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F. The servitude referred to at Jeremiah 25:11 whereby the nations which fell under the domination of the Babylonian Empire would serve the king of Babylon seventy years included a) vassalage, b) willing exile, and/or c) forced captivity and exile.
Before determining whether Judah began serving the king of Babylon at any time prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, or only began to serve upon Jerusalem’s destruction, it is first necessary to understand how Scripture defines the word “serve” or "servitude." Establishing the correct meaning of "servitude" goes a long way toward answering the underlying question of when Judah began its servitude. The Bible provides a straightforward answer which seems to have been lost on the 607 defenders whose failure to mention certain verses, specifically all of Jeremiah 27:11 - which is directly on point - is disturbing to say the least. As mentioned above, Judah’s years of vassalage or exile and captivity before Jerusalem’s destruction does not have to satisfy a full seventy year period under the Dominant Babylonian Empire theory. The commencement of Judah’s vassalage or earlier exile however is relevant to show that the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ version of the seventy years of servitude and captivity exceeds seventy years and therefore fails.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses' viewpoint set forth in Setting the Record Straight is unequivocal. They contend that to “serve” is limited only to those Jews taken captive when Jerusalem was destroyed and Judah desolated and its inhabitants forced into Babylonian exile, and not before. It does not, they claim, apply to Judah and Jerusalem who served as tribute-paying vassals to the king of Babylon at any time, let alone before Jerusalem and Judah were destroyed. And, it does not apply to the very large number of Jews removed into exile at various intervals starting with, at a minimum, the recorded exile under Jehoiachin years prior to Jerusalem’s destruction. But according to Scripture, nothing could be further from the truth. Though a long quote, relevant provisions taken from Setting the Record Straight are set forth here:
Thus, at Jeremiah 27:11, Jehovah could rightly extend favor toward any nation that would bring their necks “under the yoke of the king of Babylon and actually serve him.”
Even in the minds of the false prophets of Zedekiah’s day, it was clear that the inhabitants of Judah were not yet bound by servitude to Babylon:
“ And as for you men, do not listen to your prophets and to your practicers of divination and to your dreamers and to your practicers of magic and to your sorcerers, who are saying to you: “You men willnot serve the king of Babylon.” . . . Even to Zedekiah the king of Judah I spoke according to all thesewords, saying: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and keep on living. Why should you yourself and your people die by the sword, by the faminea nd by the pestilence according to what Jehovah has spoken to the nation that does not serve the king ofB abylon? And do not listen to the words of the prophets that are saying to you men, ‘You will not servet he king of Babylon,’ because falsehood is what they are prophesying to you.”—Jeremiah 27:9, 10, 12- 14.
So, how exactly was Zedekiah to bring his neck “under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him”? The answer is found at Jeremiah 38:17, 18:
“ Jeremiah now said to Zedekiah: “This is what Jehovah, the God of armies, the God of Israel, has said,‘ If you will without fail go out to the princes of the king of Babylon, your soul will also certainly keep living and this city itself will not be burned with fire, and you yourself and your household will certainly keep living. But if you will not go out to the princes of the king of Babylon, this city must also be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will actually burn it with fire, and you yourselfwill not escape out of their hand.’”—Jeremiah 38:17, 18.
Jeremiah 15:2 explains what this voluntary “going out” would require:
And it must occur that should they say to you, ‘Where shall we go out to?’ you must also say to them,‘ This is what Jehovah has said: . . . whoever is for the captivity, to the captivity!”’—Jeremiah 15:2.
As long as Jehoiakim, and later, Zedekiah, refused to “go out to the princes of the king of Babylon,” the nation of Judah could not be said to be serving the king of Babylon. Furthermore, Jeremiah 1:1-3 tells us that the prophetic warnings continued right down to the “eleventh year of Zedekiah . . . until Jerusalem went into exile in the fifth month.”
First, with respect to what it means to serve under the yoke of Babylon, the 607 defenders strictly limit the definition to forced captivity. Their misunderstanding stems from the fact that they omit all of Jeremiah 27:10 and 11 which specifically defines what that yoke of servitude is, yet, they include the surrounding verses. Jeremiah 27:11 makes it abundantly clear that the yoke of servitude includes vassalage.
