.
CLARKE, "From one end of the earth - From one end of the land to the other.
All Palestine shall be desolated by it.
GILL, "And the slain of the Lord,.... Slain by his permission, yea, by his orders,
according to his will, in his wrath and sore displeasure, and to glorify his vindictive
justice:
shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the
earth; not that this should be at one and the same time; for there never was such a time,
that there was such a general slaughter in the world, that the slain should reach from
one end to the other; but that within the dispensation, in which the cup should go round
to all nations, meant by "that day", the slain of the Lord would be in all parts of the
world; or that, according to his will, there would be a great slaughter everywhere, as the
cup went round, or the sword was sent, first ravaging one country, and then another;
they shall not be lamented; having no pity from their enemies; and as for their
friends, they will share the same rite with them; so that there will be none to mourn over
them:
neither gathered; taken up from the field of battle where they fall; but, where they
should fall, there they should lie; none gathering up their bodies or bones, in order for
interment:
nor buried; in the sepulchres of their fathers, nor indeed in any place, or in any
manner; as not in any grand and magnificent manner, so not so much as in a common
way;
they shall be dung upon the ground; spread upon it, and lie above it, as dung, to
manure the earth.
CALVIN, "This verse explains what I have just said; and hence it also appears that
the Prophet did not speak of mutual slaughters inflicted by one nation on another,
but that he only declared that God’s wrath would spread like a storm so as to extend
to all nations and lands. The Prophet no doubt continues the same subject; and we
see why he says here, And the slain, of Jehovah shall be in that day, etc.; he calls our
attention to God alone; he will speak otherwise hereafter, he does not set here before
133

134. us the ministers of God’s vengeance, but God himself as acting by himself.
Hence he says, the slain of Jehovah; some read, “the wounded;” and ‫חלל‬ , chelal,
means to wound and to kill; but “the slain” is more suitable here. The slain then of
Jehovah shall be from one extremity of the earth to the other; as though he had said,
that God would not be satisfied with punishing three or four nations, but would
shew himself the judge of all the countries of the earth.
Now this passage is worthy of special notice; for we often wonder why God connives
at so many crimes committed by men, which none of us would tolerate. But if we
consider how dreadful was the tempest of which the Prophet now speaks, we ought
to know that God rests for a time, in order that the ungodly and the wicked might
be the less excusable. It was at the same time doubtless a sad spectacle, when so
many regions and provinces were unceasingly suffering various calamities, when
one nation thought itself better off than its neighbors, but presently found itself
more cruelly treated. And yet this was generally the case, for God’s wrath extended
to the extremities of the earth.
He amplifies the atrocity of the evil by mentioning three things, — They shall not be
lamented, nor gathered, nor buried; but they shall be as dung, and shall thus lie on
the face of the earth We have said in other places that lamentation does no good to
the dead; but as it is what humanity requires, the want of it is rightly deemed a
temporal punishment. So when any one is deprived of burial, it is certainly nothing
to the dead if his body is not laid in a grave; for we know that God’s holy servants
have often been either burnt or hung or exposed to wild beasts; and the whole
Church complains that dead bodies were lying around Jerusalem and became food
to the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth. But these things do not
disprove the fact, that burial is an evidence of God’s paternal kindness towards
men. For why has he appointed that men should be buried rather than brute
animals, except that he designed it to be an intimation of an immortal life? As, then,
burial is a sign of God’s favor, it is no wonder that he often declares to the
reprobate that their dead bodies would be cast away, so as not to be honored, with a
grave.
But we must remember this truth, — that temporal punishments happen in common
to God’s children and to aliens; God extends without any difference temporal
punishments to his own children and to the unbelieving, and that in order that it
may be made evident that our hope ought not to be fixed on this world. But however
this may be, it is yet true that when God punishes the unbelieving in this way, he
adds at the same time some remark by which it may be understood, that it happens
not in vain nor undesignedly, that those are deprived of burial, who deserve that
God should exterminate them from the earth, and that their memory should be
obliterated, so that they should not be connected among men. But we have said also
in another place, that such expressions admit of another meaning, which yet is not at
variance with the former, but connected with it, and that is, that so great would be
the slaughter, that none would be left to shew this kindness to his friend or to his
134

135. neighbor or to his brother. For when four or ten or a hundred die, they may be
buried; but when God slays by the sword a great number in one day, none are
found to take care of burying the dead, as few remain alive, and even they dread
their enemies. When therefore the prophets say that those whom God slew would be
without lamentation and burial, they intimate that so great would be the number,
that all would lie on the ground; for no one would dare to perform this humane act
towards the dead, and were all to do their utmost, they would not be able, as the
number would be so great.
Thus Jeremiah confirms what we have said, — that God’s vengeance would extend
to all lands and all nations, so as to involve in ruin the nobles as well as the common
people, and to leave remaining but a small number.
For the same purpose he adds what follows, that they would be as dung on the face
of the earth This is added by way of contempt. It was then hardly credible, that so
many illustrious, wealthy, and powerful nations could thus in so short a time be
destroyed. But the Prophet, in order to shake off this false conceit, says that they
would become like dung, that however great their dignity and power, their wealth
and strength, might be, they could not yet escape the hand of God, for he would
reduce to nothing the glory of the whole world. We now perceive the real meaning of
the Prophet. It then follows —
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from [one]
end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth: they shall not be lamented,
neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Ver. 33. And the slain of the Lord shall be, &c.] Such an utter destruction of the
wicked is expected by the Jews at the coming of their Messiah, as of all people under
heaven they are the most apt to work themselves into the fool’s paradise of a
sublime dotage, being light, aerial, fanatical.
34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;
roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered has come;
you will fall like the best of the rams.[f]
135

