251 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 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem , saying , 3 "From the thirteenth e year of Josiah the son of Amon , king of Judah , even to this day , these twenty-three e years the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again , but you have not listened . 4 "And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again , but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear , 5 saying , ' Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds , and dwell on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers forever e and ever ; 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 harm .' 7 "Yet you have not listened to Me," declares the Lord , "in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm .
8 "Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts , 'Because e you have not obeyed My words , 9 behold , I will send and take all the families of the north ,' declares the Lord , 'and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar 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 a horror and a hissing , and an everlasting desolation . 10 'Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy 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 . 11 ' This whole land will be a desolation and a horror , and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years . 12 'Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation ,' declares the Lord , 'for their iniquity , and the land of the Chaldeans ; and I will make it an everlasting desolation .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 25:1-12
Commentary on Jeremiah 25:1-7
(Read Jeremiah 25:1-7)
The call to turn from evil ways to the worship and service of God, and for sinners to trust in Christ, and partake of his salvation, concerns all men. God keeps an account how long we possess the means of grace; and the longer we have them, the heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. Rising early, points out the earnest desire that this people should turn and live. Personal and particular reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a national deliverance; and every one must turn from his own evil way. Yet all was to no purpose. They would not take the right and only method to turn away the wrath of God.
Commentary on Jeremiah 25:8-14
(Read Jeremiah 25:8-14)
The fixing of the time during which the Jewish captivity should last, would not only confirm the prophecy, but also comfort the people of God, and encourage faith and prayer. The ruin of Babylon is foretold: the rod will be thrown into the fire when the correcting work is done. When the set time to favour Zion is come, Babylon shall be punished for their iniquity, as other nations have been punished for their sins. Every threatening of the Scripture will certainly be accomplished.