9 “‘“‘And as for YOU men, do not listen to YOUR prophets and to YOUR practicers of divination and to YOUR dreamers and to YOUR practicers of magic and to YOUR sorcerers, who are saying to YOU: “YOU men will not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU, for the purpose of having YOU taken far away from off YOUR ground; and I shall have to disperse YOU, and YOU will have to perish.
11 “‘“‘And as for the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and actually serve him, I will also let it rest upon its ground,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and it will certainly cultivate it and dwell in it.’”’”
Jehovah offered all nations the option of becoming vassals to the Babylonian Empire and thereby rest upon its ground and cultivate it and dwell in it. It was His preferred alternative to annihilation. The nations, including Judah, could exercise this option and become vassals - which coincidentaly also meant that some would become exiles taken peacefully (relatively speaking) to Babylon, or, they would be conquered by the sword and forcibly removed as captives or become dispersed. Either way, peacefully or by force, the nations, including Judah, would serve Babylon. A careful reading of relevant portions of Chapter 27 clarifies this:
1 In the beginning of the kingdom of Je·hoi´a·kim the son of Jo·si´ah, the king of Judah, this word occurred to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: 2 “This is what Jehovah has said to me, ‘Make for yourself bands and yoke bars, and you must put them upon your neck. 3 And you must send them to the king of E´dom and to the king of Mo´ab and to the king of the sons of Am´mon and to the king of Tyre and to the king of Si´don by the hand of the messengers who are coming to Jerusalem to Zed·e·ki´ah the king of Judah. 4 And you must give them a command for their masters, saying:
“‘“This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said; this is what YOU should say to YOUR masters, 5 ‘I myself have made the earth, mankind and the beasts that are upon the surface of the earth by my great power and by my stretched-out arm; and I have given it to whom it has proved right in my eyes. 6 And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon, my servant; and even the wild beasts of the field I have given him to serve him. 7 And all the nations must serve even him and his son and his grandson until the time even of his own land comes, and many nations and great kings must exploit him as a servant.’
8 “‘“‘And it must occur that the nation and the kingdom that will not serve him, even Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon; and the one that will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, with the sword and with the famine and with the pestilence I shall turn my attention upon that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘until I shall have finished them off by his hand.’
9 “‘“‘And as for YOU men, do not listen to YOUR prophets and to YOUR practicers of divination and to YOUR dreamers and to YOUR practicers of magic and to YOUR sorcerers, who are saying to YOU: “YOU men will not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU, for the purpose of having YOU taken far away from off YOUR ground; and I shall have to disperse YOU, and YOU will have to perish.
11 “‘“‘And as for the nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and actually serve him, I will also let it rest upon its ground,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and it will certainly cultivate it and dwell in it.’”’”
12 Even to Zed·e·ki´ah the king of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: “Bring YOUR necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and keep on living. 13 Why should you yourself and your people die by the sword, by the famine and by the pestilence according to what Jehovah has spoken to the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? 14 And do not listen to the words of the prophets that are saying to YOU men, ‘YOU will not serve the king of Babylon,’ because falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU.
15 “‘For I have not sent them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘but they are prophesying in my name falsely, to the end that I shall disperse YOU, and YOU will have to perish, YOU men and the prophets that are prophesying to YOU.’”
16 And to the priests and to all this people I spoke, saying: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘Do not listen to the words of YOUR prophets that are prophesying to YOU, saying: “Look! The utensils of the house of Jehovah are being brought back from Babylon soon now!” For falsehood is what they are prophesying to YOU. 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and keep on living. Why should this city become a devastated place?
Secondly, because serving under the yoke of Babylon included vassalage, Judah began serving the king of Babylon in that capacity years before Jerusalem’s fall, beginning at a minimum in the eighth year of Jehoiakim’s reign.
"In his days Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came up, and so Jehoiakim became his servant for three years." 2 Kings 1:1.
After three years as a vassal Jehoiakim rebelled, and Nebuchadnezzar came up against him, removed to Babylon utensils from the house of Jehovah and according to a literal translation in the Interlinear Bible, “bound him in bronze fetters to take him away to Babylon.” (2 Chronicles 36:5-7). The point is, because Judah's Jews began serving the king of Babylon as vassals at least by Jehoiakim’s eighth year, the Jehovah’s Witnesses' theory fails because it actually amounts to at least 80+ years of servitude even assuming their seventy year period of servitude ended upon the Jews' return to Judah in 537 B.C.E., which it did not.