136. BARNES, "Principal of the flock - i. e., noble ones.
Wallow yourselves in the ashes - Rather, roll yourselves on the ground.
For ... - Read; “for your days for being slaughtered are accomplished, and I will
scatter you” (or, (dash you in pieces).
Fall like a pleasant vessel - The comparison suggests the idea of change from a
thing of value into worthless fragments.
CLARKE, "Howl, ye shepherds - Ye kings and chiefs of the people.
Ye shall fall like a pleasant tresses - As a fall will break and utterly ruin a
precious vessel of crystal, agate, etc., so your overthrow will be to you irreparable ruin.
GILL, "Howl, ye shepherds, and cry,.... The Targum is,
"howl, ye kings, and cry;''
and the rulers and governors of the nations before threatened with destruction are
meant; who are here called upon to lamentation and mourning for the ruin and loss of
their kingdoms; though Calvin thinks that this is an apostrophe to the Jewish nation,
and the rulers of it. It is no uncommon thing in Scripture to call kings and civil
magistrates shepherds; see Jer_23:1;
and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock; or "roll
yourselves in dust", as a token of mourning; as being in the utmost distress, and
incapable of helping themselves, and redressing the grievances of their people; and
therefore lie down and tumble about as in the greatest anxiety and trouble, the Targum
is,
"cover your heads with ashes, ye mighty of the people;''
meaning those who were in the highest posts of honour and profit; the chief as to
authority and power, riches and wealth;
for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; the
time is come when they who were the fat of the flock, and were nourished up for
slaughter, should be slain. The allusion to shepherds and sheep is still kept up; and such
who should escape that, should be scattered up and down the world, as a flock of sheep
is by the wolf, or any other beast of prey, when some are seized and devoured, and others
dispersed; and this was not the case of the Jews only, but of other nations in their turn;
and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel; a vessel of worth and value, and so
desirable; as vessels of glass, of gems, or of earth, as of Venice glass, of alabaster, of
China; which when they fall and are broken, become useless, and are irreparable;
signifying hereby, that their desirableness and excellency would not secure them from
destruction, and that their ruin would be irretrievable.
JAMISON, "shepherds — princes (Jer_22:22). Here he returns to the Jews and
136

137. their rulers, using the same image as in Jer_25:30, “pasture” (see on Jer_25:30).
wallow yourselves — Cover yourselves as thickly with ashes, in token of sorrow, as
one who rolls in them (Jer_6:26; Eze_27:30) [Maurer].
principal — leaders. The Septuagint translates “rams,” carrying out the image
(compare Isa_14:9, Margin; Zec_10:3).
days of your slaughter ... of ... dispersions — rather, “your days for slaughter
(that is, the time of your being slain), and your dispersions (not ‘of your dispersions’),
are accomplished (are come).”
pleasant vessel — Ye were once a precious vessel, but ye shall fall, and so be a
broken vessel (see on Jer_22:28). “Your past excellency shall not render you safe now. I
will turn to your ignominy whatever glory I conferred on you” [Calvin].
K&D 34-35, "Jer_25:34-35
No rank is spared. This is intimated in the summons to howl and lament addressed to
the shepherds, i.e., the kings and rulers on earth (cf. Jer_10:21; Jer_22:22, etc.), and to
the lordly or glorious of the flock, i.e., to the illustrious, powerful, and wealthy. With
"sprinkle you," cf. Jer_6:26. Your days are full or filled for the slaughter, i.e., the days of
your life are full, so that ye shall be slain; cf. Lam_4:18. ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יכ‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ‫צ‬ ‫פ‬ ְ‫וּת‬ is obscure and hard
to explain. It is so read by the Masora, while many codd. and editt. have ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יכ‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ‫פוּצ‬ ְ‫.וּת‬
According to this latter form, Jerome, Rashi, Kimchi, lately Maur. and Umbr., hold the
word for a substantive: your dispersions. But whether we connect this with what
precedes or what follows, we fail to obtain a fitting sense from it. Your days are full and
your dispersions, for: the time is come when ye shall be slain and dispersed, cannot be
maintained, because "dispersions" is not in keeping with "are full." Again: as regards
your dispersions, ye shall fall, would give a good meaning, only if "your dispersions"
meant: the flock dispersed by the fault of the shepherds; and with this the second pers.
"ye shall fall" does not agree. The sig. of fatness given by Ew. to the word is wholly
arbitrary. Hitz., Gr. and Näg. take the word to be a Tiphil (like ‫,תהרה‬ Jer_12:5; Jer_
22:15), and read ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יכ‬ ִ‫ת‬ ‫יצ‬ ִ‫פ‬ ְ‫,תּ‬ I scatter you. This gives a suitable sense; and there is no
valid reason for attaching to the word, as Hitz. and Gr. do, the force of ‫ץ‬ַ‫צ‬ָ‫פּ‬ or ‫ץ‬ַ‫ָפ‬‫נ‬, smite
in pieces. The thought, that one part of the flock shall be slain, the other scattered, seems
quite apt; so also is that which follows, that they are scattered shall fall and break like
precious, i.e., fine, ornamental vases. Hence there was no occasion for Ew.'s conjectural
emendation, ‫י‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫כ‬ ְ‫,כּ‬ like precious lambs. Nor does the lxx rendering: ἥωσπερ οἱ κριοὶ οἱ
ἐκλεκτοί, give it any support; for ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫כּ‬ does not mean rams, but lambs. The similar
comparison of Jechoniah to a worthless vessel (22:28) tells in favour of the reading in
the text (Graf). - In Jer_25:35 the threatening is made more woeful by the thought, that
the shepherds shall find no refuge, and that no escape will be open to the sheep.
CALVIN, "I doubt not but that the Prophet now turns his discourse especially to his
own nation, which interpreters have not observed, and hence have not understood
the meaning of the Prophet. He prophesied of God’s judgments, that the Jews might
know that they in vain looked for impunity, as the Lord would not pardon the
ignorant and destitute of all true knowledge, who might have pretended their
137

