What does Jeremiah 25:11 Mean?

Study Notes

seventy years
Cf. Leviticus 26:33-35 ; 2 Chronicles 36:21 ; Daniel 9:2 The 70 years may be reckoned to begin with the first deportation of Judah to Babylon. 2 Kings 24:10-15 . B.C. 604 according to the Assyrian Eponym Canon, or B.C. 606 according to Ussher; or from the final deportation; 2 Kings 25:1-30 ; 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 ; Jeremiah 39:8-10 . B.C. 586 (Assyr. Ep. Canon), or B.C. 588 (Ussher). In the first case the 70 years extend to the decree of Cyrus for the return Ezra 1:1-3 B.C. (Assyr. Ep. Canon), or B.C. 536 (Ussher). In the second case the 70 years terminate B.C. 516 (Assyr.Ep. Canon) with the completion of the temple. The latter is more probable reckoning in the light of Daniel 9:25 .

Verse Meaning

The whole land would remain a horrible desolation for70 years, during which Israel and Judah would be absent from the Promised Land. This is the first prophecy of the length of the Babylonian captivity. The Israelites had not observed70 sabbatical years, so the seventy-year exile would restore rest to the land, i.e, replenish the soil ( 2 Chronicles 36:20-22; Daniel 9:1-2). [source][source]

[source]

"The term of seventy years mentioned is not a Song of Solomon -called round number, but a chronologically exact prediction of the duration of Chaldean supremacy over Judah." ^[1] [source]

Context Summary

It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.

God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 25

¹  Jeremiah, reproving the Jews' disobedience to the prophets,
⁸  foretells the seventy years' captivity;
¹²  and after that, the destruction of Babylon
¹⁵  Under the type of a cup of wine he foreshows the destruction of all nations
³⁴  The howling of the shepherds