Third, the 607 defenders in Setting the Record Straight also omitted Jeremiah 29:10 where it was made clear that destruction and captivity was not Jehovah’s preferred method of punishing his people, but a consequence of not submitting as vassals; ie., they would suffer the sword, the famine, pestilence and captivity. Verse 10 also makes it clear that false prophets who pacified the populace by stating they would not serve Babylon did so for the purpose of having Judah destroyed and the people removed from off the ground. Jehovah’s desire on the other hand was for Judah to serve as vassals; he did not “purpose,” as did the false prophets, that his people perish by the plague, sword, famine and captivity.
Fourth, even Jeremiah and the false prophet Hananiah believed that the exiles numbering in excess of ten thousand and removed to Babylon during the reign of Jehoiachin served under the yoke of Babylon years before Jerusalem was destroyed. Jeremiah described the mass exodus as follows:
"And he took into exile all Jerusalem and all the princes and all the valiant, mighty men - ten thousand he was taking into exile - and also every craftsman and builder of bulwarks. No one had been left behind except the lowly class of the people of the land. Thus he took Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon; and the king's mother and the king's wives and his court officials and the foremost men of the land he led away as exiled people from Jerusalem to Babylon." 2 Kings 24:14, 15.
The 607 defenders in Setting the Record Straight argue that none of these exiles, including craftsmen and artisans, peacefully removed from off their soil served the king of Babylon in accordance with the seventy year prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11. Furthermore, they contend that the false prophets of Zedekiah’s time, years later, did not believe that any Jews had begun to serve Babylon even though all of Jerusalem was exiled during the previous king Jehoiachin’s reign. They argue that the yoke of servitude lay in the future. Scripture proves otherwise. The answer can be found in large part in chapter 28 of the book of Jeremiah, likewise omitted by the 607 defenders.
1 Then it came about in that year, in the beginning of the kingdom of Zed·e·ki´ah the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Han·a·ni´ah the son of Az´zur, the prophet who was from Gib´e·on, said to me in the house of Jehovah before the eyes of the priests and of all the people: 2 “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said, ‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years more I am bringing back to this place all the utensils of the house of Jehovah that Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon took from this place that he might bring them to Babylon.’” 4 “‘And Jec·o·ni´ah the son of Je·hoi´a·kim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who have come to Babylon I am bringing back to this place,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘for I shall break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”
5 And Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to say to Han·a·ni´ah the prophet before the eyes of the priests and before the eyes of all the people who were standing in the house of Jehovah; 6 yes, Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to say: “Amen! Thus may Jehovah do! May Jehovah establish your words that you have prophesied by bringing back the utensils of the house of Jehovah and all the exiled people from Babylon to this place! 7 However, hear, please, this word that I am speaking in your ears and in the ears of all the people. 8 As regards the prophets that happened to be prior to me and prior to you from long ago, they also used to prophesy concerning many lands and concerning great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. 9 As regards the prophet that prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes true the prophet whom Jehovah has sent in truth will become known.”
10 At that Han·a·ni´ah the prophet took the yoke bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 And Han·a·ni´ah went on to say before the eyes of all the people: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘Just like this I shall break the yoke of Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon within two full years more from off the neck of all the nations.’” And Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to go his way.
12 Then the word of Jehovah occurred to Jeremiah, after Han·a·ni´ah the prophet had broken the yoke bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 13 “Go, and you must say to Han·a·ni´ah, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “Yoke bars of wood you have broken, and instead of them you will have to make yoke bars of iron.”
14 For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “A yoke of iron I will (have) put upon the neck of all these nations, to serve Neb·u·chad·nez´zar the king of Babylon; and they must serve him. And even the wild beasts of the field I will give him.”’”
15 And Jeremiah the prophet went on to say to Han·a·ni´ah the prophet: “Listen, please, O Han·a·ni´ah! Jehovah has not sent you, but you yourself have caused this people to trust in a falsehood. 16 Therefore this is what Jehovah has said, ‘Look! I am sending you away from off the surface of the ground. This year you yourself must die, for you have spoken outright revolt against Jehovah.’”
