Through My Bible Yr 02 – March 27
Jeremiah 24 – 25
Two Baskets of Figs
Jeremiah 24
1 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting in front of the Lord’s 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.
2 One basket had very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I said. “The good figs are very good, and the bad ones are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 The word of the Lord came to me.
5 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. 6 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. 7 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.
8 But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten—this is what the Lord says—this 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. 9 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. 10 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
1 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. 2 Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to everyone who lived in Jerusalem.
3 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. 4 The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or paid attention.
5 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. 6 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.
7 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.
8 Therefore this is what the Lord of Armies says. Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 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. 10 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. 11 This whole land will become a desolation and a ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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 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 whom I send you, drink it. 16 They will drink, stagger, and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he had sent me drink from it— 18 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,
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people,
20 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
the remnant of Ashdod),
21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites,
22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the islands across the sea,
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who live on the edge of the desert, [2]
24 all the kings of Arabia,
all the kings of the various peoples who live in the wilderness,
25 all the kings of Zimri,
all the kings of Elam, all the kings of the Medes,
26 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.
27 You are to tell them that this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Drink and get drunk. Vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword I will send among you.” 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, then tell them, “This is what the Lord of Armies says. You must drink it. 29 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.”
30 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.
31 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.
32 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.
33 On that day those slain by the Lord will lie scattered
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.
34 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]
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee.
The leaders of the flock will have no escape.
36 Hear the cry of the shepherds
and the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows are silenced,
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 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 Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