138. ignorance as an excuse; and also that this comfort might support the minds of the
godly, that the heathens, involved in the same guilt, would be subjected to the same
judgment; and lastly, that knowing the difference between them and other nations,
they might flee to God’s mercy and be encouraged to repent by entertaining a hope
of pardon. After having then treated this general subject, he now returns to the
people over whom he was appointed a teacher. He might indeed have declared from
an eminence what was to take place through the whole earth; for so extensive was
the office of a herald which God had conferred on him. He might then by the virtue
of his office have denounced ruin on all nations; but he ought not to neglect his
special care for the chosen people. And so I explain this passage; for he now again
directs his discourse to the Jews.
Hence he says, Howl, ye pastors, and cry, etc. By pastors he means the king and his
counsellors, the priests and other rulers; and by the choice of the flock he seems to
understand the rich, whose condition was better than that of the common people.
Some in a more refined manner consider the choice of the flock to have been those
void of knowledge, unlike the scribes and priests and the king’s counsellors; but this
view seems not to be well-founded. I therefore adopt what is more probable, — that
the choice of the flock were those who were rich and high in public esteem, and yet
held no office of authority in the commonwealth or in the Church. However this
may be, the Prophet shews, that as soon as God began to put forth his hand to
punish the Jews, there would be no ranks of men exempt from lamentation, for he
would begin with the pastors and the choice of the flock.
He adds that their days were fulfilled Here he indirectly condemns that wicked
security which had for a long time hardened them, so that they despised all
threatenings; for God had now for many years called on them, and had sent his
Prophets one after another; when they saw the execution of judgment suspended
over them, they considered it only as a bugbear, “Well, let the prophets continue to
pronounce their terrors, if they will do so, but nothing will come of them.” Thus the
ungodly turned God’s forbearance into an occasion for their obstinacy. As then this
evil was common among the Jews, the Prophet now says, by way of anticipation,
that their days were fulfilled For there is to be understood this contrast, that God
had spared them, not that he had his eyes closed, or that he had not observed their
wicked deeds, but that he wished to give them time to repent; but when he saw that
their wickedness was unhealable, he now says that their days were completed. And
he adds, to be killed or slain. I wonder that learned interpreters render this, “that
they may slay one another.” There is no need of adding anything, for the Prophet
meant to express no such sentiment, nor to restrict what he denounces here on the
Jews, to intestine or domestic wars; on the contrary, we know that they were slain
by aliens, even by the Chaldeans. This sense then is forced, and is also inconsistent
with history. It is added, and your dispersions (153) also are fulfilled, or your
breakings. The verb ‫,פוף‬ puts, means to scatter or to dissipate, and also to afflict, to
tear; and the sense of tearing or breaking is what I prefer here. And he adds, And ye
shall fall as a precious vessel This simile appears not to be very appropriate, for why
should he not rather compare them to an earthen vessel, which is of no value and
138

139. easily broken? But his object was to point out the difference in their two conditions,
that though God had honored them with singular privileges, yet all their excellency
would not keep them safe; for it often happens that a vessel, however precious, is
broken. And he speaks not of gold or silver vessels, but of fragile vessels, once in
great esteem. That he might then more grievously wound them, he says that they
had been hitherto precious vessels, or a precious vessel; for he speaks of them all in
the singular number, and that they were to be broken; and thus he confirms what I
said on the last verse, that hypocrites in vain trusted in their present fortune, or in
the superior blessings of God, for he could turn to shame whatever glory he had
conferred on them. It follows, —
34.Howl, ye pastors, and cry, And roll yourselves in the dust, ye illustrious of the
flock, Because fulfilled are your days For the slaughter and for your dispersions;
And ye shall fall like a precious vessel.
The word ‫,באפר‬ “in the dust,” is connected with the verb here used in Jeremiah 6:26,
and in Ezekiel 27:30, and it is supplied here by the Vulg. and the Targ. The line is
rendered by the Sept., —
And mourn, ye rams of the flock.
But the verb has no other sense but that of rolling, though the other word may be
rendered “rams,” as it is in the masculine gender.
Venema gives the following version, —
Howl, ye pastors, and cry aloud, And sprinkle yourselves with dust, ye illustrious of
the flock; For fulfilled are your days to be sacrificed; And there shall be your
breakings, And ye shall fall like a precious vessel.
He considers the first and the fourth line as connected, and the second and the
third; the pastors were to be broken, and the illustrious of the flock to be slain in
sacrifice. There is certainly a congruity in the parts thus viewed. — Ed.
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves [in
the ashes], ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your
dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Ver. 34. Howl, ye shepherds.] Ululate, volulate. Shriek and roll. This is spoken to the
governors and grandees; for in public calamities such usually suffer more than
meaner men. The corks swim, saith one, when the plummets sink. If a tree have
thick and large boughs, it lieth more open to lopping.
And ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel,] i.e., Irremediably. Like as a crystal glass or
China dish once broken cannot be pieced again.
OKE, "Jeremiah 25:34. Howl, ye shepherds— See Jeremiah 25:30. By shepherds, as
139