17 So Han·a·ni´ah the prophet died in that year, in the seventh month. (Parenthetical added).
The 607 defenders are entirely correct in stating that the yoke of servitude includes “captivity.” Where they have gone astray in their understanding is limiting it to “forced” captivity applicable to only those removed at Jerusalem’s destruction when chapter 28 makes it very clear that it applies to captives peacefully removed as well; they are the basket of “good figs” referenced in chapter 24.
Chapter 28 chronicles the acrimonious dual between Jeremiah and Hananiah over the current and future status of Jews already serving in exile under the Babylonian yoke in the fourth year of the kingdom of Zedekiah, in addition to all other nations who were serving and would continue to serve under the yoke of the Babylonian king. Hananiah falsely prophesied that Jehovah said that he would break the yoke of the king of Babylon and within two years bring back the utensils of the house of Jehovah which Nebuchadnezzar had carted off, and return the many thousands of exiles removed to Babylon. Hananiah went on to claim that Jehovah would within two full years more break the yoke from off the neck of all the nations. And to make his point, Hananiah took the symbolic wooden yoke off the neck of Jeremiah and broke it.
Please note that Jeremiah never disagreed that the exiles were serving under the yoke of Babylon and he wholeheartedly embraced the idea that the utensils should be returned. But he vehemently disagreed that the yoke of servitude on exiled Judah or all the other nations would be broken. Rather, the wooden yoke would become in reality a much more onerous yoke of iron which would saddle the Jews for years to come, which it did.
A significant point of departure exists in verse 14 of the Jehovah’s Witnesses' bible the New World Translation which attempts to push the yoke of servitude into the future by stating that Jehovah “will” put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations. A literal translation of that same verse in the Interlinear Bible uses the past tense: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations.”
The difference is very important; “have” instead of “will” completely undermines the Jehovah's Witnesses’ position that the yoke of servitude was a future event, but a simple unbiased reading of chapter 28 shows that Judah had already been serving under Babylon’s yoke. Jeremiah said that instead of a wooden yoke there is an iron yoke, indicating an increase in the intensity and length of servitude which had been ongoing, and which in fact happened when Jerusalem and Judah were destroyed and the remaining nations also fell to Babylon. Jeremiah never stated, and it cannot be implied, that Judah had not been serving under the Babylonian yoke or that a yoke would rest on the neck of Judah for the first time beginning with Jerusalem’s destruction even though all of Jerusalem had already been taken into exile under Jehoiachin.
Do not be distracted by the fact that Hananiah was a false prophet. His falsehood dealt specifically with whether or not the yoke of servitude would be broken off the exiles and the nations, not whether they were serving under the yoke in the first place. Jeremiah and Hananiah were in accord in this regard.
Hananiah, being a false prophet, had deceived the people and caused them to trust in falsehood and lies. By building a foundation of trust, he, and other false prophets, were able to sell the lie for the truth, the falsehood being what the people wanted to hear.
Fifth, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ statement therefore in Setting the Record Straight that “Even in the minds of the false prophets of Zedekiah’s day, it was clear that the inhabitants of Judah were not yet bound by servitude to Babylon” is manifestly false and a gross mischaracterization of the events surrounding the false prophetic statements and the context within which they were spoken.
The false prophetic warning to Zedekiah that “You will not serve the king of Babylon” at Jeremiah 27:9 and 14 was delivered in the beginning of the kingdom of Zedekiah in his fourth year (Jeremiah 27:1). The warning delivered to him at that time in verse 12 was limited to him:
"Even to Zedekiah the king of Judah I spoke according to all these words, saying: "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people and keep on living."
He was the last king to rule Judah before Jerusalem and Judah were destroyed. Zedekiah had steadfastly refused to continue as vassal to Babylon. Chapter 27 explains how Jeremiah was commissioned as early as the beginning of Jehoiakim’s reign to warn other nations to submit to the yoke of Babylon. That warning, and offer to serve as vassal, was repeated to Zedekiah in the beginning of his reign as well. He preferred the lie, the counsel of the false prophets who said he would not serve. He stubbornly refused and rebelled. Eventually Jehovah’s generous offer of serving as a vassal was taken off the table. Judah was dismantled and suffered the sword, pestilence, famine and the yoke of captivity. Judah ended up serving the hard way as symbolized by the basket of bad figs of Jeremiah chapters 24 and 29:17.
