1. In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, I received a message from the Lord concerning all the people of Judah. (This was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia.)
2. I said to all the people of Judah and of Jerusalem,
3. “For 23 years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah until this very day, the Lord has spoken to me, and I have never failed to tell you what he said. But you have paid no attention.
4. You would not listen or pay attention, even though the Lord has continued to send you his servants the prophets.
5. They told you to turn from your wicked way of life and from the evil things you are doing, so that you could go on living in the land that the Lord gave you and your ancestors as a permanent possession.
6. They told you not to worship and serve other gods and not to make the Lord angry by worshipping the idols you had made. If you had obeyed the Lord, then he would not have punished you.
19-26. Here is the list of all the others who had to drink from the cup:the king of Egypt, his officials and leaders;all the Egyptians and all the foreigners in Egypt;all the kings of the land of Uz;all the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod;all the people of Edom, Moab, and Ammon;all the kings of Tyre and Sidon;all the kings of the Mediterranean lands;the cities of Dedan, Tema, and Buz;all the people who cut their hair short;all the kings of Arabia;all the kings of the desert tribes;all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another.Every nation on the face of the earth had to drink from it. Last of all, the king of Babylonia will drink from it.
36-37. You moan and cry out in distress because the Lord in his anger has destroyed your nation and left your peaceful country in ruins.