140. before, are meant the princes and chief men; and, pursuing the same metaphor, the
principal of the flock, signify the great and wealthy men of this nation, against
whom these judgments are denounced. By a pleasant or precious vessel, is meant a
crystal glass, or any other brittle vessel, which is easily broken by falling. Houbigant
renders the latter clause, For the days of your slaughter are fulfilled, and ye shall be
broken in falling as a precious vessel.
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:34-35
“Wail, you shepherds, and cry,
And wallow (in ashes), you principal of the flock,
For the days of your slaughter and of your scatterings are fully come,
And you will fall like a fine vessel.
And the shepherds will have no way to flee,
Nor the principal of the flock to escape.”
The picture turns back to the Divine Lion as He attacks the shepherds responsible
for the flocks (the shepherds who have devastated His people - Jeremiah 12:10-11).
The shepherds (rulers of the nations) are to wail and cry, and the king is to wallow
in ashes in grief, because the day of slaughter has come on them and on the flock,
and the day when they will be scattered has come. They will ‘fall like a fine,
ornamental vessel’. We should compare here how Jehoiachin was seen as a broken
vessel (Jeremiah 22:18) while Judah itself was also depicted in those terms, being
broken in the Valley of Slaughter (Jeremiah 19:10). Nor will there be anywhere for
the shepherds to flee, nor for their leader to escape. Death will be a certainty for all.
The alternative ‘choice rams’ instead of ‘fine vessel’ is not strictly correct as the
word means ‘lambs’. In view of the relevance of a broken vessel to the wider context
it is preferable to retain it.
PULPIT, "Wallow yourselves in the ashes. Supply rather, in the dust (comp. Micah
1:10), as more suitable to the figure (see on Jeremiah 6:26). The shepherds, and the
principal (or, noble ones) of the flock, are, of course, merely different forms of
expression for the rulers. The days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are
accomplished; rather, your days for being slaughtered are fulfilled; and I will
scatter you (or, dash you in pieces). This is the reading of an old and valuable
manuscript at St. Petersburg, and is partly favored by the pointing; it is adopted by
most modern critics, the form in the text being ungrammatical. Pleasant; or,
precious (comp. Daniel 11:8, Authorized Version). Compare the figure in Jeremiah
22:28.
140

141. 35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
GILL, "And the shepherds shall have no way to flee,.... Or, "and flight shall
perish from the shepherds" (u); though they may attempt it, they shall not be able to
accomplish it; neither the dignity of their persons, the greatness of their power, or the
abundance of their riches, would make a way for them; their enemies being so
numerous, powerful, and watchful:
nor the principal of the flock to escape; this was particularly verified in Zedekiah
and his princes, Jer_39:4. The Targum is,
"and the house of fugitives shall perish from the kings, and deliverance from the mighty
of the people.''
JAMISON, "Literally, “Flight shall fail the shepherds ... escaping (shall fail) the
principal,” etc. (Amo_2:14). The leaders will be the first objects for slaughter; escape by
flight will be out of their power.
CALVIN, "He explains what we have now observed, for he had bidden the pastors
to howl and the choice of the flock to roll or to prostrate themselves in the dust; he
now gives the reason, even because they could not preserve their lives, no, not by an
ignominious flight. It is indeed very miserable, when any one cannot otherwise
secure his life than by seeking exile, where he must be poor, and needy, and
despised; but even this is denied by the Prophet to the king and his counsellors, as
well as to the rich through the whole city and the whole land: Perish, he says, shall
flight from them. This mode of speaking is common in Hebrew:
“Flight,” says David, “has perished from me,”
(Psalms 142:5;)
that is, I find no way of escape. So here, Perish shall flight; that is, while looking
here and there in order to escape from danger, they shall be so shut up on every
side, that they shall necessarily fall a prey to their enemies. It follows, —
141