Nowhere in chapter 27 does it read or can it be implied that the false prophets believed that Judah had not already started to serve under Judah's previous kings. The above discussions prove the exact opposite, that servitude had been a long ongoing affair. The false prophets’ warning to Zedekiah in verse 12 was directed to him and was not a sweeping historical statement of the Jewish condition from the days of Jehoiakim onward. Jeremiah chapter 27 puts the false prophets' statements into proper context.
Sixth, Jeremiah’s letter to those earlier exiles unequivocally corroborates the fact that the seventy years of servitude of Jeremiah 25:11 had already begun long before Jerusalem’s destruction seven or eleven years later. In his letter at Jeremiah 29:4-18, written before Jerusalem was destroyed, Jehovah, through Jeremiah, informed the exiles they were in for a long stay, and they should settle in, build houses, plant gardens and raise families. Then, at the end of seventy years, when seventy years had been fulfilled - that is, when the seventy year prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11 ended at the fall of Babylon while the exiles were still in Babylon, Jehovah would turn his attention to the exiles and bring them back to Judah.
4 “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said to all the exiled people, whom I have caused to go into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and inhabit [them], and plant gardens and eat their fruitage. 6 Take wives and become father to sons and to daughters; and take wives for YOUR own sons and give YOUR own daughters to husbands, that they may give birth to sons and to daughters; and become many there, and do not become few. 7 Also, seek the peace of the city to which I have caused YOU to go into exile, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for YOU yourselves. 8 For this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said: “Let not YOUR prophets who are in among YOU and YOUR practicers of divination deceive YOU, and do not YOU listen to their dreams that they are dreaming. 9 For ‘it is in falsehood that they are prophesying to YOU in my name. I have not sent them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.”’”
10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’
11 “‘For I myself well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give YOU a future and a hope. 12 And YOU will certainly call me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to YOU.’
13 “‘And YOU will actually seek me and find [me], for YOU will search for me with all YOUR heart. 14 And I will let myself be found by YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘And I will gather YOUR body of captives and collect YOU together out of all the nations and out of all the places to which I have dispersed YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘And I will bring YOU back to the place from which I caused YOU to go into exile.’
15 “But YOU have said, ‘Jehovah has raised up for us prophets in Babylon.’
16 “For this is what Jehovah has said to the king sitting on the throne of David and to all the people dwelling in this city, YOUR brothers that have not gone forth with YOU into exile, 17 ‘This is what Jehovah of armies has said: “Here I am sending against them the sword, the famine and the pestilence, and I will make them like the burst-open figs that cannot be eaten for badness.”’
18 “‘And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine and with the pestilence, and I will give them for a quaking to all the kingdoms of the earth, for a curse and for an object of astonishment and for a whistling at and for a reproach among all the nations to which I shall certainly disperse them, 19 due to the fact that they have not listened to my words,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘that I have sent to them with my servants the prophets, getting up early and sending [them].’
It is simply not reasonable to believe that the seventy year period mentioned in his letter had not yet begun. It was unmistakably already in progress. Otherwise, why bother mentioning it in the first place? Why insert it between the admonition to settle in and the promise of their return? The seventy years was directly connected to those earlier exiles and not later exiles who arrived in the wake of Jerusalem’s destruction eleven, or seven, years in the future. Jeremiah’s reminder that they were in for a long stay was not directed to those later exiles captured under Zedekiah’s rule, but he directed the letter specifically to the Jehoiachin exiles who were also included in the group of captives that Jehovah caused to return. He did not state that when seventy years had been fulfilled “81 years from now, beginning eleven years in the future” he would turn his attention to the Jehoiachin exiles. He did not tell them the seventy years he was referring to applied only to a future generation of exiles, for if that was his intent he surely would have told them to wait the full 81 or 77 years, which is what their stay would have amounted to.
