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. This whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
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Jeremiah 25:10-11 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Therefore Yahweh of Armies says: “Because you have not heard my words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,” says Yahweh, “and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around. I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. This whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Parallel Translations
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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.
This whole land will be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
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Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
Show all 3 translations
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Moreover I will cause to cease from among 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 a waste; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
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Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (19)
- Daniel 9:2 (v11) in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the…
- Zechariah 1:12 (v11) Then Yahweh’s angel replied, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which…
- 2 Chronicles 36:21-22 (v11) to fulfill Yahweh’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. As long as it lay desolate, it kept Sabbath, to…
- Jeremiah 7:34 (v10) Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the…
- Jeremiah 25:12 (v11) “It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says Yahweh, “for their…
Show all 19 cross-references
- Zechariah 7:5 (v11) “Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for…
- Isaiah 23:15-17 (v11) It will come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy…
- Jeremiah 4:27 (v11) For Yahweh says, “The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.
- Jeremiah 12:11-12 (v11) They have made it a desolation. It mourns to me, being desolate. The whole land is made desolate, because no one cares. Destroyers have…
- Jeremiah 16:9 (v10) For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the…
- Ezekiel 26:13 (v10) I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. The sound of your harps won’t be heard any more.
- Revelation 18:22-23 (v10) The voice of harpists, minstrels, flute players, and trumpeters will be heard no more at all in you. No craftsman, of whatever craft, will…
- Jeremiah 33:10-11 (v10) Yahweh says: “Yet again there will be heard in this place, about which you say, ‘It is waste, without man and without animal, even in the…
- Esther 3:13 (v10) Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old,…
- Esther 7:4 (v10) For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for male and female slaves, I would…
- Esther 8:11 (v10) In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy, to…
- Ecclesiastes 12:2-4 (v10) Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the…
- Isaiah 24:7-12 (v10) The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of tambourines ceases. The sound of those who rejoice ends.…
- Hosea 2:11 (v10) I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv10–11 He confirms here what I have just said, —…
He confirms here what I have just said, — that the Jews were not to be chastised in a common manner, but be exposed to extreme distress. For though all things may not be with us prosperous and according to our wishes, yet marriages may still be celebrated, and some hilarity may remain; we may yet eat and drink and enjoy the necessaries of life, though we may have no pleasures; but the Prophet shews here that such would be the devastation of the land, that there would be no thoughts about marriages, that all hilarity and joy would cease, that there would be no preparations of food, no grinding of corn, and that, in short, all feasts usually kept by the light of candles would be no more celebrated. Here, then, he describes to the life that devastation which had been before mentioned.
The Prophet no doubt indirectly condemns that insensibility by which the devil had possessed the minds of the people; for though the prophets continually threatened them, yet there was no end to their exultations and no moderation in them, according to what is said by Isaiah, who complains of such wantonness, that they said, “Let us feast, tomorrow we shall die;” and who also says,
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“I have called you to sackcloth and ashes, but ye went to the harp and to feastings.” (Isaiah 22:12, 13)
When, therefore, the Prophet speaks here of the voice of joy and gladness, of the noise of millstones, and of lamps, he doubtless upbraids them with their stupid security; for they feared nothing, and thought themselves safe even when God was shewing himself, as with an outstretched hand, to be their avenging judge. It follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v10 Or, destroy.
Or, destroy.
Meaning, that bread and all things that should serve unto their feasts, should be taken away.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Jer 25:10 Moreover I will take from them the…
Jer 25:10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
Ver. 10. Moreover, I will take from them.] See Jer 7:34 Rev 18:22.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–11 I will take away all your mirth and jollity,…
I will take away all your mirth and jollity, whether used at weddings, or at any of your merry meetings; I will leave you nothing to rejoice in; your very wedding times shall be times of mourning and lamentation. Nay, I will not only deprive you of your mirth, but of those things that are necessary for you, as necessary as bread and light; the millstone shall not move; you shall not have the light so much as of a candle. See the like expressions Rev 18:22,23. God here threatens not only to take away their superfluities, and what he had hitherto lent them for their pleasure and delight, but also what they had for their necessary sustenance, and to capacitate them to do their ordinary works.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Moreover, I will take from them the voice of…
Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness,.... At their festivals, and nuptial solemnities:
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; expressing their mutual love unto, and delight in, each other; so agreeable to one another and their friends: or it may mean those epithalamies, or nuptial songs, sung unto them by their friends:
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the sound of the millstones; either the voice of those that sing at the mill while grinding; or rather the sound of the stones themselves used in grinding; either in grinding spices for the bride cakes; or rather in grinding corn for common use; and so denotes the taking away of bread corn from them, and the want of that. The sense is, there should be corn to grind, and so no use of the mill:
and the light of the candle; at their feasts and weddings, or rather, for common use; signifying that houses should be desolate, without inhabitants, no light in them, nor work to be done. The whole shows that they should be deprived of everything both for necessity and pleasure. John seems to have borrowed some phrases from hence, Rev 18:22; in which he appears to have followed the Hebrew text, and not the Greek version. The Targum of the last clause is,
"the voice of the company of those that sing at the light of candles.''
