Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 25:8-14

"Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and [I will send] unto Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 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. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 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. And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make bondmen of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands." — Jeremiah 25:8-14 (ASV)

Here, the prophet threatens punishment:

1. First is the punishment the Babylonians inflicted. The prophet describes the enemy: behold, I shall send, and take . . . my servant, since he was carrying out a service for the divine will. As it says above: behold, a people are coming from the land of the north, and a great nation shall arise from the ends of the earth (Jeremiah 6:22).

   He describes the imminent punishment regarding the slaughter of men: and I shall slay them, and I shall make them an astonishment and a hissing, and eternal desolations. This is because they will never be restored but will be reduced, as it were, to the likeness of an eternal desolation. As it says above: I shall make this city an astonishment and a hissing; all who pass by her will be astonished, and will hiss because of all her plagues (Jeremiah 19:8).

   This punishment also concerns the end of joyful human activities: and I shall destroy; and the comforts of life: the sound of the millstone. As it says above: I will take from this place, in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride (Jeremiah 16:9).

   Then he describes an even harsher punishment: and all the nations shall serve for seventy years, for the kingdom of the Chaldeans lasted this long. I shall not be angry forever, because a spirit shall go forth from my face (Isaiah 57:16).

2. Second is the punishment that the Chaldeans themselves suffered: and when the seventy years shall be accomplished.

   1. First, he gives the threat: I shall visit. He that shall lead into captivity shall go into captivity; he that shall kill by the sword must be killed by the sword (Revelation 13:10).

   2. Second, he shows the certainty of the threat: and I shall bring upon that land all I have spoken against it. This refers to the prophecies in Isaiah 13, 21, 46, and 47, and those Jeremiah prophesied in chapters 50 and 51.

      Because they served; yet, in their pride, they abused the kindness of God.

   3. Third, he shows the justice of the punishment: and I shall repay them. Give them according to the work of their hands, render to them their reward, for they have not understood the works of the Lord; and with the works of their hands destroy them, and do not build them up (Psalms 27:4–5).