Chapter 25: The Cup of Wrath and Seventy Years of Servitude

Overview

In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim—also the first year of Nebuchadrezzar’s reign—Hashem gives Yermiyahu a sweeping prophecy of judgment. After 23 years of warnings ignored, the prophet announces that Judah and surrounding nations will face devastation and Babylonian domination for seventy years. Then Babylon itself will fall. The chapter closes with a vision of Hashem’s wrath poured out on all nations, symbolized by a cup of fury.

1. Twenty-Three Years of Unheeded Warnings

Yermiyahu reminds Judah:

• Since Josiah’s thirteenth year, he has spoken Hashem’s word tirelessly.
• Other prophets were sent early and often, urging repentance:
  • “Turn from evil, stop idolatry, and you will remain in the land.”
• But the people refused, provoking Hashem with their deeds.

2. The Sentence: Seventy Years Under Babylon

Hashem declares:

• Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, is His instrument of judgment.
• He will bring destruction on Judah and surrounding nations, leaving them desolate and mocked.
• Joy will vanish—no weddings, no daily sounds of life.
• The land will serve Babylon for 70 years.

Afterward:

• Hashem will punish Babylon for its arrogance and violence, making it a perpetual ruin.
• Many nations will enslave Babylon in turn, repaying it for its deeds.

3. The Cup of Wrath

Hashem commands Yermiyahu:

• Take a cup filled with His fury and make all nations drink.
• Drinking symbolizes staggering under judgment and falling by the sword.

Recipients include:

• Jerusalem and Judah’s cities.
• Egypt and its rulers.
• Philistine cities, Edom, Moab, Ammon.
• Tyre, Sidon, and coastal kingdoms.
• Arabia, desert tribes, Elam, Media, and all northern kings.
• “All kingdoms of the earth”—and finally Babylon itself.

4. Universal Judgment

Hashem warns:

• If nations refuse the cup, they will still drink—none will escape.
• Judgment begins with Jerusalem but spreads worldwide.
• Hashem roars like a lion from His dwelling, shaking the earth.
• The slain will cover the land, unburied and unmourned—like refuse.
• Shepherds (leaders) will wail; their power and refuge will fail.
• Peaceful pastures will be ruined under Hashem’s fierce anger.

1. Takeaway

Chapter 25 reveals:

• Persistent rebellion leads to inevitable judgment.
• Babylon is both Hashem’s tool and later His target.
• Divine wrath is global—no nation can hide.
• Yet even in judgment, Hashem sets a limit: seventy years, then restoration.

Key message:

Hashem’s plans are certain—His word is like a storm sweeping the earth, and His justice reaches every nation.