The purpose of this work is to provide the serious Bible student with information about the period of seventy years mentioned in various places in the sacred text. I have extracted and commented on relevant scriptures in an effort to explain what the seventy years were for, when they began, and when they ended. Additionally, I have made no attempt to harmonize what is written in scripture with profane records prior to the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.E. This work is primarily for the benefit of Bible students who study Biblical chronology. Those who are familiar with this subject should have no difficulty understanding what is presented in this work. Others who are not familiar with the subject may find the work somewhat difficult, but with a little effort, it should be comprehensible. All of the scriptures quoted in this work (unless otherwise specified) are taken from the American Standard Version of 1901, which is a reasonably accurate translation of the sacred scriptures.
Leviticus 26:31-35
“And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors. And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies that dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And you will I scatter among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you: and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy its sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it had not in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.”
When Jehovah entered into a covenant relationship with his chosen people, he promised them a land of their own. He also warned them what would happen if they continued to disobey his commandments after being chastised. This text contains the promise of a curse for disobedience to the law covenant. It explains that if the people continued in rebellion against the covenant, they would be removed from the land, during which time it would remain desolate. To accomplish this, God would allow the enemies of his people to destroy their cities and carry them away to the land of their enemies, and while the people were in the land of their enemies, their land would remain desolate until it paid off its Sabbaths.
2 Chronicles 36:1-4
“Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem. Joahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Neco took Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.”
After Necho killed Josiah at Megiddo, the people made Jehoahaz king in Jerusalem. This fulfilled another item of the curse: “You shall be smitten before your enemies.” (Leviticus 26:17) Necho considered Judah subject to him by right of conquest; thus, he removed Jehoahaz and installed Jehoiakim in his place as his servant, fulfilling another item of the curse, “They that hate you shall rule over you.” Then, within four years, Necho engaged Nebuchadnezzar in battle at Charchemish. After his loss to Nebuchadnezzar, Necho returned to Egypt.
2 Chronicles 36:5
“Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God.”
After Nebuchadnezzar had defeated Necho at Carchemish, he viewed Judah as his subject by right of conquest. Necho remained in Egypt for the rest of his days and made no effort to recover his losses from Nebuchadnezzar. It was in Jehoiakim’s fourth year that Jehoiakim became a vassal king to Nebuchadnezzar. It was also at this time that Daniel and his companions were taken to Babylon with the first part of the exiles. (Daniel 1:1) Jehoiakim paid tribute to Nebuchadnezzar for three years, and then he revolted against him. It must be pointed out that this was not the only deportation and that the cities were not destroyed at this time. We note from Jeremiah 34:22 that the desolation of Judah was foretold to begin at the end of the reign of Zedekiah.
2 Chronicles 36:6
“Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon.”
In response to Jehoiakim’s revolt, Nebuchadnezzar came against him in Jehoiakim’s eleventh year (v. 10).
2 Chronicles 36:7
“Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of Jehovah to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.”
This was the second time Nebuchadnezzar took vessels from the temple. The first was in Jehoiakim’s fourth year, and the third was when he came against Zedekiah.
2 Chronicles 36:8-9
“Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.”
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old, according to 2 Kings 24:8.
2 Chronicles 36:10
“And at the return of the year king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of Jehovah, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.”
A major deportation took place in this year, which was at the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign (2 Kings 24:10–17), and Nebuchadnezzar also took Ezekiel to Babylon.
2 Chronicles 36:11-19
“Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God; he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the mouth of Jehovah. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart against turning unto Jehovah, the God of Israel. Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of Jehovah which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And Jehovah, the God of their fathers, sent to them by his messengers, rising up early and sending, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or virgin, old man or hoary-headed: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.”
Another item of the curse was fulfilled: “And I will make your cities a waste, and will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation.” (Leviticus 26:31) This was the destruction of Jerusalem in Zedekiah’s eleventh year.
2 Chronicles 36:20-21
“And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfil the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths: [for] as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.”
The land was left desolate, and the remainder of the people were carried off to Babylon. This was in fulfillment of the curse for disobedience in Leviticus 26:32-35 (see footnote on 2 Chronicles 36:20-21).
2 Kings 24:1-2
“In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. And Jehovah sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it,”
This occurred in Jehoiakim’s eleventh year. – 2 Chronicles 36:6-8; Jeremiah 36:1-32.
The verb “sent” is a Piel in the imperfect, whcih denotes continuous, repeated action. This was the beginning, but not the end, of what would result in the complete destruction of Judah. The verb “destory” is a Hiphil (causitive) infinitive, which means to cause the destruction of Judah when the repeated action of the preceding verb was complete.
2 Kings 24:3
“Surely at the commandment of Jehovah came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did,”
The fulfillment is recorded in 2 Kings 25:11, which was the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
What follows are the details of the events in the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah that led up to the destruction and desolation of the land (see also 2 Chronicles 36:20-21; Jeremiah 39:9-43:7; 52:12-27).
2 Kings 24:4
“and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah would not pardon.”
Manasseh was a very wicked king. – 2 Kings 21:10-17; 2 Chronicles 33:1-12.
2 Kings 24:5-6.
“Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.”
Jehoiakim died after ruling for eleven years in Jerusalem. – 2 Chronicles 36:4-8.
2 Kings 24:7
“And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt unto the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.”
As mentioned earlier, Necho never attempted to recover his losses from Nebuchadnezzar.
2 Kings 24:8-16
“Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Jerusalem three months: and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father had done. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came unto the city, while his servants were besieging it; and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of Jehovah, as Jehovah had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths a thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.”
Ezekiel was also taken to Babylon; the rest of the above corresponds with 2 Chronicles 36:9, 10; Jeremiah 37:1.
2 Kings 24:17-20
“And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, [Jehoiachin’s] father’s brother, king is his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.”
Jehovah remained angry with Judah through the reign of Zedekiah until the last of the people had fled for Egypt (note 2 Kings 25:11, 26).
2 Kings 25:1
“And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.”
When Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, another item in the curse was fulfilled: “And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant; and ye shall be gathered together within your cities: and I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.” (Leviticus 26:25, 26) It was also at this time that Zedekiah sought help from Pharoah Hophra of Egypt, and the army of the Egyptians marched to meet Nebuchadnezzar at Jerusalem. Then the Chaldeans lifted the siege and went to engage Hophra in battle. – Jeremiah 37:3-11.
2 Kings 25:2
“So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s army resumed the siege of Jerusalem after defeating Hophra; then one more item of the curse was fulfilled: “And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.” – Leviticus 26:29.
2 Kings 25:3-11
“On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about); and [the king] went by the way of the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon. Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. And he burnt the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were [with] the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. And the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away captive.”