No credible inference to the contrary can be drawn. Under the Dominant Babylonian Empire theory, or any other theory for that matter which recognizes that Judah’s exiles began serving Babylon years before the final destruction of Zedekiah’s Jerusalem, the seventy year period of servitude was already in progress.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are quick to point out Jeremiah 29:10 in support of their position:
10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at (for) Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’ (Parenthetical added).
A cursory reading of the phrase “In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon …” might suggest that the seventy years entailed the entire nation being exiled at Babylon seventy years which could only happen if the period began at Jerusalem’s destruction. Under the Dominant Babylonian Empire theory, “at Babylon” is more properly rendered “for Babylon.” The difference is significant. Either rendering is linguistically permissible, but only “for Babylon” is probable and proper, and is the translation employed by nearly every other Bible including a literal translation in the Interlinear Bible. The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation (NWT) and the King James Bible (KJV) - routinely vilified by Jehovah’s Witnesses for its lack of credibility - use “at Babylon.” In other words, the Hebrew word “le” can be rendered “at” or “for.”
This is a serious point of contention. The question is whether Jeremiah 29:10 may properly read “In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon?” As will be demonstrated in the following sections, “at Babylon” is not a proper translation and more importantly it cannot logically be used because it fails numerous tests. The question of what the correct interpretation is will be revisited later because employing the correct interpretation requires drawing a conclusion; it is a judgment call derived after a process of Scriptural analysis and the application of common sense.
Before undertaking this inquiry one critical definition is in order pertaining to the word “fulfill” or “fulfillment.” Jehovah’s Witnesses routinely imply that “fulfill” means “equal” when referring to the seventy year period. This incorrect definition is essential to their seventy year theory. Perhaps it is the notion of “fullness” that confuses them. To them, “fulfillment of seventy years” means “equal to seventy years” or any similar concept that equates fulfillment with these controversial seventy years.
But their understanding is wrong. Because it refers to a prophetic period of time, fulfillment means the "end” of seventy years of servitude, the conclusion of it, the accomplishment of it - the end of serving the Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C.E.. The Random House Collegiate Dictionary explains:
“Fulfill 1. To carry out, or bring to realization, as a prophecy, promise, etc. … 4. To bring to an end; finish or complete, as a period of time."
Please keep this in mind during the course of reading this paper.
G. The nations' seventy years of servitude ended in 539 B.C.E. when Babylon fell to the Persians and Medes while the exiles were still in Babylon, thus bringing to a conclusion the servitude prophecy at Jeremiah 25:11 before the Jews returned home.
So, in light of Jeremiah’s detailed explanation in chapter 25 and elsewhere that the seventy years of servitude applied to the nations of the earth that came under the domination of Babylon, the Dominant Babylonian Empire theory, what did he intend to convey in his letter to the exiles at Jeremiah 29:10? Did he mean that after the nations collectively finished serving Babylon seventy years when the empire fell he would turn his attention to the exiles and return them home? Or did he mean, as Jehovah’s Witnesses argue, that after the exiles returned home to Judah after having served at Babylon seventy years, beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem, he would turn his attention to them and bring them home from Babylon? That is precisely what they are arguing, but on its face it is quite obviously illogical. None-the-less, even assuming that their interpretation is correct it fails repeatedly under a simple test.
Under the test, if the seventy year period ended in 539 B.C.E. when Babylon fell and the Persians and Medes began to reign while the exiles were still in Babylon the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Return theory fails in three significant ways: a) the seventy years obviously did not end upon their return in 537 B.C.E., b) their seventy year period amounts to only 68 years from 607 B.C.E. to 539 B.C.E., and c) from the fall of Babylon in October 539 B.C.E. to the exiles’ return to Judah in 537 B.C.E. there was no king of Babylon to serve. So when exactly did the prophecy at Jeremiah 25:11 end, whereby “these nations” would stop serving the king of Babylon seventy years? It ended in October, 539 B.C.E., not upon their return in 537 B.C.E..
First, nowhere in the Bible does it state that the return of the Jews marked the end of the seventy years. Second, Leviticus 26:32-35 whereby Moses prophesied the pending curse and punishment that befell the Jews states that Jehovah would scatter them among the nations and that the land would become a desolation, and Judah would pay off its Sabbaths all the days of its lying desolate while the exiles were in the land of their enemies, Babylon, and not after they returned.
