Jeremiah 25:1–7, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 25:1–7
Twenty-Three Years of Warning Are Recalled
Twenty-three years of speech are recalled in Jehoiakim's fourth year
The word comes to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which is also called the first year of Nebuchadrezzar. From the thirteenth year of Josiah to this day is twenty-three years. Jeremiah has spoken, rising early and speaking, and other servants the prophets have been sent, and the people have not hearkened.
The retrospective is a public memory of refused turning: do not go after other gods, and the LORD will dwell with you in this land. Longevity of preaching is evidence of patience, not automatic authentication of every later speaker who lasts a long time.
The date heading does not settle every later unit's origin
Jehoiakim's fourth year is a hinge in the book, the same horizon as the cup vision and the scroll in chapter 36. It does not by itself prove the date or authorship of every oracle now bound nearby.
Refusal here is Judah's refusal of a long, early-rising word. It is not a character sketch of Jews as a people who never listen, and it must not be preached that way.
How this should shape us
Take seriously a warning that has been repeated for years without turning it into contempt for the hearers. Duration is not proof that a modern teacher is sent. Ask whether the call was to stop harm and keep covenant, or only to keep the speaker important.
Teach it back
Explain Jeremiah 25:1–7 in your own words. Name its place in Jeremiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Jeremiah 25:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 25:1–7
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and passage studies: kings, prophets, nations, yokes, Hananiah, and exile letter; applied to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Supports: Controls the shorter and differently ordered Old Greek Jeremiah, Qumran Hebrew evidence, and competing edition-history proposals without making one reconstruction certain.
Cook, 'The text-critical and exegetical value of the Dead Sea Scrolls,' section 'The books of Jeremiah (4QJerd),' HTS 72.4 (2016), article pp. 3-4; applied to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 25:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 25:1–7
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World
Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and passage studies: kings, prophets, nations, yokes, Hananiah, and exile letter; applied to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗peer reviewed open access text critical article
The Text-Critical and Exegetical Value of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Johann Cook
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 72.4, article a3280, 2016
Supports: Controls the shorter and differently ordered Old Greek Jeremiah, Qumran Hebrew evidence, and competing edition-history proposals without making one reconstruction certain.
Exact location: Cook, 'The text-critical and exegetical value of the Dead Sea Scrolls,' section 'The books of Jeremiah (4QJerd),' HTS 72.4 (2016), article pp. 3-4; applied to Jeremiah 25:1–7
Open Cook on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jeremiah ↗