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v10 Moreover - Nay, I will not only deprive you…
Moreover - Nay, I will not only deprive you of your mirth, but of those things that are necessary for you, as necessary as bread and light, the millstone shall not move, you shall not have the light so much as of a candle.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Verse 10. I will take from them] See Jer…
Verse 10. I will take from them] See Jer 7:34; Jer 16:9.
The sound of the mill-stones, and the light of the candle.] These two are conjoined, because they generally ground the corn before day, by the light of the candle. Sir J. Chardin has remarked, that every where in the morning may be heard the noise of the mills; for they generally grind every day just as much as is necessary for the day's consumption. Where then the noise of the mill is not heard, nor the light of the candle seen, there must be desolation; because these things are heard and seen in every inhabited country.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Jer 25:10. Moreover, I will take from them the…
Jer 25:10. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, &c. — See the note on Jer 7:34; Jer 16:9. The sound of the millstones and the light of the candle — There shall be no longer any marks of trade carried on, even respecting the common necessaries of life, such as the grinding of corn; and there will be no use of candles, where the inhabitants are dispersed and destroyed; nor will there be occasion for such illuminations as are usual on festival solemnities, in the time of general desolation, Jer 25:11. See the like expressions used, Rev 18:22; where we may observe that St. John exactly follows the Hebrew text; whereas the LXX., in this place, instead of the sound of the millstones, read οσμην μυρου, the smell of ointment. From which, and several other places of the New Testament, it appears that the apostles and evangelists did not implicitly follow the Greek translation, but only when they thought it consistent with the original text. See Lowth. Mr. Harmer has an excellent observation on this place, which the reader will be glad to see. “The time for grinding their corn is in the morning; which consideration makes the prophet’s selecting the noise of millstones, and the lighting up of candles, as circumstances belonging to inhabited places, appear in a view which no commentators, that I have examined, have taken any notice of. I am indebted to Sir John Chardin’s MS. for the knowledge of this fact. It informs us that ‘in the East they grind their corn at break of day; and that when one goes out in a morning, he hears everywhere the noise of the mill, and that it is the noise that often awakens people.’ It has been commonly known that they bake every day; and that they usually grind their corn as they want it; but this passage informs us, that it is the first work done in a morning, as well as that this grinding of their mills makes a considerable noise, and attracts every ear; and as the lighting up of candles begins the evening, there is an agreeable contrast observable in these words, I will take from thee, &c., the sound of millstones and the light of the candle. And their whole land shall be a desolation — Gloomy shall be the silence of the morning, melancholy the shadows of the evening; no cheerful noise to animate the one, no enlivening ray to soften the gloom of the other. Desolation shall every where reign. A land may abound with habitations, and furnish an agreeable abode, where the voice of mirth is not heard; none of the songs, the music, and the dances of nuptial solemnities; but in the East, where no millstones are heard in the morning, no light seen in the evening, it must be a dreary dismal solitude.” — Chap. 4. obs. 4. See also chap. 3. obs. 18.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Take from them ... the sound of the millstones,…
Take from them ... the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle - (or, lamp). To denote the entire cessation of domestic life. The one was the sign of the preparation of the daily meal, the other of the assembling of the family after the labors of the day were over.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv10–11 Sound, or songs of women turning the mill, Matthew…
Sound, or songs of women turning the mill, Matthew xxiv. 41. (Calmet) --- Lamp, or illuminations, on account of some victory, (Haydock) or festival. (Pers. v. 180.) The Jews "light a lamp for the sabbaths," (Seneca, Ep. xcv.) before they commence. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv10–11 (Jer 7:34; Rev 18:23). The land shall be so…
(Jer 7:34; Rev 18:23). The land shall be so desolated that even in the houses left standing there shall be no inhabitant; a terrible stillness shall prevail; no sound of the hand-mill (two circular stones, one above the other, for grinding corn, worked by two women, Exo 11:5; Mat 24:41; in daily use in every house, and therefore forbidden to be taken in pledge, Deu 24:6); no night-light, so universal in the East that the poorest house has it, burning all night.