32 And I, for my part, will lay the land desolate, and YOUR enemies who are dwelling in it will simply stare in amazement over it. 33 And YOU I shall scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe a sword after YOU; and YOUR land must become a desolation, and YOUR cities will become a desolate ruin.
34 “‘At that time the land will pay off its sabbaths all the days of its lying desolated, while YOU are in the land of YOUR enemies. At that time the land will keep sabbath, as it must repay its sabbaths. 35 All the days of its lying desolated it will keep sabbath, for the reason that it did not keep sabbath during YOUR sabbaths when YOU were dwelling upon it.
So even though the exiles had not reoccupied the desolated lands and were still in Babylon, the seventy year prophetic curse ended.
Third, Jeremiah 25:12 states that only after the seventy years had ended, or been fulfilled, Jehovah would call to account against the king of Babylon, which he did beginning with its fall to Cyrus in October 539 B.C.E., one date Jehovah’s Witnesses and everyone else seems to agree on. The seventy years ended when Babylon fell, not two years later when the exiles stepped foot back on the soil of Judah.
12 “‘And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘their error, even against the land of the Chal·de´ans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite. 13 And I will bring in upon that land all my words that I have spoken against it, even all that is written in this book that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For even they themselves, many nations and great kings, have exploited them as servants; and I will repay them according to their activity and according to the work of their hands.’”
Fourth, Jeremiah 29:10 likewise concludes the end of the seventy year period of servitude while the Jews were in Babylon, not after they returned.
10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’
11 “‘For I myself well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give YOU a future and a hope. 12 And YOU will certainly call me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to YOU.’
13 “‘And YOU will actually seek me and find [me], for YOU will search for me with all YOUR heart. 14 And I will let myself be found by YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘And I will gather YOUR body of captives and collect YOU together out of all the nations and out of all the places to which I have dispersed YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘And I will bring YOU back to the place from which I caused YOU to go into exile.’
After the seventy years ended Jehovah would turn his attention to his people and bring them back. The seventy years had to end first, in 539 B.C.E., in Babylon, and only then would his people be gathered together and brought back.
Fifth, 2 Chronicles 36:20 states that the captives removed to Babylon would be servants to the king “until the royalty of Persia began to reign,” which began October 539 B.C.E., and not until the exiles physically returned to Judah two years later.
"Furthermore, he carried off those remaining from the sword captive to Babylon, and they came to be servants to him and his sons until the royalty of Persia began to reign; ... "
Both sides agree that Babylon fell to the Persians in October 539 B.C.E.. That fall signaled the beginning of Persia’s reign. The prophet Daniel foretold its sudden collapse when he interpreted the writing on the wall for Babylon’s king Belshazzer. “This is the interpretation of the word: MENE, God has numbered [the days of] your kingdom and finished it.” And he did in 539 B.C.E..
Sixth, Jehovah’s Witnesses, at page 24, contradict themselves because they also claim that Ezra wrote that the seventy years ran until the first year of Cyrus which they submit was his first regnal year, which would actually be his second year of having power.
"... the inspired Bible writer Ezra reported that the 70 years ran until “the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia,” who issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland. (Ezra 1:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:21-23)"
At Ezra 1:1, reference is made to “the first year of Cyrus,” not “the year Cyrus became king” (or accession year), so he was speaking of the first regnal year of Cyrus, which cuneiform documentation places in 538/537B.C.E. Jewish historian Josephus corroborates by referring to “the first year of the reign of Cyrus.”—Antiquitiesof the Jews, Book XI, Chapter I.
That statement is false - the inspired Bible writer Ezra never said that - and furthermore, their position contradicts the Jehovah’s Witnesses' own claim under its Return theory that the seventy years ran until the exiles returned to Judah in the fall of 537 B.C.E., long after the decree setting them free was issued, and after Cyrus began to reign. Not only is it a contradiction, but it is not correct. In the first place it contravenes 2 Chronicles 36:22 just quoted which pegs the end of the 70 years at the inception of the reign of Persian royalty, which began immediately when Babylon fell in 539 B.C.E., not one year later beginning with the second, or ‘regnal’ year of Cyrus’ rule. Again, common sense is in order. Setting the Record Straight at 24 claims “the first year of Cyrus” was his first regnal year which would be his second actual year of ruling Babylon. However that would create a one year gap between Babylon’s fall and the Persians’ reign, and surely no one could suggest that when Cyrus made his triumphant entry 16 days after Babylon’s fall in October 539 B.C.E. to his army that the reign of Persia had not yet begun or that the Babylonian Empire was still ruling and in control. Daniel said that the Babylonian kingdom was finished.