142. 36 Hear the cry of the shepherds,
the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
BARNES, "Jer_25:36
Hath spoiled - Or, spoileth.
GILL, "And a voice of the cry of the shepherds,.... Or of the kings, as the Targum:
and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard; of the mighty of the
people, as the same; what is before called for is here represented as in fact, because of
the certainty of it:
for the Lord hath spoiled their pastures: their kingdoms, provinces, cities, and
towns; or their people, as the Targum, among whom they lived, and by whom they were
supported; still keeping up the metaphor of the shepherd and flock. This the Lord is said
to do because he suffered it to be done, yea, ordered it to be done, as a punishment for
their sins.
K&D 36-38, "Jer_25:36-38
The prophet is already hearing in spirit the lamentation to which in Jer_25:34 he has
called them, because Jahveh has laid waste the pastures of the shepherds and their
flocks, and destroyed the peaceful meadows by the heat of His anger. - In Jer_25:38,
finally, the discourse is rounded off by a repetition and expansion of the thought with
which the description of the judgment was begun in Jer_25:30. As a young lion forsakes
his covert to seek for prey, so Jahveh has gone forth out of His heavenly habitation to
hold judgment on the people; for their (the shepherds') land becomes a desert. The perff.
are prophetic. ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ has grounding force. The desolation of the land gives proof that the
Lord has arisen to do judgment. ‫ן‬ ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬ ‫ָה‬‫נ‬ ‫יּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ seems strange, since the adjective ‫ָה‬‫נ‬ ‫יּ‬ ַ‫ה‬
never occurs independently, but only in connection with ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ח‬ (Jer_46:16; Jer_50:16,
and with ‫יר‬ ִ‫,ע‬ Zec_3:1). ‫ן‬ ‫ֲר‬‫ח‬, again, is regularly joined with '‫ף‬ ַ‫א‬ ‫,י‬ and only three times
besides with a suffix referring to Jahveh (Exo_15:7; Psa_2:5; Eze_7:14). In this we find
justification for the conjecture of Hitz., Ew., Gr., etc., that we should read with the lxx
and Chald. ‫ב‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ח‬ . The article with the adj. after the subst. without one, here and in Jer_
142

143. 46:16; Jer_50:16, is to be explained by the looseness of connection between the
participle and its noun; cf. Ew. §335, a.
CALVIN, "He not merely repeats the same thing in other words, but adds also
something more grievous, that God would render desolate their pastures. He
pursues the same metaphor; for as he used this comparison in speaking of the king’s
counsellors and the priests, so now he does the same; and what he means by
pastures is the community, the people, in the city and in the country; (154) as
though he had said, that they had hitherto ruled over that land which was rich and
fertile, and in which they enjoyed power and dignity, but that now they would be
deprived of all these benefits. He afterwards adds, —
PETT, "Jeremiah 25:36-38
‘A voice of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the principal of the flock!
For YHWH lays waste their pasture,
And the peaceable folds are brought to silence,
Because of the fierce anger of YHWH.’
He has left his covert, as the lion,
For their land is become an astonishment,
Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword,
And because of his fierce anger.’
The cries and wailings of the rulers of the nations will be everywhere as YHWH the
Divine Lion lays waste their pasture, slaughtering the sheep, resulting in an eerie
silence from the folds which had previously been so at peace. And it would be
because of the severe anger of YHWH. For like a lion on the hunt for prey He has
left His covert, and by means of foreign armies is turning their lands into spectacles
which astonish all who see them (compare Jeremiah 18:16), as a result of the
fierceness of the oppressing sword, a consequence of the fierce anger of YHWH. The
picture is of total war.
And so this Section in which the sins of Judah have been underlined and openly
declared, and the certainty of judgment has been revealed, ends in a picture of
universal catastrophe. Compare Jeremiah 4:23-28. Such is the consequence of
143

144. rebellion against God.
PULPIT, "Jeremiah 25:36, Jeremiah 25:37
The prophet seems in his spirit to hear the lamentation to which in Jeremiah 25:34
he summoned the "shepherds." A voice of the cry should be, Hark I the cry
(omitting "shall be heard"); the clause is an exclamation. Hath spoiled; rather, is
spoiling (or, laying waste). The peaceable habitations; rather, the peaceful fields (or,
pastures). Are cut down; rather, are destroyed; literally, are brought to silence
(comp. Jeremiah 9:10).
Jeremiah 25:38
Close of the prophecy with a fuller enunciation of the thought with which the
paragraph was introduced. He hath forsaken; comp. Jeremiah 25:30, and notice the
impressive non-mention of the subject (as Jeremiah 4:13, etc.). Their land; i.e. that
of tile shepherds. The fierceness of the oppressor. A various reading, supported by
some manuscripts, the Septuagint and the Targum, and accepted by Ewald, Hitzig,
and Graf, and is the oppressing sword (so Jeremiah 46:16; Jeremiah 50:16). The
text reading is very difficult to defend, and the punctuation itself is really more in
favor of the variant than of the received text.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
BARNES, "The peaceable habitations - The pastures of peace, the peaceable
fields where the flocks lately dwelt in security. See Jer_25:30 note.
GILL, "And the peaceable habitations are cut down,.... Or, "their peaceable
ones", as the Targum; the palaces and stately dwellings, in which they lived in great
pomp and prosperity, in great peace, plenty, and safety, are destroyed by the enemy, and
laid waste, and become desolate; yea, even those that lived peaceably and quietly, and
neither were disturbed themselves, nor disturbed others, yet, as is usual in times of war,
share the same fate with their neighbours, who have been more troublesome and
molesting:
144

