8But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. 9I will make them a horror, an evil thing, to all the kingdoms of the earth—a disgrace, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they are utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.
next chapter
* * *
24.1–10 This prose narrative contains a prophetic vision report (see 1.11–14, 15–16; Am 7.1–9.10). See note on 1.11–14. The formal structure includes an introduction (The LORD showed me, v. 1), a description (v. 2), a dialogue (v. 3), and an interpretation (vv. 4–10). Although written during the exile, the narrative is situated in the period after the first exiles were taken to Babylonia in 597 BCE. Its purpose is to stress that the first exiles (the good figs) were the chosen remnant whom God would use to build a new future once the return to the Jewish homeland occurred. Chief among these, of course, was the exiled king, Jehoiachin. By contrast the bad (rotten) figs were those who remained behind in Jerusalem, including Zedekiah and his officials, and those who were in Egypt (Jehoahaz and his entourage). In view of the earlier speech about Jehoiachin (22.24–30), it seems unlikely the present narrative reflects the view of Jeremiah. Rather, the story appears to be a piece of religious propaganda designed to enhance the importance of the first exiles in 597 BCE, including Jehoiachin and his officials, in rebuilding the future (see 28.3–4; 2 Kings 25.27–30). This view of divine favor for the first exiles rather than for the remnant left behind in Judah is found in the book of Ezekiel and became especially pronounced in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah in the fifth–fourth centuries BCE.
24.1 Two baskets of figs. See 29.17; Hos 9.10. Jeconiah, an alternate spelling for Jehoiachin.
24.6 Build, tear down, plant, pluck up. See note on 1.10.
24.7 I will give them a heart to know. See 31.33–34; 32.39; Deut 29.4. They shall be my people and I will be their God, a covenant formula for the sealing of the relationship between God and Israel (see 7.23; 11.4; 30.22; 31.1, 33; 32.38). Return. See note on 3.1–4.4. This text anticipates the new covenant passage in 31.31–34.
24.9 A disgrace, a byword, a taunt, and a curse. See 19.8; 25.9, 18; 29.18; 42.18; 44.8, 12, 22; Deut 28.37; 1 Kings 9.7; 2 Chr 7.20.
JEREMIAH 25
The Babylonian Captivity Foretold
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah (that was the first year of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon), 2which the prophet Jeremiah spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. 4And though the LORD persistently sent you all his servants the prophets, you have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear 5when they said, “Turn now, every one of you, from your evil way and wicked doings, and you will remain upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your ancestors from of old and forever; 6do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.” 7Yet you did not listen to me, says the LORD, and so you have provoked me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.
8Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the LORD, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an object of horror and of hissing, and an everlasting disgrace.a 10And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. 13I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15For thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.
17So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: 18Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing and of cursing, as they are today; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20all the mixed people;b all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; 22all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have shaven temples; 24all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed peoplesc that live in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Sheshachd shall drink.
27Then you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, get drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.
28And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! 29See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of hosts.
30You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:
The LORD will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
and shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the guilty he will put to the sword,
says the LORD.
32Thus says the LORD of hosts:
See, disaster is spreading
from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirring
from the farthest parts of the earth!
33Those slain by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground.
34Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions,e
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
35Flight shall fail the shepherds,
and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.
36Hark! the cry of the shepherds,
and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the LORD is despoiling their pasture,
37and the peaceful folds are devastated,
because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
38
Like a lion he has left his covert;
for their land has become a waste
because of the cruel sword,
and because of his fierce anger.
next chapter
* * *
a Gk Compare Syr: Heb and everlasting desolations
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
d Sheshach is a cryptogram for Babel, Babylon
e Meaning of Heb uncertain
25.1–14 This prose sermon, originating in the exile or later, summarizes the content of Jeremiah’s speeches from the beginning of his prophetic activity (627 BCE, the thirteenth year of King Josiah, v. 3) to the battle of Carchemish (605, the fourth year of King Jehoiakim, v. 1); see Introduction. The section divides into a superscription (vv. 1–2) and an appeal for repentance followed by an announcement of judgment (vv. 3–14). In the appeal Judah is called upon to repent or face destruction; in the announcement Judah has not repented and subsequently will be destroyed.
25.1 King Jehoiakim (609–598 BCE). See note on 22.13–19. Nebuchadrezzar (605–562). See Introduction.
25.3 King Josiah (640–609 BCE). Twenty-three years, 627 to 605. Jeremiah’s speeches these twenty-three years primarily announce judgment and may compose the first scroll (ch. 36; see Introduction).
25.4 His servants the prophets. See note on 7.25. The rejection of Jeremiah’s message stands in a long tradition of refusing to listen to the Lord’s emissaries.
25.5 Turn now. See the summons to repentance in 3.1–4.4; 18.11.
25.9 The first clear indication that the “foe from the north” (tribes of the north) is Babylonia. Nebuchadrezzar…my servant (27.6), i.e., the instrument of the divine will (cf. Cyrus in Isa 45.1–7, who is the “anointed” of God).