This was a state of astonishment for anyone who had seen the city in its former glory. Parallel accounts are found in 2 Chronicles 36:11-21; Jeremiah 39:1-9; 52:1-15.
2 Kings 25:12
“But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.”
At this point, a few people were left in the land as vinedressers (see also Jeremiah 39:10), but these departed within a couple of months. – Jeremiah 43:5-7.
2 Kings 25:13-26
“And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the firepans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah, the brass of all these vessels was without weight. The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with network. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold: and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king’s face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the city. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land. And as for the people that were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor. Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah sware to them and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not because of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, so that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldeans that were with him at Mizpah. And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.”
By the seventh month, the last of the people had left the land for Egypt. This fulfilled Deuteronomy 28:68, “And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again.” Note also that it was in the seventh month that the people had returned to the land and were in their cities after the seventy years of desolation (Ezra 3:1). Some claim that the land did not lay completely desolate for seventy years and that the seventy years were only for servitude to the king of Babylon. They state that the servitude began in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. It is true that Jehoiakim was a vassal king, and for that matter, so was Zedekiah, but Jehoiakim rebelled after three years and did not serve the king of Babylon for the entire length of his reign. This would reduce the length of servitude by some four years.
Nevertheless, as was previously stated, the desolation of the land did not begin until the end of the reign of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:22). And the careful observer will note that the object of the declaration in Leviticus 26:32-35, 42, 43 was for the land to remain depopulated while the people served their enemies in the land of their enemies and not in their own land. Thus, it was foretold that the land would rest and pay off its sabbaths while it was desolate, during which time the people would remain in the land of their enemies.
Jeremiah 25:1
“The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon,)”
According to Daniel 1:1, Nebuchadnezzer came out of Babylon in the third year of Jehoiakim and besieged the city. Although he must not have taken it until the fourth year of Jehoiakim after the battle of Carchemish (Jeremiah 46:2), which, according to the Babylonian Chronicles, was the 21st year of Nabopolassar. Then, according to Berosus, he set in order the affairs of the countries of the west and took captives of the Jews, including Daniel, and sent them to Babylon.
According to Jeremiah 25:1, the fourth year of Jehoiakim was the first of Nebuchadnezzer. The Hebrew writers must have counted Nebuchadnezzer’s ascension year as his first regnal year. At some point, the one-year interregnum between Kandalanu and Nabopolassar (BM 25127) might have created a problem in calculating the reign of Nabopolassar, which would affect the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.
Jeremiah 25:2-8
“which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even unto this day, these three and twenty years, the word of Jehovah hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. And Jehovah hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, (but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear,) saying, Return ye now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Jehovah hath given unto you and to your fathers, from of old and even for evermore; and go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith Jehovah; that ye may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt. Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not heard my words,”
Because the people failed to listen, Jehovah had determined that he would bring destruction upon the land; he had also foretold that they would reject his commands in Jeremiah 18:5-17. This was due to the hardness of their hearts. He gave them the opportunity to demonstrate what was in their hearts, but it was predetermined that they would continue in rebellion.
Jeremiah 25:9a
“behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith Jehovah, and (I will send) unto Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof,”
This prophecy, against the land of Israel and its inhabitants, is mentioned in several other places in
Jeremiah:
“Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities. Set up a standard toward Zion: flee for safety, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations; he is on his way, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.” – Jeremiah 4:5-8.
“Destruction upon destruction is cried; [breach upon breach – cities destroyed] for the whole land is laid waste; suddenly are my tents destroyed, and my curtains in a moment.” – Jeremiah 4:20.
“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of Jehovah, and before his fierce anger. For thus saith Jehovah, The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end [there will be a restoration].” – Jeremiah 4:23 – 27.
“Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a signal on Bethhaccherem; for evil looketh forth from the north, and a great destruction.” – Jeremiah 6:1.
“And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.” – Jeremiah 9:11.
“The voice of tidings, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals.” – Jeremiah 10:11.
The prophecy of the pending destruction here in chapter 25 was received in Jehoiakim’s fourth year, which was the first of Nebuchadnezzar, but the following verse proves that it was still yet to occur after the brief reign of Jehoiachin:
“Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the South are shut up (by Nebuchadnezzar when he came to take Jehoiachin and the queen-mother in his eighth year; 2 Kings 24:10 – 12), and there is none to open them (Necho’s failed attempt to deliver Judah in Zedekiah’s tenth year; Jeremiah 37:5): Judah is carried away captive, all of it; it is wholly carried away captive (at the destruction in Zedekiah’s eleventh year).” – Jeremiah 13:18, 19.
The prophecy here in chapter 25 is a prophecy of the destruction in Zedekiah’s eleventh year, not the events in Jehoiakim’s fourth year.
Jeremiah 25:9b
“and against all these nations round about;”
Nebuchadnezzar would not only come against Judah but also against the surrounding nations. The kings of the nations were joined in an alliance with Zedekiah in his revolt against Nebuchadnezzar. – Jeremiah 27.
Moreover, 2 Kings 24:2 states that “bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon” came against Jehoiakim with “bands of the Chaldeans” after Jehoiakim’s rebellion. From this, it can be concluded that Nebuchadnezzar had gained support from some of the forces in the surrounding lands by the end of the reign of Jehoiakim, and subsequent to that, the kings aligned themselves with Zedekiah in his revolt against Nebuchadnezzar.
Jeremiah 25:9c
“and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.”
The destruction would be so complete that “They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.” – Jeremiah 16:4.
Jeremiah 25:10-11a
“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;”
God’s purpose was to bring the land into desolation. This was accomplished just after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the remaining ones were carried away to Babylon.
Jeremiah 25:11b
“and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
Here the conjunction “and” conjoins the desolation with the service of the nations. As was noted, the alliance of the nations was broken, and they were given into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar by the time of the destruction. (Jeremiah 27:6) Both the service of the nations and the service of the people of Israel were to last for seventy years, while the whole land lay desolate. This is how Daniel understood the fulfillment of the prophecy: that the land would be desolate for seventy years.
Moreover, not only did Daniel understand that the land would lay desolate for seventy years, so also did the writer of 2 Chronicles 36:17-23, which explained the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy in the same way. These two separate accounts plainly state that the fulfillment of this verse took place when the exiles returned in 538 B.C.E., and it has been clearly established that the desolation of Jerusalem took place in Zedekiah’s eleventh year and that the desolation was to last for seventy years. Consequently, the destruction of Jerusalem had to have occurred in 608 B.C.E.
Jeremiah 25:12
“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.”
