The Meaning of Jeremiah 25:12 Explained

Jeremiah 25:12

KJV: And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

YLT: And it hath come to pass, at the fulness of seventy years, I charge against the king of Babylon, and against that nation -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- their iniquity, and against the land of the Chaldeans, and have appointed it for desolations age-during.

Darby: And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will visit on the king of Babylon and on that nation, saith Jehovah, their iniquity, and on the land of the Chaldeans, and I will make it perpetual desolations.

ASV: And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate for ever.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it shall come to pass, when seventy  years  are accomplished,  [that] I will punish  the king  of Babylon,  and that nation,  saith  the LORD,  for their iniquity,  and the land  of the Chaldeans,  and will make  it perpetual  desolations. 

What does Jeremiah 25:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

After70 years, the Lord promised to punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their sins and make their land a desolation forever (cf. Habakkuk 1-2). Daniel was reading this passage or the one in Jeremiah 29:10, when God gave him the prophecy of the seventy weeks (sevens) of years yet future ( Daniel 9:2). Babylon fell in539 B.C. when Cyrus the Persian captured and overthrew it. [1] It did not become a complete desolation, however, which has led literal interpreters to conclude that a future destruction of Babylon will fulfill this prophecy ( Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:1 to Revelation 19:10). Some literal interpreters believe that this requires the rebuilding of the city of Babylon. Most believe it only requires the future fall of the nation. [2]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 25:1-38 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
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

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 25:12 mean?

And it will come to pass when are completed seventy years [that] I will punish upon the king of Babylon and nation that says Yahweh for their iniquity the land of the Chaldeans and I will make it a desolation perpetual
וְהָיָ֣ה כִמְלֹ֣אות שִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֡ה אֶפְקֹ֣ד עַל־ מֶֽלֶךְ־ בָּבֶל֩ וְעַל־ הַגּ֨וֹי הַה֧וּא נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־ עֲוֺנָ֖ם אֶ֣רֶץ כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י אֹת֖וֹ לְשִֽׁמְמ֥וֹת עוֹלָֽם

וְהָיָ֣ה  And  it  will  come  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כִמְלֹ֣אות  when  are  completed 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
שִׁבְעִ֣ים  seventy 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שִׁבְעִים  
Sense: seventy.
שָׁנָ֡ה  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
אֶפְקֹ֣ד  [that]  I  will  punish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: פָּקַד 
Sense: to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
מֶֽלֶךְ־  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בָּבֶל֩  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
הַגּ֨וֹי  nation 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
הַה֧וּא  that 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֛ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עֲוֺנָ֖ם  their  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
אֶ֣רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים  of  the  Chaldeans 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: כַּשְׂדִּים  
Sense: a territory in lower Mesopotamia bordering on the Persian Gulf.
וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י  and  I  will  make 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
לְשִֽׁמְמ֥וֹת  a  desolation 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: שְׁמָמָה 
Sense: devastation, waste, desolation.
עוֹלָֽם  perpetual 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.