[[Jer-02]] Prev: [[Prophecies in Jer-01]] | Next: [[Prophecies in Jer-03]] --- ### All who devour him will be held guilty. Evil will come on them," says Yahweh. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: God predicts that the foreign nations which attack and 'devour' Israel will eventually face divine retribution and be held accountable for their actions. *Historical context*: Theologians identify the fulfillment of this prophecy in the eventual downfall of the major empires that oppressed Israel and Judah. The Neo-Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE to a coalition of Medes and Babylonians, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire was later conquered by the Persians in 539 BCE. *Related to*: ### The young lions have roared at him and yelled. They have made his land waste. His cities are burned up, without inhabitant. The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head. *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: The text describes the desolation of the land and the humiliation of the leadership at the hands of foreign powers (Egypt and the 'lions' of Mesopotamia). *Historical context*: The reference to Memphis and Tahpanhes (Egypt) 'breaking the crown' is widely associated by historians with the defeat and death of King Josiah at Megiddo in 609 BCE at the hands of Pharaoh Necho II. This event ended Judah's independence and fulfilled earlier covenantal warnings in [[Deut-28#v49|Deuteronomy 28:49]]-52 regarding foreign nations laying the land waste. *Related to*: [[Deut-28#v49|Deuteronomy 28:49]]-52 ### You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: Jeremiah predicts that Judah's attempt to seek a political and military alliance with Egypt will result in failure and disgrace, mirroring their previous disappointing experience with Assyria. *Historical context*: This was fulfilled during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (588-586 BCE). King Zedekiah looked to Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt for rescue; however, the Egyptian army retreated when the Babylonians approached, leaving Jerusalem to be destroyed. This confirmed the 'shame' of relying on Egypt rather than God. *Related to*: ### You will also leave that place with your hands on your head; for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust, and you won't prosper with them. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: A prediction of a future state of total despair and forced exile, symbolized by the gesture of placing hands on the head. *Historical context*: The gesture of 'hands on the head' was a traditional expression of extreme grief and public shame in the ancient Near East (e.g., [[2 Sam-13#v19|2 Samuel 13:19]]). This prophecy was fulfilled in 586 BCE when the survivors of the fall of Jerusalem were led away into Babylonian captivity in a state of national humiliation. *Related to*: --- #ai_prophecy