“I will punish,” literally, “I will visit upon the king of Babyon, and to that nation is the declaration of Jehovah, their guilt.” Cyrus took Babylon in 539 B.C.E. The Chaldeans destroyed Jerusalem in 608 B.C.E. In the first year of the seventy years, the people were taken captive to Babylon in 608 B.C.E., where they remained until they were released in the last year of the seventy years and returned in 538 B.C.E.
Jeremiah 25:13-14
“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.”
The remainder of chapter 25 is found in Jeremiah 32 of the Septuagint.
Jeremiah 25:15
“For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.”
The prophecy of the “cup of Jehovah” is found in Jeremiah 32:15-38 of the Septuagint, along with the other general prophecies of Jeremiah. This prophecy occurred in or before the 4th year of Jehoiakim because it foretells of the destruction of Ashkelon, which took place late in Jehoiakim’s 4th year, according to the Babylonian Chronicles.
Jeremiah 25:16-17
“And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at Jehovah’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom Jehovah had sent me:”
This verse and the following are prophetic of the destruction that was to come upon the nations, including Jerusalem and Judah, as a consequence of Jehovah’s wrath. It is not prophetic of servitude but rather of the destruction that was to come upon the nations.
Jeremiah 25:18
“[to wit], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;”
According to prophecy, Jerusalem was to become a desolation. The expression “as it is this day” is not found in the Septuagint. It was added by the scribes, who inserted comments in various places.
Jeremiah 25:19-22
“Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of the Uz, and all the kings of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;“
Isaiah prophesied that Tyre “shall be forgotten seventy years.” (Isaiah 23:15) The siege against Tyre began after the destruction of Jerusalem, and Tyre was forgotten, which is to say that no one traded with her until Babylon fell in 539 B.C.E. For seventy years, “like the days of one king,” which is one dynasty, she was forgotten. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the island city for 13 years but did not take it. Jehovah gave Egypt to Nebuchadnezzer for his service against Tyre. Consequently, Egypt was carried into exile and served the Babylonians for forty years. – Ezekiel 29:1-21.
Jeremiah 25:23-25
“Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the wilderness; and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;”
This prophecy against Elam is also found in Jeremiah 49:34-39 (chapter 25:35-38 in the Septuagint). The Babylonian Chronicles state that Nebuchadnezzer took Elam in his 9th year.
Jeremiah 25:26
“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.”
The words “the king of Sheshack” are not found in the Septuagint.
Jeremiah 27:1a
“In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim”
Verse one is missing in the Septuagint. This chapter concerns Zedekiah’s reign (see footnote ASV). The name Jehoiakim is a scribal error and should read Zedekiah. The Aramaic Peshitta lists verse one as “In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah.”
Jeremiah 27:1b-3
“the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah to me: Make thee bonds and bars, and put them upon thy neck; and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers that come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah;”
The kings of the nations joined in an alliance with Zedekiah in revolt against Nebuchadnezzar.
Jeremiah 27:4-6
“and give them a charge unto their masters, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say unto your masters: I have made the earth, the men and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him.”
“And now have I given all these lands” literally reads, “And now I will have given” (the prophetic perfect). The Hebrew verb indicates the state of the action (in this case, perfect or complete action); however, since that action can be past, present, or future, the translator must decide which best fits the context. The following translations demonstrate the difficulty faced by translators with this verse:”
“Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.” – New International Version. – placing the action in the future.
“And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.” – New King James Version – placing the action in the past.
“I now give all these lands to my servant Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and I give him also all the beasts of the field to serve him.” – The New English Bible – placing the action in the present.
“For the present, I have handed all these countries over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant; I have even put the wild animals at his service.” – The New Jerusalem Bible – seems to place the action in the immediate past.
“I herewith deliver all these lands to My servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; I even give him the wild beasts to serve him.” – Tanakh – seems to place the action in the immediate future.
When a translator faces this type of difficulty, he often looks to the context to determine which verb tense to use. Here, in verse six, Jehovah used the perfect to indicate that the thing was definitely going to occur (it is very common in scripture to find the perfect used in prophecy for pending future events), and at that time it remained to be seen if the nations would submit to his will and subject themselves to Nebuchadnezzar.
Jeremiah 27:7
“And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondman.”
The king of Babylon will break the alliance of the nations, and they will become his servants until the end of the seventy years, when his kingdom will pass to the Medes and the Persians.
Jeremiah 27:8
“And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.”
The fulfillment came for Judah after Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and formed an alliance with Egypt and the surrounding nations. The rest of the surrounding nations fell into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar during his military campaign for the conquest of Judah and Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 27:9-10
“But as for you, hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.”
The false prophets deceived the people into rebellion with Zedekiah and were carried off the land at the destruction.
Jeremiah 27:11
“But the nation that shall bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, that [nation] will I let remain in their own land, saith Jehovah; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.”
Jehovah gave the nations an opportunity to submit to Nebuchadnezzar with the promise that they could serve him on their own land. Nevertheless, they refused to submit, suffered defeat, and were carried off as captives, leaving their lands desolate, as was foretold by Jeremiah.
Likewise, Judah was carried off the land after it was conquered, and the people served the king of Babylon for seventy years while the land lay desolate and paid off its sabbaths. Jehovah had hardened the heart of Zedekiah, as he did to Pharoah at the time of the exodus. Jehovah did this to reveal what was in the hearts of his enemies and to get glory for himself by means of his great power. – Exodus 9:15, 16.
Jeremiah 27:12-17
“And I spake to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? And hearken not unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that ye may perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Hearken not to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Jehovah’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city become a desolation?”
This verse demonstrates that the desolation had not yet occurred, and it remained to be seen whether or not Zedekiah, the priests, and the people would submit to Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless, as Jeremiah 24:8-10 states, “And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith Jehovah, ‘So will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt, I will even give them up to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.’”
Jeremiah 27:18-22
“But if they be prophets, and if the word of Jehovah be with them, let them now make intercession to Jehovah of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem: They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be, until the day that I visit them, saith Jehovah; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.”
Jehovah declared that the remaining vessels in the temple would go to Babylon. Thus, the third and final time that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of Jehovah was at the destruction of the city.
Jeremiah 29:1-9
The following is the text of the letter that Jeremiah sent to those who had been carried away to Babylon. Early in his reign, Zedekiah sent an embassy to Nebuchadnezzar for political reasons. Jeremiah took advantage of the situation and sent a letter with them to Babylon to be read to those in captivity. Prior to that, the false prophets had managed to deceive the people into believing that they would be returning from Babylon very soon. The purpose of the letter was to assure them that the prophets had prophesied falsely and that they would remain in Babylon, awaiting the arrival of the survivors from the pending destruction of Jerusalem. Those of their brothers who survived the destruction were to be taken to Babylon. It was the destruction of Jerusalem that resulted in the desolation and completed the exile of Judah.
“Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, (after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother, and the eunuchs, [and] the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem,) by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,) saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon: Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply ye there, and be not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith Jehovah.”
After verse nine, most commentators encounter difficulties. The following verse states that after the seventy years were accomplished, the exile would end. The difficulties arise because commentators are influenced by secular chronology, which places the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 or 586 B.C.E.
Consequently, they believe the seventy years began with the first deportation of captives in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. There was also another deportation in the ascension year of Zedekiah, but neither of these left the land desolate. Only the final deportation, after the destruction of Jerusalem, left the land desolate. The purpose of the seventy years was for the land to lay desolate. And at the time the letter was sent, the desolation remained a future event and was yet to begin with the pending destruction of Jerusalem and the surrounding cities.
Additionally, several commentators have alleged that a serious transposition of verses has occurred in this chapter. For this reason, I have supplied the verse arrangement recommended by Adam Clarke to correct for the alleged transpositions after the commentary on this chapter. Thus, verses 10 through 32 follow as they are presented in the received Hebrew with brief commentary on important issues and textual problems. But it is noteworthy at this point to explain that with verse 10 appearing after verse 19, those of both groups in captivity would have no problem understanding that the seventy years would begin after the pending destruction and that the destruction would serve as a sign marking the beginning of the desolation, which was to last for seventy years.
Jeremiah 29:10a
“For thus saith Jehovah, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon,”
The text, “For thus saith Jehovah, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you,” is literally “because this is what Jehovah has said: according to my mouth, are completed at Babylon seventy years, I will visit you,” which in this instance means “as he has spoken” and applies to what was spoken in the past. Jeremiah had been prophesying about the seventy years for a considerable period of time prior to his mentioning it here in his letter to the exiles. The false prophets were busy in Babylon, proclaiming a pending victory over the Chaldeans. Jeremiah, on the other hand, was explaining to the people that the seventy years of desolation were certain to come upon the land and not to listen to the words of the false prophets in Babylon.
There is nothing in the Hebrew that suggests that the seventy years had started. What is related is that the seventy years of desolation remained yet a future reality, as was previously prophesied according to the mouth of Jehovah to the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25:11-12 states, “This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babyon 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.” Verse nine clearly states that not only would the land of Israel become a desolation, so would the lands of the nations around it. Therefore, all the nations would serve the king of Babylon in Babylon while the whole land lay desolate for seventy years. According to Jeremiah 52:31-32, the kings of the nations were in Babylon with Jehoiachin.
Furthermore, the inseparable preposition “La” used in the construction “La-Ba-vel” may be translated in a variety of ways: “to,” “for,” “in regard to,” “at,” “into,” “towards,” and “against” are all some of the ways in which the preposition is translated in scripture. Note Isaiah 10:28; ASV, where the preposition “La” is translated as “at” in the construction “La-MiCH-MaSH.” Additionally, there are several translations that use “at” in translation:
“After seventy years are completed at Babylon” – The New King James Version.
“That after seventy years are accomplished at Bavel” – The Jerusalem Bible (Jewish).
“After seventy years are completed at Babylon” – Holy Bible by George M. Lamsa.
Note also one translation of the Septuagint:
“When seventy years shall be on the point of being accomplished at Babylon” – Septuagint by Lancelot C.L. Brenton.
Jeremiah 29:10b
“I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.”
Thus, after the seventy years were complete for the desolation of the land, Jehovah would visit the people at Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:11-16
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith Jehovah, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places wither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;”
Zedekiah was still ruling in Jerusalem, and more people were yet to go into captivity.
Jeremiah 29:17-23
“thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. This prophecy specifically states that the destruction and the subsequent desolation was certain to occur. And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them; because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah. Hear ye therefore the word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie unto you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; because they have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I commanded them not; and I am he that knoweth, and am witness, saith Jehovah.”
It is well known among scholars that the prophecies in the book of Jeremiah, as we have them today, in the received Hebrew and also in the Septuagint, are not in the original form in which they were delivered by Jeremiah. A quick comparison between the chapter and verse arrangements in the Hebrew and the Septuagint makes this point very clear. It is thought that Jeremiah was originally a much smaller book, with subsequent additions added to the original by Baruch, and also that it was subjected to editing by the scribes over time. The evidence supporting this is well documented. Also, several glosses have been found throughout the work, which add support to this view. In short, Jeremiah comes to us as a patchwork of smaller books with interpolations and transpositions.
James Moffatt addressed this problem in his translation. He located and corrected many of what he thought were interpolations in his translation. In Chapter 29, he lists verses 1 through 20, then 15, then 21 through 32.
However, Adam Clarke states in his commentary on Jeremiah, beginning with verse 10, “It has been supposed that a very serious transposition of verses has taken place here; and it has been proposed to read after verse 9 the sixteenth to the nineteenth inclusive; then the tenth, and on to the fourteenth inclusive; then the twentieth, the fifteenth, the twenty-first, and the rest regularly to the end.”
Following are the recommended changes in verse order for the 29th chapter as put forth by Adam Clarke in his commentary:
“1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2 (after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother, and the eunuchs, [and] the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem,) 3 by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,) saying, 4 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon: 5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply ye there, and be not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 8 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith Jehovah. 16 thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17 thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them; 19 because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah. 10 For thus saith Jehovah, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. 12 And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith Jehovah, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places wither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 20 Hear ye therefore the word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 15 Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie unto you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22 and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 because they have wrought folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I commanded them not; and I am he that knoweth, and am witness, saith Jehovah. 24 And concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak, saying, 25 Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thine own name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 Jehovah hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of Jehovah, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in shackles. 27 Now therefore, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who maketh himself a prophet to you, 28 forasmuch as he hath sent unto us in Babylon, saying, [The captivity] is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them? 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie; 32 therefore thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do unto my people, saith Jehovah, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah.”
The translators of The New American Bible made an effort to correct the transpositions in their translation. They suggest after verse 7, verses 10-14, then 16-20, then 15, 8-9, and then 21-32.
Nevertheless, regardless of the correct verse order, which we may never know for certain, nothing in any order states that the 70 years of desolation began before the destruction of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 44:1
“The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, that dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying,”
These were the Jews who had fled to Egypt under the leadership of Johanan after the destruction of the city and the murder of Gedaliah. (Jeremiah 41:1-43:13) Jehovah had warned them through Jeremiah the prophet not to return to Egypt; nevertheless, they failed to heed the word of Jehovah and took up residence in Egypt.
