Discovery BoxJeremiah 25:12 
Context25:12 “‘But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation 1 for their sins. I will make the land of Babylon 2 an everlasting ruin. 3 I, the Lord, affirm it! 4
Jeremiah 25:26-29
Context25:26 all the kings of the north, whether near or far from one another; and all the other kingdoms which are on the face of the earth. After all of them have drunk the wine of the Lord’s wrath, 5 the king of Babylon 6 must drink it.
25:27 Then the Lord said to me, 7 “Tell them that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 8 says, 9 ‘Drink this cup 10 until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. 11 For I will send wars sweeping through you.’ 12 25:28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord who rules over all says 13 ‘You most certainly must drink it! 14 25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. 15 So how can you possibly avoid being punished? 16 You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, 17 affirm it!’ 18
1 tn Heb “that nation.”
2 tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for the use of the term “Chaldeans.”
3 tn Heb “I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that nation, oracle of the
sn Compare Isa 13:19-22 and Jer 50:39-40.
4 tn Heb “Oracle of the
5 tn The words “have drunk the wine of the
6 tn Heb “the king of Sheshach.” “Sheshach” is a code name for Babylon formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. On this principle Hebrew שׁ (shin) is substituted for Hebrew ב (bet) and Hebrew כ (kaf) is substituted for Hebrew ל (lamed). On the same principle “Leb Kamai” in Jer 51:1 is a code name for Chasdim or Chaldeans which is Jeremiah’s term for the Babylonians. No explanation is given for why the code names are used. The name “Sheshach” for Babylon also occurs in Jer 51:41 where the term Babylon is found in parallelism with it.
7 tn The words “Then the
8 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
9 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
10 tn The words “this cup” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor and the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “Drink, and get drunk, and vomit and fall down and don’t get up.” The imperatives following drink are not parallel actions but consequent actions. For the use of the imperative plus the conjunctive “and” to indicate consequent action, even intention see GKC 324-25 §110.f and compare usage in 1 Kgs 22:12; Prov 3:3b-4a.
12 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among you.” See the notes on 2:16 for explanation.
13 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
14 tn The translation attempts to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb which is here an obligatory imperfect. (See Joüon 2:371-72 §113.m and 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Gen 15:13.)
15 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.
16 tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)
17 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
18 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”