145. because of the fierce anger of the Lord; or "from before it, from the face of it";
shall be destroyed by it, that being displayed; and using enemies as instruments in the
destruction of them. Sin is the cause of God's wrath and fierce anger, and his wrath and
anger the cause of the destruction of men and their habitations, Whoever are the
instruments.
JAMISON, "habitations — rather, carrying out the image “pastures” (see on Jer_
25:30). The pasturages where, peaceably and without incursion of wild beasts, the flocks
have fed, shall be destroyed; that is, the regions where, heretofore, there was peace and
security (alluding to the name Salem, or Jerusalem, “possessing peace”).
CALVIN, "He goes on with the same subject, that the tents, previously tranquil,
would perish or be destroyed. And he designedly calls their dwellings peaceable; for
the Jews, having found that their enemies had not before disturbed them, still
promised to themselves the same good fortune in future.
And the faithful indeed do act thus rightly, and justly conclude from God’s previous
benefits that he will be kind to them as he had ever been so; but hypocrites, though
they repent not, yet absurdly think that God is bound to them; and though they
daily provoke his wrath, they yet securely continue in their confidence of having
peace. Since God then had until that time deferred the grievousness of his wrath, the
Prophet says, that though their tents had been peaceable, (155) yet they could not be
exempted from destruction as soon as the indignation of God’s wrath went forth. It
might have been enough to make use of one of these words, either of ‫,חרון‬ cherun, or
of ‫,אף‬ aph; but the Prophet used the two, indignation and wrath, (156) in order that
he might fill the wicked with more terror; for as they were obstinate in their
wickedness, so they were not moved except God doubled his strokes and set forth
the extremity of his wrath. It follows, —
38 Like a lion he will leave his lair,
and their land will become desolate
because of the sword[g] of the oppressor
and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.
145

146. BARNES, "Yahweh has risen up, like a lion that leaves its covert, eager for prey, that
He may execute judgment upon the wicked.
CLARKE, "As the lion - Leaving the banks of Jordan when overflowed, and coming
with ravening fierceness to the champaign country.
GILL, "He hath forsaken his covert as a lion,.... Which some understand of God
leaving Jerusalem, or the temple, where he dwelt; who, while he made it his residence,
protected it; but when he forsook it, it became exposed to the enemy. Kimchi says it may
be understood of the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar; but he thinks it
is most correct to interpret it of the destruction of the second temple; that is, by the
Romans, when it was left desolate by Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. But it may be
understood of Nebuchadnezzar leaving Babylon, his den, and ranging about like a lion
for his prey; see Jer_4:7. So the Targum,
"and a king has removed from his tower or fortress;''
and the land is desolate; the land of Judea, or whatsoever country he comes into
with his army; that, or Egypt, or any other:
because of the fierceness of the oppressor; the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar; or
"oppressing sword" (w), as some supply it, it being feminine; and so the Targum,
"from before the sword of the enemy.''
Some render it, "because of the fierceness of the dove"; so the Vulgate Latin; and
understand it of the Babylonians or Chaldeans; who, as the Romans had an eagle, they
had the dove on their standards or ensigns; which they received from the Assyrians,
when they succeeded them in their monarchy; and those from Semiramis their first
queen, who had it, it is said, on her standard (x); and was retained in honour of her, and
in memory of her being nourished by a dove, and turned into one after her death, as
commonly believed (y); and who had her name, as is affirmed (z), from the word ‫,צמירא‬
"semira", signifying, in the Chaldee language, the song or cooing of the dove; but
fierceness ill agrees with the dove, which is a meek and harmless creature;
and because of his fierce anger; either of God, or of the king of Babylon his
instrument, in destroying nations; not Judea only, but many others.
JAMISON, "his covert — the temple, where heretofore, like a lion, as its defender,
by the mere terror of His voice He warded off the foe; but now He leaves it a prey to the
Gentiles [Calvin].
fierceness of ... oppressor — rather, as the Hebrew, for “oppressor” is an adjective
feminine, the word “sword” is understood, which, in Jer_46:16; Jer_50:16, is expressed
(indeed, some manuscripts and the Septuagint read “sword” instead of “fierceness”
here; probably interpolated from Jer_46:16), “the oppressing sword.” The Hebrew for
146

147. “oppressing” means also a “dove”: there may be, therefore, a covert allusion to the
Chaldean standard bearing a dove on it, in honor of Semiramis, the first queen, said in
popular superstition to have been nourished by doves when exposed at birth, and at
death to have been transformed into a dove. Her name may come from a root referring
to the cooing of a dove. That bird was held sacred to the goddess Venus. Vulgate so
translates “the anger of the dove.”
his ... anger — If the anger of Nebuchadnezzar cannot be evaded, how much less that
of God (compare Jer_25:37)!
CALVIN, "The Prophet in the last verse reminds us, that the Jews in vain trusted in
God’s protection, for he would forsake his own Temple as well as the city. It was as
it were a common saying among them,
“He has said, This is my rest for ever.” (Psalms 132:14.)
But hypocrites did not consider that he could still stand faithful to his promises,
though he did not suffer them to go unpunished. They could not therefore connect
these two things together, — that God would be always mindful of his covenant, —
and that still he would be the judge of his Church.
This is the reason why the Prophet now says, that God would forsake as a lion his
tabernacle Some give this explanation, that he would go forth for a short time, as
hungry lions are wont to do; but this is too far-fetched. I therefore have no doubt
that God sets forth his power under the character of a lion; for the Jews would have
been feared by all their enemies, had not God changed as it were his station. But as
they had expelled him by their vices, so that he had no more an habitation among
them, hence it was that they became exposed to the plunder of all nations. The
import of the passage then is, that as long as God dwelt in the Temple he was like a
lion, so that by his roaring alone he kept at a distance all nations and defended the
children of Abraham; but that now, though he had not changed his nature, nor was
there anything taken away or diminished as to his power, yet the Jews would not be
safe, for he would forsake them. (157)
And the reason is added, which clearly confirms what has been said, For their land
(he refers to the Jews) shall be desolate But whence this desolation to Judea, except
that it was deprived of God’s protection? For had God defended it, he could have
repelled all enemies by a nod only. But as he had departed, hence it was that they
found an easy access, and that the land was thus reduced to a waste.
It is added, on account of the indignation of the oppressor. Some render the last
word “dove,” but not correctly. They yet have devised a refined meaning, that God
is called a dove because of his kindness and meekness, though his wrath is excited,
for he is forced to put on the character of another through the perverseness of men,
when he sees that he can do nothing by his benevolence towards them. But this is a
far-fetched speculation. The verb ‫,ינה‬ inc, means to oppress, to take by force; and as
it is most frequently taken in a bad sense, I prefer to apply it here to enemies rather
147