Jeremiah 44:2
“Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,”
Jehovah plainly stated that the holy land was “a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein,” after the Jews had arrived in Egypt. This is in agreement with Zechariah 7:11-15, which states, “The land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.” That word to Zechariah was given in 518 B.C.E., which was twenty years after the Jews had returned to their cities with Ezra in 538 B.C.E. (Ezra 3:1). The verses in Jeremiah (25:10, 11; 29:10) were understood by Daniel (9:1, 2) and the writer of the book of second Chronicles (36:17-21) to mean that the land would lie desolate, which means without inhabitants, for seventy years, during which time the land would pay off its Sabbaths and the Jews would remain in Babylon. Scripture also conjoins the end of the seventy years with the destruction of Babylon, which occurred in 539 B.C.E. (Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10). Thus, the beginning of the seventy year period of desolation had to have occurred at the end of the reign of Zedekiah, when the remainder of the people fled to Egypt in 608 B.C.E.
Jeremiah 44:3-10
“because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, [and] to serve other gods, that they knew not, neither they, nor ye, nor your fathers. Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. Wherefore my wrath and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day. Therefore now thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore commit ye [this] great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining; in that ye provoke me unto anger with the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are gone to sojourn; that ye may be cut off, and that ye may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.”
Although driven from their cities and witnessing the destruction of their holy city and its temple, the Jews were not deterred from taking up their idolatrous practices in the land of Egypt.
Jeremiah 44:11-12
“Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an execration, [and] an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.”
Jehovah promised destruction upon the land of Egypt and for the Jews who had taken refuge there in defiance of his command not to return there. The destruction was pending after the Chaldeans had driven the armies of Pharaoh Hophra back to Egypt; although Nebuchadnezzar did not take Egypt at that time, instead he returned and resumed the siege against Jerusalem and destroyed it, after which he undertook the long siege against Tyre (Ezekiel 29:17-21), a siege that lasted at least thirteen years according to Josephus. Then he prepared for his assault on Egypt.
Jeremiah 44:13-14
“For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; so that none of the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall escape.”
Verses 13 and 14 read as follows in the Septuagint in chapter 51:13-14:
“And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem, with sword and with famine: and there shall not one be preserved of the remnant of Juda that sojourn in the land of Egypt, to return to the land of Juda, to which they hope in their hearts to return: they shall not return, but only they that escape.” – Septuagint by Brenton.
Jehovah declared that Egypt would suffer the same fate as Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 44:15-22
“Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great assembly, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, and pouring out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings unto her, without our husbands? Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people that had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not Jehovah remember them, and came it not into his mind? so that Jehovah could not longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.”
The holy land was a complete desolation, devoid of inhabitants, and an astonishment to anyone passing by as a consequence of disobedience to the law.
“Jehovah will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples whither Jehovah shall lead thee away.” – Deuteronomy 28:37, 38.
Jeremiah 44:23-28
“Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as it is this day. Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows. Therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, As the Lord Jehovah liveth. Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.”
The phrase “shall return to the land of Juda” reads in the Hebrew text, with the verb in the imperfect state, “they shall proceed to turn back from the land of Egypt toward Judah – men of number.” It is common to read, “He left toward Egypt” or “toward Babylon.” Men of number is a Hebrew idiom meaning “few” or “that can be counted.”
Jeremiah 44:29-30
“And this shall be the sign unto you, saith Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil: Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.”
According to Herodotus, Hophra (Apries) was killed by his fellow countryman and not by Nebuchadnezzer, as Josephus states. About six years after the thirteen-year siege of Trye, Nebuchadnezzer fulfilled Jehovah’s prophecy against Egypt when he conquered the land of Egypt in his thirty-seventh year and took Amasis captive. Amasis was declared king at least ten years after Jerusalem was destroyed. Nebuchadnezzer did not capture Hophra; rather, he captured Amasis. Thus, in his thirty-seventh year, Nebuchadnezzer took Egypt, and many of the Jews living there perished.
The fragmentary text that relates events in Nebuchadnezzer’s thirty-seventh year (BrM 78-10-15, 22, 37, and 38; translated by Zehnpfund-Langdon, in VAB, iv, 206 f) reads:
“. . . [in] the 37th year, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Bab[ylon] mar[ched against] Egypt (Mi-sir) to deliver a battle. [Ama]sis (text: [ . . . ] – a(?)-su), of Egypt, [called up his a[rm]y] . . . [ . . ]ku from the town Putu-laman . . . distant regions which (are situated on the islands) amidst the sea . . . many . . . which/who (are) in Egypt . . . [car]rying weapons, horses and [chariot]s . . . he called up to assist him and . . . did [. . . ] in front of him . . . he put his trust . . . (only the first signs at the beginning and the end of the following 7 or 8 lines are legible).”
After this battle, forty years of desolation for Egypt began. (Ezekiel 29:8-12) Josephus must have believed that the Babylonians took Egypt after the destruction of Jerusalem, sometime before they began the siege against Tyre. But they did not take Egypt until after the siege against Tyre was completed, which was at least thirteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 52:1-3a
“Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of Jehovah did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence.”
The above introduction concerns itself with the reign of Zedekiah and demonstrates that Jehovah had removed the people out of his presence at the end of the reign of Zedekiah. The rest of the chapter concerns itself with the details that led up to that event.
Jeremiah 52:3b-4
“And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.”
At this time, Zedekiah sought help from Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt. Hophra gathered his army and went on the march to meet Nebuchadnezzar at Jerusalem. The Chaldeans broke off the siege of Jerusalem and went to engage Hophra in battle. – Jeremiah 34:1-22; 37:3-21.
Jeremiah 52:5-14
“So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were against the city round about;) and they went toward the Arabah. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him. And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem: and he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned he with fire. And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.”
This is the fulfillment of earlier prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 36, 2 Kings 25, and Jeremiah 39, and the beginning of the seventy years of desolation at the end of the reign of Zedekiah.
Jeremiah 52:15-27
“Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that were left in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of Jehovah, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the cups, and the firepans, and the basins, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the bowls–that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver,– the captain of the guard took away. The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Jehovah–the brass of all these vessels was without weight. And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow. And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of brass: and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates. And there were ninety and six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about. And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold: and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king’s face, that were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.”
Other deportations not mentioned elsewhere follow here; however, they are not found in the Seputagint and are thought to be additions derived from Babylonian sources. Therefore, their canonicity should be called into question.
Jeremiah 52:28-30
“This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty; in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons; in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.”