candle--lamp (Job 21:17; Job 18:6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v11 11. Seventy years — Used not as a round…
11. Seventy years — Used not as a round number, nor primarily for its symbolical import, but with chronological exactness. The accuracy of this number is attested by both sacred and profane chronology. It begins with the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 606 B.C., and extends to the first year of Cyrus, 536 B.C. The whole period of the Babylonian empire after the fall of Nineveh was about sixty-seven years. Add the two years of Darius the Mede, (Dan_6:1,) and we have about sixty-nine years for the captivity before the accession of Cyrus, near the beginning of whose reign came the decree of release and restoration. See an excellent resume of the chronological data in Keil’s Commentary.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–11 10. take from them] lit. as mg. cause to…
10. take from them] lit. as mg. cause to perish from them.
the voice of mirth, etc.] Cp. Jer_7:34. Here mention of the millstones and of the candle (lamp) is added, typical of domestic labour and social cheer. See the same description somewhat amplified in Rev_18:22 f.
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millstones] See Dr.’s note for description of the hand-mill in daily use in an Eastern village.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–11 (10) The voice of mirth, and the voice of…
(10) The voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness.—The language is mainly an echo of Jer_7:34; Jer_16:9, but there are new features in the cessation of “the sound of the millstone,” i.e., of the grinding of corn by female slaves for the mid-day meal (Exo_11:5; Mat_24:41), and the lighting of the candle when the day’s work was done (Mat_5:15). No words could paint more terribly the entire breaking up of family life, not only in its occasional festivities, but in its daily routine. The imagery reappears in Rev_18:22-23.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10–11 The sound of the millstones. Modem travel enables us…
The sound of the millstones. Modem travel enables us (so conservative is the East) to realize the full force of this image. The hand-mill is composed of two stones. As a rule, "two women" (comp. Mat_24:41) sit at it facing each other; both have hold of the handle by which the upper is turned round on the "nether" millstone. The one whose right hand is disengaged throws in the grain as occasion requires, through the hole in the upper stone" (Dr. Thomson). "The labor," remarks Dr. Robinson, "is evidently hard; and the grating sound of the mill is heard at a distance, indicating (like our coffee-mills) the presence of a family and of household life" ("Biblical Researches," 2:181). Add to this the light of the candle (or rather, lamp), and we have two of the most universally characteristic signs of domestic life. No family could dispense with the hand-mill, and, as the sermon on the mount implies, the poorest household had its "lamp". (Mat_5:15 the poverty of the family is indicated by the various uses to which the lamp-stand was applied) Comp. this verse with the imitation in Rev_18:22, Rev_18:23.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v11 seventy years
seventy years
Cf. Lev 26:33-35; 2Ch 36:21; Dan 9:2 The 70 years may be reckoned to begin with the first deportation of Judah to Babylon. 2Ki 24:10-15. B.C. 604 according to the Assyrian Eponym Canon, or B.C. 606 according to Ussher; or from the final deportation; 2Ki 25:1-30; 2Ch 36:17-20; Jer 39:8-10. B.C. 586 (Assyr. Ep. Canon), or B.C. 588 (Ussher). In the first case the 70 years extend to the decree of Cyrus for the return Ezr 1:1-3 B.C. (Assyr. Ep. Canon), or B.C. 536 (Ussher). In the second case the 70 years terminate B.C. 516 (Assyr.Ep. Canon) with the completion of the temple. The latter is more probable reckoning in the light of Dan 9:25.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v10 These are two large, round stones used to grind…
millstones
These are two large, round stones used to grind grain.
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the sound of joy and sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride
See how you translated this in Jeremiah 7:34.
all of this land will become a desolation and a horror
The words "desolation" and "horror" can be translated with a verbal phrase. AT: "I will cause this land to be desolate and something that horrifies people" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
joy
voice
bridegroom
bride
light
desolate
servant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10–11 25:10 All forms of festivity, even simple pleasures such…
25:10 All forms of festivity, even simple pleasures such as singing and laughter, would cease. • millstones . . . lights: After the destruction of Judah, no one would remain to do the work or to enjoy its fruits.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.