148. than to God himself. There are many indeed who explain it of God, but I cannot
embrace their view; for Jeremiah joins together two clauses, that God would forsake
his Temple, as when a lion departs from his covert, and also that enemies would
come and find the place naked and empty; in short, he intimates that they would be
exposed to the will and plunder of their enemies, because they would be at that time
destitute of God’s aid. And as he had before spoken of the indignation of God’s
wrath, so now he ascribes the same to their enemies, and justly so, for they were to
execute his judgments; what properly belongs to God is ascribed to them, because
they were to be his ministers. (158)
38.Left hath he like a lion his covert; For their land hath become a desolation
Through the oppressing sword, And through the burning of his wrath.
The ‫כי‬ might be rendered “therefore,” instead of “for;” and thus the meaning would
be more evident. See Jeremiah 25:30, where “the roaring” as of a lion, and the
“sword,” are both mentioned; and this confirms the view here given. In the two last
lines, “the oppressing” or “devastating sword” is first referred to, — the visible
effect, and then “the burning of his wrath” — the cause; an order often to be seen in
the Prophets. — Ed
TRAPP, "Jeremiah 25:38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is
desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
Ver. 38. He hath forsaken his covert, as a lion.] God hath, or, as some will,
Nebuchadnezzar hath. He is come out of Babylon his den, to range about for prey.
Ut in praeda involet.
Because of the fierceness of the oppressor.] Of the dove, say some, who also tell us
that the Chaldees had in their standard this picture of a dove. But of that there is no
such certainty.
COKE, "Jeremiah 25:38. He hath forsaken his covert, &c.— For who would have
dared to approach it, if he had thought good to protect it? if Jerusalem, if the
temple, if Judaea, are delivered into the hand of the Chaldeans, it is because He who
guarded and protected them hath forsaken and abandoned them.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, This prophesy bears date in the first year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar, and the fourth of Jehoiakim; and it is directed to the people in
general, probably when assembled at Jerusalem on one of the three annual feasts. If
the princes will not hear, perhaps the people may; at least it will leave both
inexcusable.
1. The prophet reminds them how long and how earnestly God had been exhorting
them, by his ministers and others, to turn from the evil of their ways. Three-and-
twenty years he had preached, from the 13th of Josiah, to the 4th of Jehoiakim,
rising early, and speaking diligently, constantly, faithfully, while Michah, Nahum,
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149. and Habakkuk, had just preceded him, and Zephaniah was his cotemporary;
besides many others whom God in mercy had sent to warn them, unwilling they
should perish, and accompanying his admonitions with the most gracious promises.
They are plainly told of their sins, and exhorted to repent of them; if they would
return from their shameful idolatries, and from all their other evil works, then
God's threatenings should not light upon them, but they should long and peaceably
enjoy their good land. Note; (1.) God will remember against the sinner all the means
of grace that he has abused, as one of his greatest condemnations in the day of
judgment. (2.) They who are sent on God's messages need be earnest and diligent in
delivering them, that they may at least be free from the blood of all men. (3.) God
doth not strike without warning; but if we will not hear, we must perish.
2. The prophet upbraids them with their impenitence and hardness of heart. They
hearkened not, nor inclined their ear; they would not so much as pay a moment's
attention to the message, their heart was so averse to it; they resolved to abide in
their sins and provocations, let the consequence be never so much to their hurt; and
thus, as all impenitent sinners do, destroyed themselves.
2nd, The judgment is pronounced on the rebellious people of Judah, and their
destroyers shall not go unpunished.
1. Judah shall be destroyed by the king of Babylon, God's servant in this behalf to
execute vengeance on this devoted nation. Around his standard the families of the
north are summoned, his victorious army marches, and desolation marks their way;
Judaea falls; and all her neighbours, so far from affording her assistance, are
involved in the general ruin; and so terrible the ravages, that they shall be an
astonishment and an hissing, and perpetual desolations: during seventy years that
their miseries should last, the voice of joy be never heard in the city, no nuptial
songs, no sound of mirth, no provision should be left, no candle burn in it, but
melancholy silence reign; the land uncultivated, destitute of inhabitants, and swept
with the besom of destruction. Note; (1.) They who will not be ruled by God's word,
must be ruined. (2.) God often uses wicked instruments to chastise his own people;
and they are made to do his work, when meaning only to aggrandize themselves.
2. Babylon, the destroyer of others, shall herself also, after seventy years, be
destroyed for her iniquity, her tyranny, pride, and cruelty to God's Israel; and the
land of the Chaldeans shall be made perpetual desolations, when all the evil
pronounced by Jeremiah, chap. xlvi-li. shall come upon them; and as she hath
served herself of other nations, subduing and plundering them, God will
recompense her in kind, and raise up many nations and great kings, the Medea,
Persians, and their allies, to lay her waste, and enrich themselves with her spoils.
3rdly, Judgment begins at the house of God, but it spreads far and near. The
neighbouring nations must drink of the same cup, and at last Babylon herself take it
in turn.
149