These were probably captives taken from Edom, Moab, and other surrounding territories in mopping up operations during the years following the destruction of Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzer campaigned against Tyre. They were not captives taken from the land of Egypt since Egypt was not taken until Nebuchadnezzer’s thirty-seventh year.
Ezekiel 4:1-3
“Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem: and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about. And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.”
The pantomime of the prophet was prophetic of the coming siege against the city.
Ezekiel 4:4-5
“Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.”
The sin of the ten-tribe kingdom began at the division of the united kingdom when Jeroboam began to rule over the breakaway ten tribes. He institutionalized idolatry with the introduction of calf worship. Eventually the ten-tribe kingdom came to an end when the king of Assyria carried Israel away to Assyria in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea (2 Kings 18:10, 11), or in the nineteenth if his reign is counted without an interregnum from the end of the reign of Pekah. The length of the reigns of the kings of Judah (excluding two years from one coregency during the reign of Jehoshaphat) totals 391 and covers the period of 390 years.
Ezekiel 4:6
‘And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.”
The 40 years for the sin of the house of Judah began with the reign of King Solomon and ended with the division of the kingdom. Solomon had broken the terms of the covenant by multiplying wives, horses, and riches. He became deeply involved in trade with the surrounding nations, making covenants with them for the purpose of trade, which led to his intemperance and ensnared him in idolatry. – Exodus 23:32, 33; Deuteronomy 17:16, 17.
The punishment for the 40 years would run consecutively with the punishment for the 390 years, for a total of 430 years. Thus, the whole land would lie desolate in order to pay off its sabbaths, while the people served foreign kings in Babylon. – Leviticus 26:33-36; Jeremiah 27:6, 7.
390 plus 40 equals 430. 430 divided by 7 equals 61.4 seven-year sabbaths. 430 divided by 50 equals 8.6 fifty-year sabbaths. 61.4 years plus 8.6 years equals seventy years. The land would lay desolate for a full seventy years.
Remarkably, the sin of the house of Judah after the division of the united kingdom, which included that of the tribe of Benjamin, was punished concurrently with that of the northern kingdom, even though it was not directly stated. Likewise, the sin of the ten tribes before the division of the united kingdom was punished concurrently with that of the tribe of Judah. In this way, the whole nation was punished for its sin, while the land lay desolate for seventy years.
Moreover, some chronologists have incorrectly stated that there was a coregency between Uzziah (Azariah) and his son Jotham; however, the scripture at 2 Kings 15:5 states that Jotham “was over the household” while Uzziah dwelt in a separate house as a leper. The expression “over the household” is applied to Joseph, who was over the house of Pharaoh, and it never means “reigned as king.” (Genesis 45:8) See also Isaiah 22:15.
Additionally, the statement recorded in 2 Kings 15:1, “in the twenty and seventh year,” causes quite a bit of confusion among chronologists. 2 Kings 15:1 refers to the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam’s partnership with his father Jehoash, who had made him consort during the years of his wars with Syria. That he began his sole rule in the “fifteenth year” of Amaziah is demonstrated by 2 Chronicles 26:1-3 and 2 Kings 14:20, 21; see also Josephus (‘Ant. Jud., ix 10 par 4). The interregnum following the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel also causes more problems for chronologists. And the mention of two separate Assyrian kings, Pul and Tiglathpileser, in 2 Kings 15:19, 29 and 2 Chronicles 5:26 further confounds them. In an attempt to harmonize the profane records with those of scripture, they engage in wild speculation and totally undermine what is written in the sacred text. When the Assyrians carried off many of the people from the northern kingdom, they replaced them with people from foreign lands; thus, the land never rested from idolatry until Nebuchnezzar’s conquest.
Ezekiel 21:18-19
“The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.”
“Appoint thee two ways.” – “Set off from Babylon, and lay down two ways, either of which you may take: that to the right, which leads to Jerusalem; or that to the left, which leads to Rabbath of the Ammonites, v. 20. But why against the Ammonites? Because both they and the Moabites were united with Zedekiah against the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 27:3), though they afterwards fought against Judea, (Jeremiah 12:6).” – Adam Clarke.
Ezekiel 21:20-27
“Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver. In his right hand was the divination [for] Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this [shall be] no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [him].”
The last two verses address the destruction and the end of the Jewish government. At the end of the seventy years of desolation, the people were allowed to return to their land, but they were forbidden to have a king represent them. Christ was the only one who earned the right to represent the people through his sinless life. His rule over his people began in the first century.
Ezekiel 26:1
“And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,”
The eleventh year of Ezekiel’s captivity was the tenth year of Zedikiah. Ezekiel’s dates are from the first year of his captivity, which began in Zedikiah’s acession year after the death of Jehoiakim in his last year, which was also the same year in which Jehoiachin reigned for three months and ten days.
Ezekiel 26:2-7
“Son of man, because that Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken [that was] the gate of the peoples; she is turned unto me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste: therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth its waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah; and she shall become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters that are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am Jehovah. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and much people.”
“Many nations” would come against Tyre. The Babylonians were the first to come, beginning with the reign of Nebuchadnezzar after his conquest of Jerusalem and before his campaign against Egypt. He took the mainland city and then laid siege to the island city for 13 years, but did not take it. Alexander the Great captured it in the 4th century B.C.E. – Ezekiel 29:17-20; Zechariah 9:3, 4.
Ezekiel 29:1-2
“In the tenth year, in the tenth [month], in the twelfth [day] of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt;”
This was Pharaoh Hophra, who was also known as Apries.
Ezekiel 29:3-5
“speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lieth in the midst of his rivers, that hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. And I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales; and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, with all the fish of thy rivers which stick unto thy scales. And I will cast thee forth into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open field; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered; I have given thee for food to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens.”
Hophra was taken prisoner and later killed by his enemies.
Ezekiel 29:6
“And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.”
Israel’s misplaced trust in the Egyptians for deliverance from the Babylonians proved futile.
Ezekiel 29:7
“When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.”
The Egyptians, under Hophra, came to the aid of Zedekiah, but they were defeated and returned to Egypt. Jereimiah 34:21; 37:5-8.
Ezekiel 29:8
“Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and will cut off from thee man and beast.”
All of the land of Egypt would suffer the same fate as Hophra.
Ezekiel 29:9-21
The following concerns Egypt’s forty years (previously discussed in Jeremiah 25:22).
“And the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. Because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it; therefore, behold, I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from the tower of Seveneh even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be a desolation forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered; and I will bring back the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing iniquity to remembrance, when they turn to look after them: and they shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah. And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt as his recompense for which he served, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord Jehovah. In that day will I cause a horn to bud forth unto the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.”