25.10 See 7.34; 16.9.
25.11 Seventy years is difficult to put into an exact chronology. From 605 to 539 BCE (the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus) is sixty-six years (perhaps rounded to “seventy”). In Zech 1.12 the period of seventy years begins with the destruction of the temple (587) and concludes with its rebuilding (516/5). The number also may represent either the period of a normal life span (Ps 90.10) or the traditional, figurative time for a city to remain in ruins.
25.13 This book, perhaps originally the first or, more likely, the second scroll (see ch. 36; Introduction).
25.15–29 This prose narrative contains a symbolic action in which Jeremiah takes from God’s hand the cup of wrath and makes the nations who are listed drink and become drunk (see 13.1–11, 12–14; 18.1–12; 19.1–15). The nations listed are cursed with destruction. This section may have originally introduced the “oracles against the nations” in chs. 46–51. In the Septuagint, the “oracles against the nations” in chs. 46–51 follow 25.13a. 25.15–38 is found as 32.1–24 in the Septuagint. The nations listed in this passage roughly parallel those in chs. 46–51. Judgment oracles against foreign nations are found in Isa 13–23; Ezek 25–32; Am 1.3–2.3.
25.15 Drinking from a cup as punishment is a common image (49.12; 51.7; Pss 11.6; 75.8; Isa 51.17, 22; Lam 4.21; Ezek 23.31–34; Hab 2.15–16; Rev 14.10; 16.19; 17.4; 18.6). Cf. the “cup of blessing” in Pss 16.5; 23.5.
25.18 The judgment that will engulf all the nations begins with Jerusalem.
25.20 Mixed people, probably people of various cultural and ethnic identities who are politically connected to a larger cultural and ethnic group. Uz, an area in the desert east of Israel, possibly in Edom. Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Ashdod, Philistine cities located on the southern coastal plain. Ashdod was destroyed by Psammetichus I (664–610 BCE) of Egypt after a siege lasting twenty-nine years (Herodotus History 2.157).
25.21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites compose the countries in the Transjordan, east of Israel.
25.22 Coastland across the sea, islands and coastal areas in the Mediterranean settled by the Phoenicians.
25.23 Dedan, Tema, tribes in northwest Arabia. Buz. Location unknown. Shaven temples. See note on 9.26.
25.25 Elam and Media were in what is now western Iran. Zimri. Location unknown.
25.26 In an example of the athbash cipher, in which Hebrew letters are substituted in reverse alphabetical order, Babylon is referred to as Sheshach (see 51.41). Although all the nations listed are threatened by Babylonia, ultimately it too shall drink from the same cup.
25.30–38 Judgment against the nations. Continuing the theme of the preceding section are two poetic oracles: vv. 30–32 (announcement of judgment) and vv. 34–38 (call to lamentation). V. 33 is a prose insert that speaks of the widespread destruction brought by the Lord and the lack of burial and funeral rites.
25.30 The LORD will roar like a lion from heaven. Cf. Am 1.2, where the Lord roars from Zion (Jerusalem).
25.31 An indictment against the nations. See Hos 4.1. The Lord enters into a lawsuit against all the nations.
25.32 See note on 23.19.
25.33 A prose addition. For the curse of being denied burial and funeral rites, see 8.1–2; 9.22; 16.4.
25.34 For the call for shepherds (i.e., kings; see note on 3.15) to lament, see 4.8; Joel 1.13–14.
25.38 The image of the lion (see v. 30) provides an inclusio (see note on 4.5–31) for this section.
JEREMIAH 26
Jeremiah’s Prophecies in the Temple
1At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 2Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD; speak to them all the words that I command you; do not hold back a word. 3It may be that they will listen, all of them, and will turn from their evil way, that I may change my mind about the disaster that I intend to bring on them because of their evil doings. 4You shall say to them: Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently—though you have not heeded—6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.
7The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the LORD. 11Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”
12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “It is the LORD who sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, and the LORD will change his mind about the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14But as for me, here I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”
16Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” 17And some of the elders of the land arose and said to all the assembled people, 18“Micah of Moresheth, who prophesied during the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,
Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Je
rusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
19Did King Hezekiah of Judah and all Judah actually put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD change his mind about the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster on ourselves!”
20There was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words exactly like those of Jeremiah. 21And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22Then King Jehoiakim senta Elnathan son of Achbor and men with him to Egypt, 23and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
24But the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over into the hands of the people to be put to death.
next chapter
* * *
a Heb adds men to Egypt
26.1–29.32 Three episodes in the life of Jeremiah, each of which illustrates his conflict with the priests and the prophets. The first episode involves the temple sermon and the trial of the prophet (26.1–24; see note on 7.1–15); the second, the yoke incident and confrontation with Hananiah (27.1–28.17); the third, Jeremiah’s letters to the Babylonian exiles and the ensuing confrontation with false prophets among them (29.1–32).
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 283