150. 1. The judgment is represented under a wine-cup of fury. The sins of all these
nations had provoked God's wrath, and heavy it falls on them; like men intoxicated
with liquor, without wisdom or might, they should become an easy conquest, and
the sword of God devour them. Nor would their reluctance to submit to their doom
avail any thing. The prophet is commanded to make them drink, denouncing the
judgments of God, which would quite overwhelm them and sink them into ruin,
from which they should never, or at least not for a long while, recover. Note; It is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: then all resistance is vain.
2. The nations who are the subjects of this prophesy are; first, Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah: their sins being most aggravated, they suffer first. Egypt, on whom
they placed dependence, next falls under the Babylonish yoke: then all the mingled
people, the bordering nations; some, as Tyre and Zidon, that had been the friends;
others, as Moab and Edom, who had been the inveterate foes of Judah, but now sink
in the promiscuous ruin: far and wide the rapid conqueror spreads his arms, even to
all the kingdoms of the then known world, at least to the whole extent of that great
monarchy, which was termed, from its vast territory, universal. At last, the lofty
queen of nations herself must be laid in the dust, and the king of Sheshach, or
Babylon, must drink of the same cup, and perish as the kingdoms he had destroyed.
It is added, as it is this day, in a parenthesis: probably that was inserted by
Jeremiah, who lived to see the ruin of his country; or by him (whether Baruch or
Ezra) who collected these prophesies when the event had verified the prediction.
3. If God spares not his own people, let not the rest of the nations of whom they have
learned idolatry, think to go unpunished. His determination is fixed, and the
accomplishment of it is inevitable. Note; (1.) When God arises to judge, the greatest
nations are but as stubble before the whirlwind. (2.) Wherever sinners are, however
many, however mighty, surely they shall not go unpunished.
4thly, The sword threatened is Nebuchadnezzar's; but the war is of God, who
clothes him with his power, and ensures to him the victory. The terribleness of the
judgment is described.
1. The tremendous voice of God shall be heard from on high in mighty thunderings.
He shall roar upon his habitation, the earth in general, or Jerusalem in particular;
or out of his habitation, from the heavens, where he hath placed his radiant throne.
He shall give a shout, as when contending armies rush into the battle, and as those
who tread the grapes at the vintage; and so loud the sound, that the most distant
realms shall hear, even to the ends of the earth.
2. Righteous vengeance shall seize the wicked. The Lord hath a controversy with the
nations for their wickedness, and he will plead with all flesh, will bring them to his
tribunal; and he will give them that are wicked to the sword; from nation to nation
the judge shall go in circuit. A great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of
the earth; the Chaldean army first, then the Medes, afterwards the Greeks, and
lastly the Romans, all God's executioners of vengeance; and those who fall by their
150

151. arms are the slain of the Lord, from one end of the earth to the other. Unlamented
they shall fall for want of mourners, or because their friends and relations are so
occupied with their own danger that they are insensible to every thing beside;
unburied they shall lie as dung upon the earth, and no compassionate hand be found
to gather the scattered corpses and hide them in a grave.
3. The shepherds are called upon to howl for these horrible desolations; either the
kings of the earth in general, or the rulers of Judah in particular, to whom the
words seem to be addressed. Wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the
flock, in the deepest agony, most bitter sorrow, and hopeless misery, for the days of
your slaughter and of your dispersions, are accomplished, like sheep before the wolf,
torn, worried, and dispersed; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel, irreparably
broken in pieces. Then flight will be vain, and all hope of escape desperate. See
chap. Jeremiah 39:4-6. Shrieks shall ascend on every side, the heart of the mightiest
fail, ruin and desolation universal be spread around, and even the peaceable
habitations are cut down, the palaces where peace and plenty reigned; or, as is
common in the ravages of war, they who lived inoffensively, and never provoked the
scourge, share in the general calamity of the land, because of the fierce anger of the
Lord, the cause of all these fearful judgments. He hath forsaken his covert as the
lion; either God, going forth against the shepherds and their flocks to destroy them;
or rather Nebuchadnezzar, roused up from Babylon; and the land is desolate,
ravaged by his army, because of the fierceness of the oppressor, or oppressing
sword, and because of his fierce anger; either the wrath of God or of the king of
Babylon, rushing forth to the slaughter. Note; (1.) War is a dreadful scourge. (2.)
The rulers, who were deepest in transgression, shall be chief in suffering. (3.) Woe
unto the sinful soul against which God rises up as an enemy! May the judgment, of
others be our warnings, that we may hear and fear, and do no more wickedly!
151