Ezekiel 30:20
“And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first [month], in the seventh [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,”
This was three months after the initial siege of Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 30:21
“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it hath not been bound up, to apply [healing] medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.”
Hophra failed in his attempt to deliver Zedekiah.
Ezekiel 30:22-25
“Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong [arm], and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand: but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. And I will hold up the arms of the king of Babylon; and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.”
Jehovah gave Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as compensation for his service against Tyre.
Ezekiel 32:1-32
Additional prophecies concerning the destruction of Egypt:
“And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will spread out my net upon thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net. And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of thee. And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah. I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. Yea, I will make many peoples amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to nought the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord Jehovah. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Jehovah. This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord Jehovah. It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth [day] of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword; whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that are slain. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, that are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword. There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah. For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.”
Ezekiel 33:21a
“And it came to pass in the twelfth year”
This was the 11th of Zedekiah.
Ezekiel 33:21b
“of our captivity”
“Our captivity” was not the captivity of the whole nation, but that of those who were carried away with Jehoiachin and the queen-mother in the last year of Jehoiakim. Note also Ezekiel 40:1.
Ezekiel 33:21c
“in the tenth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.”
This was four months and 28 days after Nebuzaradan burnt the house of Jehovah, the king’s house, all the great houses of the city, and broke down the walls of Jersulam. – 2 Kings 25:2-10.
This fulfilled the prophecy in Ezekiel 24:26.
Ezekiel 33:22-24a
“Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places”
“Waste places,” He-CHa-Ra-VoT Ha-‘a-LeH (these ruins), were where those of the Jews, who had fled from the city, were hiding; namely, in the rocks, caves, and high places in the mountains. They were soon to die by the sword, by wild beasts, and by famine. – 33:27.
Ezekiel 33:24b-27
“in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor’s wife: and shall ye possess the land? Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.”
Nebuzaradan rounded up a few others (Jeremiah 52:8-27), and there were still others who were killed when Ishmael murdered Gedaliah; after which, those who remained fled to Egypt. – Jeremiah 40:1 – 43:7.
Ezekiel 33:28-29
“And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.”
After those who had fled were taken captive or killed, and those remaining had fled to Egypt, the land was in a condition of total desolation.
Daniel 9: 1-2
“ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.” – See comments on Jeremiah 25:11.
“Desolations,” Ra-VoT is a pluralis intensivus, for which there is no English counterpart, and is sometimes translated in the plural in an attempt to maintain the intensive attribute of the noun, but this often causes confusion; therefore, some translations use the singular form to avoid the confusion.
The Septuagint, translated by L. Brenton, reads:
“seventy years for the accomplishment of the desolation of Jerusalem.”
Tanakh, a Jewish translation reads:
“were to be the term of Jerusalem’s desolation – seventy years.”
Daniel understood that the prophecy of Jeremiah was having its fulfillment in the first year of Darius, who was co-ruler with Cryus in the first year of his sole rule. Cryus took Babylon in the fall of 539 BCE, and the people were back in their cities in the seventh month of the following year, 538 B.C.E. – Ezra 3:1.
Zechariah 1:12; 7:4
The period of seventy years is also mentioned twice in the book of Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest who began his ministry in 520 B.C.E., during the reign of Darius Hystaspes. Many of the Jews were still in Babylon at this time. Nevertheless, about 50,000 had returned eighteen years earlier, in 538 B.C.E., to begin the work of building the temple after Cyrus proclaimed freedom for the exiles. (Ezra 1:1-3:1) The building of the temple began in 536 B.C.E., when the foundation was laid. (Ezra 3:8-13) But the work was put on hold by Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:1-24) and did not resume until 520 B.C.E. (Ezra 4:24 – 6:22), when Darius Hystaspes proclaimed it proper to continue with the work. It was in the second year of Darius, and during the construction, that Zechariah received his first vision. – Ezra 4:24; Zechariah 1:1.
In that vision, in verse 1:12, the angel of Jehovah asked, “O Jehovah of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?” To which Jehovah replied through his angel, “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it,” (1:14-16) In this dialog, the angel, in mentioning the seventy years, merely states that Jehovah was angry with his people for a period of seventy years.
Moreover, the angel does not state that the seventy years had ended at that time, in 520 B.C.E. He only makes reference to the seventy years to show that God was angry with his people, and now, in contrast to his anger, it was time for him to show compassion to those who had returned eighteen years earlier by allowing them to finish the work on the temple. Thus, the work on the temple resumed in the second year of Darius Hystaspes.
About two years later, in 518 B.C.E., while the work was still underway, Zechariah again received the word of Jehovah (verses 7:1-14). A delegation had arrived in Jerusalem from Bethel with a question about fasting. Judging by their names, these men had probably been born in Babylon during the exile. They asked, “Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?” To which Jehovah replied, “When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?”
The fast in the fifth month was in remembrance of the burning of the temple; the fast in the seventh month was for the murder of Gedaliah. These fasts were held throughout the period of the prophesied seventy years while the people were in exile. Those of the delegation, being born in Babylon, remembered such fasts during their time in exile, and they continued fasting even after the seventy years had ended in 538 B.C.E. Their purpose in asking if it was proper to continue with the practice was to call attention to their outward display of piety, for which Jehovah rebuked them, knowing that they had not been fasting out of regard for offending him. As with the case when the prophesied period of seventy years was mentioned two years earlier, Jehovah was drawing attention to the fact that they had spent seventy years in exile fasting.
This clearly demonstrates that the people were in exile for seventy years because the fasts commemorated the events that began with the destruction of Jerusalem. Some claim that the seventy years began in the fourth year of Jehoiakim and ended in 538 B.C.E.; with this, they become hopelessly entangled because they have two separate periods of seventy years, and the scriptures only speak of one. Additionally, those who place the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. are unable to produce seventy years of desolation, yet the scriptures require the land to lay desolate for seventy years while it paid off its sabbaths. – See the footnote on these texts for grammatical information.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 36:20, 21:
“And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfil the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths: for as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.”
There is nothing ambiguous in this text about the land lying desolate for 70 years while the people were in exile in Babylon, as the following translations demonstrate:
“Those who escaped the sword he took captive to Babylon, and they became slaves to him and his sons until the sovereignty passed to the Persians, while the land of Israel ran the full term of its Sabbaths. All the time that it lay desolate it kept the sabbath rest, to complete seventy years in fulfillment of the word of the LORD by the prophet Jeremiah.” – The New English Bible; Oxford University Press.
