Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years. Yet it lasted from the fall of
Jerusalem in 586 BCE to the fall of Babylon in 538 BCE, a period of only 48 years.
25:11
God says he is going to punish Nebuchadnezzar and the
Babylonians for what they have done to his people -- even though God Himself is the one who made the
Babylonians attack and enslave Judah! As part of the punishment God will take the land of the
Babylonians and "make it perpetual desolations." A false prophecy, since present-day Iraq is quite
occupied.25:12-13
Hananiah vs. Jeremiah: Good Prophet, Bad Prophet 28:1-17
A new prophet shows up proclaiming the good news: God was going to break the yoke of Babylon and bring the people of Judah back home.
His name was Hananiah. 28:1-4
God kills Hananiah for disagreeing with Jeremiah. 28:16-17
God will send his usual blessings upon his people: "the sword, the famine, and the pestilence." He "will make
them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil." 29:17-18
Matthew (2:17-18) quotes this verse, claiming that it was a prophecy
of King Herod's alleged slaughter of the children in and around Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. But
this passage refers to the Babylonian captivity, as is clear by reading the next two verses (16 and 17),
and, thus, has nothing to do with Herod's massacre. 31:15
Misquoted in Hebrews 8:9 as:
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because
they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." 31:32
"David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel." But the Davidic line of Kings ended with Zedekiah; there were none during the Babylonian captivity, and there
are none today. 33:17
God lies to Zedekiah again by telling him that
he will die in peace and be buried with his fathers. But later (2 Kgings 25:7 and 52:10-11)
he dies a violent death in a foreign land. 34:2, 5
The beginning of the end for Zedekiah. Despite God's earlier assurances
(34:5) that he would die peacefully at home, here
Zedekiah watches as his children are killed and then has his eyes put out and he
is shackled and taken to Babylon. 39:6-7
All those who move to Egypt will die by the sword, famine, or pestilence. None "shall
escape from the evil" that comes directly from God. But many, including Jews, have moved to Egypt
and most seem to have escaped from God's promised evil. 42:15-18, 22
God will kill the young men of Damascus and set the city on fire. (Some Christians believe this prophecy is being fulfulled today in Syrian civil war.) 49:26-27
Jeremiah predicts that humans will never again live in Hazor, but will be replaced by dragons.
But people still live there and dragons have never been seen. 49:33
God prophesies that Babylon will never again be inhabited. But it has been inhabited constantly since the prophecy was
supposedly made, and is inhabited still today. 50:39
God says that Babylon will be desolate and uninhabited forever. He says that only dragons will live there. But Babylon has been
dragon-free and continuously inhabited since then. 51:26, 29, 37, 43, 62, 64
"The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the
waves thereof." 51:42
God promised Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:5) that he would die peacefully and be buried with his fathers.
But here we see that he died a miserable death in foreign land. 52:10-11