Jeremiah 25:10
in Jeremiah 25Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth 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.
KJV
Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, 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 candle.
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This verse in Jeremiah 25
Commentary
8 notes on this verseI will take from them - See Jer 7:34, and Jer 16:9. The sound of the mill-stones, and the light of the candle - These two are conjoined, because they generally ground the corn before day, by the light of the candle. Sir J. Chardin has remarked, that every where in the morning may be heard the noise of the mills; for they generally grind every day just as much as is necessary for the day’s consumption.
This site's exposition
Therefore this is what the LORD
on Jeremiah 25:8-11
Its instrument is “My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” a pagan king called the LORD's servant. The desolation silences ordinary life: “the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.” The seventy years are named here first in the book.
This site's exposition
the sound of the millstones
The loss of the voices of bride and bridegroom was threatened in 7:34 and 16:9. Clarke explains why the millstones and the lamp stand together. Grain was ground by the light of a lamp, so a silent mill and a dark lamp mean a house with no one to feed.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10) And I will destroy from among 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 millstone, and the light of the lamp. And the whole land shall be desolation and astonishment, and these things are proven today in the assembly of the wicked; so that their teachers do not teach the word of God, but hiss like a serpent. And the voice of joy and the voice of gladness perish in them, so that they never hear the words of the Apostle: Rejoice, again I say, rejoice (Philippians 4:4). The voice also of the bride, of the Ecclesiastical faith; and the voice of the bridegroom, of the Lord Savior: For he who has a bride, is the bridegroom (John III, 29). The voice of the mill, so that the grains are not crushed in it, and are given to the peoples for nourishment: and the light of the lamp, namely the teaching and knowledge (or, rather, the teaching and knowledge) of the Prophets. Finally, it is also said about John the Baptist: He was a shining lamp (John V, 35). And another Prophet: Your word, Lord, is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths (Psalm CXVIII, 105). All, he said, the land of heretics will be as a wasteland and in astonishment, when its final folly has been revealed.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The fixing of time during which the captivity should last would be of great use, not only for the confirmation of the prophecy, when the event (which in this particular could by no human sagacity be foreseen) should exactly answer the prediction, but for the comfort of the people of God in their calamity and the encouragement of faith and prayer.
Moreover - Nay, I will not only deprive you of your mirth, but of those things that are necessary for you, as necessary as bread and light, the millstone shall not move, you shall not have the light so much as of a candle.
Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Take from them ... the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle - (or, lamp). To denote the entire cessation of domestic life. The one was the sign of the preparation of the daily meal, the other of the assembling of the family after the labors of the day were over.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
the sound of a mill That is an indication of a circumcision feast, since they would grind and crush ingredients for healing the wound.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַאֲבַדְתִּ֣י | vehaavadti | and I will destroy | H6 → | 184 times |
| מֵהֶ֗ם | mehem | from <the> them | ||
| ק֤וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שָׂשׂוֹן֙ | sason | joy | H8342 → | 22 times |
| וְק֣וֹל | vekol | and [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שִׂמְחָ֔ה | simchah | gladness | H8057 → | 94 times |
| ק֥וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| חָתָ֖ן | chatan | a bridegroom | H2860 → | 20 times |
| וְק֣וֹל | vekol | and [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| כַּלָּ֑ה | kalah | a bride | H3618 → | 34 times |
| ק֥וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| רֵחַ֖יִם | rechayim | a hand-mill | H7347 → | |
| וְא֥וֹר | veor | and [the] light of | H216 → | 121 times |
| נֵֽר׃ | ner | a lamp | H5216 → |
וְהַאֲבַדְתִּ֣יand I will destroy
vehaavadtiH6 →184 times
מֵהֶ֗םfrom <the> them
mehem
ק֤וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
שָׂשׂוֹן֙joy
sasonH8342 →22 times
וְק֣וֹלand [the] sound of
vekolH6963 →506 times
שִׂמְחָ֔הgladness
simchahH8057 →94 times
ק֥וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
חָתָ֖ןa bridegroom
chatanH2860 →20 times
וְק֣וֹלand [the] sound of
vekolH6963 →506 times
כַּלָּ֑הa bride
kalahH3618 →34 times
ק֥וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
רֵחַ֖יִםa hand-mill
rechayimH7347 →
וְא֥וֹרand [the] light of
veorH216 →121 times
נֵֽר׃a lamp
nerH5216 →
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 16:9For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:34
I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 24:7–12
The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.
- Jeremiah 7:34
Through
Jeremiah 7:34I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 2:11
I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:23
The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of…
- Isaiah 24:7–8
The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.
- Leviticus 26:33
But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Ezekiel 26:13
Through
Ezekiel 26:13So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
it leads to
- Isaiah 23:16
“Take up your harp, stroll through the city, O forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody, sing many a song, so you will be remembered.”
- Isaiah 23:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.