“He carried off the survivors to Babylon, where they were slaves to him and to his sons until the Persian empire rose. All this, in fulfillment of what the Eternal had predicted by Jeremiah, that the land was to enjoy her sabbatical years, keeping her Sabbaths all the time she lay desolate, for the full seventy years.” James Moffatt Translation.
“And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” – The New King James Version.
Zechariah 7:3, 5; 1:12
Much controversy has centered on the use of the demonstrative “ZeH” (this) in Zechariah 7:3, 5, and 1:12. In an effort to resolve the dispute, let us begin in chapter seven, where we note that a delegation had arrived from Bethel and asked the priests and prophets the following question: “Should I weep in the fifth month, consecrating myself as I have done this many years?” (v3) The central question is, “In view of the fact that verse three uses the plural noun ‘years,’ are we justified in changing ‘this’ to ‘these’ in translation?” Initially, it might seem quite logical to do so. However, after considering the various uses for which ZeH is employed, I have come to quite a different conclusion.
To begin with, there is a word in Hebrew for “these,” which is “‘aLeH.” Deuteronomy 1:1 uses this term: “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan.” The speaker in Zechariah was free to use ‘aLeH if he had so desired, but he did not and chose ZeH instead. The reason for this is explained in “A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament” by Brown, Driver, and Briggs. On page 261; 4i, the following meaning is given concerning verse three: “already how many years?” The reason ZeH means “already” rather than “this” is given by the following explanation under item 4: “It is attached enclitically, almost as an adverb, to certain words, especially interrogative pronouns, to impart, in a manner often not reproducible in English idiom, directness and force, bringing the question or statement made into close relation with the speaker.”
Consequently, verse three should read, “Should I weep in the fifth month? consecrating myself, as I have done already, for how many years?” (Similarly, verse 1:12 should read, “O Jehovah, how long will you not have compassion on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation already seventy years?”) By their question, the delegation from Bethel was calling attention to their outward display of righteous acts. Those acts were the fasts that they had strictly observed during their time in exile and after they had returned to the holy land. Nevertheless, Jehovah was not impressed with their calling attention to their self-righteous acts of fasting; in fact, he was quite angry about it and quickly gave them a rebuke in the form of a rhetorical question.
In his reply, Jehovah literally said, “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh, and this seventy year surely you fasted me, me?” William Gesenius, in the above-named lexicon on page 847 under TSUM (fast), recommended “was it at all unto me that you fasted?” for the correct translation of the final clause. Here, in verse 5, we note that ZeH is prefixed with the conjunction “Va,” which yields the construction “Va-ZeH”. Va-Zeh is found in about 50 other places in the Hebrew scriptures, and in every one of those occurrences, Va is translated as a conjunction in the American Standard Version. It is only here, in verse 5, that the Va was translated as an adverb “even.” In the ASV, the adverb functions as an intensive modifier of the verb fasted. But I am unable to find a precedent in the entire text of the Hebrew Scriptures where the Va functions as an adverb in the construction Va-ZeH. This suggests to me that the Va should be translated as a simple conjunction, and that the conjunction merely serves to add more to what preceded it.
Consequently, how then are we to understand the meaning of ZeH following the conjunction? First, we need to consider the context to determine the mood of the speaker. Jehovah did not end his reply with just one rhetorical question; he went on to ask two more:
“And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?” Should ye not hear the words which Jehovah cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?” – 6, 7.
From this, it is apparent that Jehovah was angered by the self-righteous attitude of those in the delegation. He then went on to relate the history of past events and describe the attitude of the people, which had led to the desolation of the land. – 8, 14.
Since anger is the predominant mood of the speaker, we need to find occurrences where ZeH is used in connection with anger in order to gain an understanding of the meaning in verse 5. There are several occurrences in the text of scripture where ZeH is used in connection with an angry speaker. The following are some examples:
“And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us?” – Exodus 10:7.
“But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present.” – 1 Samuel 10:27.
“Do I lack madmen, that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?” – 1 Samuel 21:15.
“Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath returned me evil for good.” – 1 Samuel 25:21.
“Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.” – 1 Kings 22:27.
We note from all of the above examples that the speaker used Zeh to demonstrate contempt; therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that ZeH is sometimes used in Biblical Hebrew to express contempt. This does not at all differ from the modern English usage of “this” to demonstrate contempt. For example, if a man were to come home and find his living room cluttered with children’s toys, he may say to his children, “Please put these things away.” However, if he had warned them on numerous occasions and was again confronted with the same circumstances, he could become angry and say, “Get this stuff out of here!”
Nevertheless, the question arises, “Since Jehovah was speaking contemptuously of the fasts in the seventy year period, could not we say ‘and these seventy years’ to convey the idea that he was expressing contempt?” I think the best answer to this question is that if he had wanted to say “these” instead of “this,” he would have done so and used ‘aLeY instead of ZeH. Even in English, using “these” does not express contempt like using “this.” For this reason, I consider it improper to translate ZeH as “these” in this instance.
Consequently, we can understand that the phrase “this seventy year” was added by means of a conjunction to add, in a manner to express contempt, to what had already been said, namely, “When you fasted in the fifth and in the seventh.” Thus, the whole rhetorical question could be properly translated into English without doing any violence to the original as, “When you fasted in the fifth (month) and in the seventh (month), and (when you fasted in) this seventy year (period), was it at all unto me that you fasted?” Nevertheless, this translation is too specific because, although it preserves the meaning of what is in the original, it lacks the contracted aspect of speech that accompanies anger, which is well preserved in the Hebrew.
Moreover, now that the problems in translation have been addressed, we can proceed to the meaning of verse 7:5. The dialog in chapter 7 took place in 520 B.C.E., and we know from Ezra that about 50,000 people had returned to the holy land 18 years earlier, in 538 B.C.E. Additionally, verse 7:14 says, “Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned, for they laid the pleasant land desolate.” And we learned from Daniel 9:2 and 2 Chronicles 36:20, 21 that the desolation was to last for a period of seventy years.
Therefore, we must conclude that there was a period after the seventy years had ended when the people fasted in the holy land in commemoration of the destruction. This was underscored in the first part of the statement by those in the delegation when they said, “Should I weep in the fifth month?” To which Jehovah replied, “When you fasted in the fifth?” The fasting in the fifth month did not start until the destruction of Jerusalem, and it then continued throughout all of the seventy year period of the desolation when “no man passed through nor returned.”
Consequently, since 50,000 people had returned in 538 B.C.E. when the seventy years had ended, it must be concluded that the 18 year period of fasting in the holy land was specifically addressed by Jehovah when he said, “When you fasted in the fifth and in the seventh,” and that the 70 year period of fasting was addressed when he said, “and this seventy years.”