Through My Bible Yr 02 – March 27
Jeremiah 24 – 25
Two Baskets of Figs
Jeremiah 24
1Ā The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting in front of the Lordās temple. This took place after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had exiled Jeconiah [1] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon.
2Ā One basket had very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. 3Ā Then the Lord said to me, āWhat do you see, Jeremiah?ā
āFigs,ā I said. āThe good figs are very good, and the bad ones are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.ā
4Ā The word of the Lord came to me.
5Ā This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I will treat the exiles from Judah like these good figs, those exiles that I sent out from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6Ā I will keep my eye on them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. 7Ā I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God. They will return to me with their whole heart.
8Ā But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eatenāthis is what the Lord saysāthis is how I will deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and with those who live in the land of Egypt. 9Ā I will make them an object of horror and disaster among all the nations of the earth. They will be a disgrace, a proverb, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I banish them. 10Ā I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the soil that I have given to them and to their fathers.
Seventy Years of Exile
Jeremiah 25
1Ā This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. This was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2Ā Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to everyone who lived in Jerusalem.
3Ā For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, to 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. 4Ā The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or paid attention.
5Ā The Lord said: Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from the evil things you do. Live on the land the Lord gave to you and to your forefathers long ago to be yours forever. 6Ā Do not follow after other gods or serve them or worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
7Ā But you would not obey me, declares the Lord. So you kept provoking me to anger with the work of your hands, and you have hurt yourselves.
8Ā Therefore this is what the Lord of Armies says. Because you have not obeyed my words, 9Ā watch out! I will send for all the clans of the north, declares the Lord, and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and derision. The land will be ruins forever. 10Ā I will take the sound of joy away from them and the sound of gladness. I will take away the voice of the bride and groom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11Ā This whole land will become a desolation and a ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12Ā When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the Lord. I will make it desolate forever. 13Ā I will bring on that land all my words which I have spoken against it, everything that is written in this book, in which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14Ā For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, but I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.
The Cup of Godās Wrath
15Ā This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: āTake from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath, and make all the nations, to whom I send you, drink it. 16Ā They will drink, stagger, and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.ā
17Ā So I took the cup from the Lordās hand and made all the nations to whom he had sent me drink from itā 18Ā to destroy them and to make them an object of horror and derision, and to make them a curse, as they are today. They are:
Jerusalem, all the cities of Judah, its kings and officials,
19Ā Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people,
20Ā also all the various foreigners there,
also all the kings of the land of Uz,
all the kings of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and
Ā Ā Ā Ā the remnant of Ashdod),
21Ā Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites,
22Ā all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the islands across the sea,
23Ā Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who live on the edge of the desert, [2]
24Ā all the kings of Arabia,
all the kings of the various peoples who live in the wilderness,
25Ā all the kings of Zimri,
all the kings of Elam, all the kings of the Medes,
26Ā all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another,
and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth.
Then after them, the king of Sheshak [3] will drink.
27Ā You are to tell them that this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: āDrink and get drunk. Vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword I will send among you.ā 28Ā But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, then tell them, āThis is what the Lord of Armies says. You must drink it. 29Ā See, I am beginning to bring disaster to the city called by my name. Will you somehow go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord of Armies.ā
30Ā Prophesy all these words against them. Say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high,
and he will thunder from his holy dwelling.
He will roar mightily against his flock.
He will shout against all who live on the earth,
like those who tread grapes.
31Ā The roaring will reach the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring charges against the nations.
He will judge all flesh
and put the wicked to the sword, declares the Lord.
32Ā This is what the Lord of Armies says.
Look! Disaster is moving from nation to nation,
and a great storm is rising from the ends of the earth.
33Ā On that day those slain by the Lord will lie scattered
Ā Ā Ā Ā from one end of the earth to the other.
They will not be mourned.
They will not be gathered up.
They will not be buried.
They lie on the ground like manure.
34Ā Wail, you shepherds, and cry.
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock,
for the day for you to be slaughtered has come.
You will be shattered,
and you will fall like fine pottery. [4]
35Ā The shepherds will have nowhere to flee.
The leaders of the flock will have no escape.
36Ā Hear the cry of the shepherds
and the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37Ā The peaceful meadows are silenced,
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38Ā He has left his lair like a lion,
and their land will become desolate,
because of the fierceness of the oppressor,
and because of his fierce anger.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 24:1 That is, Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 25:23 Or and all who cut their hair (or beards) short
- Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cypher or cryptogram for Babylon. It is written in reverse alphabet: A=Z, B=Y, etc. In the Hebrew alphabet, bbl reversed is shshk.
- Jeremiah 25:34 The translation follows the Hebrew. The Greek variant reads like choice rams.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage VersionĀ®, EHVĀ®, Ā© 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
