Jeremiah 25:26
in Jeremiah 25all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
KJV
And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
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This verse in Jeremiah 25
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe kings of the north, far and near - The first may mean Syria; the latter, the Hyrcanians and Bactrians. And the king of Sheshach shall drink after them - Sheshach was an ancient king of Babylon, who was deified after his death. Here it means either Babylon, or Nebuchadnezzar the king of it. After it has been the occasion of ruin to so many other nations, Babylon itself shall be destroyed by the Medo-Persians.
This site's exposition
to make them a desolation
on Jeremiah 25:18-26
The cup passes first to Jerusalem itself, judgment beginning at the house called by God's own name before it touches a single Gentile nation, the pattern Peter will later state as a principle. The catalogue then runs outward by the compass, Egypt, the coastal cities, Edom, Moab and Ammon, Tyre and Zidon, the Arabian tribes, Elam and the Medes, every neighbor Judah watched or feared drawn into the same reckoning. The list closes on the king of Sheshach, Babylon's own name spelled backward through the Hebrew atbash cipher, so that the empire carrying out the sentence is named at the end as also due to drink it, a detail the bench reads as deliberate.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 26.) To each one against his brother, and to all the kingdoms of the earth that are above its surface. In order not to make it long to enumerate all the regions of the Eastern provinces in detail, he generally placed all the kingdoms of the earth that are mentioned in that land. And that which he said against his brother is implied: I gave them a full measure to make them all rage, vomit, go mad, and fight with each other in mutual battles.
Know that it was foretold that wars would continue frequently to prevail, death and famine accumulate anxiety, health would be shattered by raging diseases and the human race be wasted by the desolation of pestilence. It was predicted that evils should be multiplied in the last times and that misfortunes should be varied and that as the day of judgment is now drawing near, the censure of an indignant God should be more and more aroused for the scourging of the human race. For these things do not happen, as your false complaining and ignorant inexperience of the truth asserts and repeats, because your gods are not worshiped by us, but because God is not worshiped by you. For since he is Lord and Ruler of the world and all things are carried on by his will and direction, nor can anything be done save what he has done or allowed to be done, certainly when those things occur that show the anger of an offended God, they happen not on account of us by whom God is worshiped, but they are called down by your sins and by what you deserve, by whom God is neither in any way sought or feared, because your vain superstitions are not forsaken, nor is the true religion known in such a way that he who is the one God over all might alone be worshiped and petitioned. Finally, listen to himself speaking with a divine voice at once instructing and warning us: "You will worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." And again, "You will have no other gods but me." And again, "Do not go after other gods to serve them, and do not worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to destroy you."
Consider and observe, my hearer, that if God had provided hope for Sodom and its companions, he would not have overthrown them with fire and brimstone, the sign of the last day of the world. Instead, he would have delivered them over to one of the kingdoms to be chastised. This is what was written, for instance, when Jeremiah caused the nations and kingdoms to drink the cup of wrath. Concerning each one of the cities, he said that after they shall "drink the cup, I will turn back the captivity of Elam, of Tyre, of Sidon, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab and of Edom." Concerning each one of these kingdoms he said, "In the last days I will turn back its captivity." Now we see that Tyre was inhabited and was opulent after it had wandered seventy years, and after it had received the reward of its harlotries and after it had committed fornication with all the kingdoms. And Tyre took the harp, and played it sweetly and multiplied its music. And also the region of Elam is inhabited and opulent. And with regard to Babylon Jeremiah said, "Babylon shall fall and shall not rise." And look! Up to the present day it continues in desolation and will do so forever. And also about Jerusalem he said, "The virgin of Israel shall fall and shall not rise again. She is forsaken on the ground, and there is none to raise her up." For if the prophecy is true that Jeremiah spoke about Babylon, also that about Jerusalem is true and worthy of faith. And Isaiah said to Jerusalem, "I will not again be angry with you, nor will I reprove you." He truly will not be angry with Jerusalem ever again, nor will he reprove her forever; for that which is in desolation he will not reprove, nor will she provoke him to wrath.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The north - All under the government of the Chaldeans. Of Sheshach - And the king of Babylon, who was last of all to drink of this cup of the Lord's fury.
And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the Cabalistic system (called Athbash, the first Hebrew letter in the alphabet being expressed by the last) Sheshach would exactly answer to Babel. Jeremiah may have used this system (as perhaps in Jer 51:41) for concealment at the time of this prediction, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, while Nebuchadnezzar was before Jerusalem.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
All the kingdoms of the world ... - In accordance with the usage of Holy Scripture this universality is limited. It is moral and not geographical. Sheshach - Jerome says that this is the name Babel written in cypher, the letters being transposed. Another example occurs in Jer 51:1, where the words “the heart of my risers up” become the Chaldaeans. The Septuagint omits the clause containing the name.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֣ת׀ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַצָּפ֗וֹן | hatzafon | the north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| הַקְּרֹבִ֤ים | hakerovim | <the> near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| וְהָֽרְחֹקִים֙ | veharechokim | and <the> far | H7350 → | 84 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָחִ֔יו | ʾachiv | brother his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמַּמְלְכ֣וֹת | hamamlekhot | the kingdoms of | H4467 → | 117 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [are] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֲדָמָ֑ה | haadamah | the ground | H127 → | 225 times |
| וּמֶ֥לֶךְ | umelekh | and [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שֵׁשַׁ֖ךְ | sheshakh | Sheshach | H8347 → | |
| יִשְׁתֶּ֥ה | yishteh | he will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾachareihem | after them | H310 → | 715 times |
וְאֵ֣ת׀and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
הַצָּפ֗וֹןthe north
hatzafonH6828 →153 times
הַקְּרֹבִ֤ים<the> near
hakerovimH7138 →77 times
וְהָֽרְחֹקִים֙and <the> far
veharechokimH7350 →84 times
אִ֣ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אָחִ֔יוbrother his
ʾachivH251 →630 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַמַּמְלְכ֣וֹתthe kingdoms of
hamamlekhotH4467 →117 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[are] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֲדָמָ֑הthe ground
haadamahH127 →225 times
וּמֶ֥לֶךְand [the] king of
umelekhH4428 →2525 times
שֵׁשַׁ֖ךְSheshach
sheshakhH8347 →
יִשְׁתֶּ֥הhe will drink
yishtehH8354 →217 times
אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃after them
ʾachareihemH310 →715 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 25:9behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 18:16
They have made their land a desolation, a perpetual object of scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and shake their heads.
- Isaiah 13:3
I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
- Jeremiah 1:15
For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.…
- Habakkuk 1:6–10
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
- Ezekiel 29:18–20
“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from…
- Jeremiah 18:16
Through
Ezekiel 32:30All the leaders of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down in disgrace with the slain, despite the terror of their might. They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 38:6
as well as Gomer with all its troops, and Beth-togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
- Ezekiel 39:2
I will turn you around, drive you along, bring you up from the far north, and send you against the mountains of Israel.
- Ezekiel 38:6
Through
Jeremiah 51:41How Sheshach has been captured! The praise of all the earth has been seized. What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:19
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 13:19
Where this verse is studied
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About Jeremiah

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Aphrahat the Persian Sage, DEMONSTRATIONS 21:6; Cyprian, Treatise V. An Address to Demetrianus 5-6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.