Read Ezra 1:1-4 and 2 Chronicles 36:21-23 carefully. Ezra did not state that the seventy years ran until the first regnal (or second actual) year of Cyrus the Persian’s reign. Ezra did not say that in order for the seventy years to come to an end Cyrus had to issue his decree setting them free which was long after Persia began to rule. One of their contradictions ends in Babylon, the other in Judah, and it is strategically and scripturally not feasible to occur at the exact same time or in the same year.
So what basis do the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim supports their belief that the seventy year prophecy ended upon the exiles’ return to Judah in 537 B.C.E. and not earlier when Babylon fell to Persia in 539 B.C.E.? Nothing, as it turns out, although they allude to their reasoning in Setting the Record Straight at p. 25, 26:
“And in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, that Jehovah’s word from the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah roused the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia so that he caused a cry to pass through all his realm.”—Ezra 1:1 (see also 2 Chronicles 36:22).
The highlighted portion of the above-quoted verse serves as unimpeachable evidence that “Jehovah’s word from the mouth of Jeremiah” had not yet been accomplished, even by the “first year of Cyrus,” proving conclusively that the conquest of Babylon by Persia was not the determining factor in fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy.
All that this vague and convoluted assertion attempts to state is that the seventy year period allegedly ended when the Jews returned in 537 B.C.E. and not when Babylon fell in 539 B.C.E.; that the Jews’ return had not happened by the time Babylon fell. Well, of course it hadn’t, but more importantly, it wasn’t a requirement because the seventy years ended in 539 B.C.E., not on their return. Because their return happened two years after Persia conquered Babylon the Dominant Babylonian Empire theory fails, they claim, because Babylon was conquered two years before their return.
This false and distorted piece of logic begs the essential question “When did the seventy years end?” Had they been forthcoming and actually quoted Jehovah’s word from the mouth of Jeremiah rather than force the reader to hunt for its meaning it would have been self-evident, but more importantly, it would have proven them wrong which is perhaps why they did not wish to bring it to the readers' attention in the first place.
We can determine what Jehovah’s word was by reference to Ezra 1:1-4 and 2 Chronicles 36:22 which they quote in support of their position. And even though neither one of these verses specify what the word of Jehovah was either, the context and subject matter of those Scriptures indicates that it referred to Jehovah’s promise to return the Jews and Cyrus’ decree setting them free.
1 And in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, that Jehovah’s word from the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah roused the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia so that he caused a cry to pass through all his realm, and also in writing, saying:
2 “This is what Cyrus the king of Persia has said, ‘All the kingdoms of the earth Jehovah the God of the heavens has given me, and he himself has commissioned me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among YOU of all his people, may his God prove to be with him. So let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of Jehovah the God of Israel—he is the [true] God—which was in Jerusalem. 4 As for anyone that is left from all the places where he is residing as an alien, let the men of his place assist him with silver and with gold and with goods and with domestic animals along with the voluntary offering for the house of the [true] God, which was in Jerusalem.’”(Ezra 1:1-4 see also 2 Chronicles 36:22,23).
Jehovah’s word related to the return of the Jews and is found at Jeremiah 29:10. But only after the seventy years had ended would he turn his attention to returning the Jews.
10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’
This, in actuality, is unimpeachable evidence that the seventy years of servitude came to an end first in 539 B.C.E. and only later, in 537 B.C.E. would the Jews return. Accordingly, it is not necessary or even possible that the ‘return’ occur before Babylon fell and the seventy years ended. Even with their improper rendering that the seventy years would be accomplished at Babylon, the Jehovah’s Witnesses' Return theory lacks merit. Jeremiah 29:10 supports the Dominant Babylonian Empire theory and disproves the Jehovah’s Witnesses' Return theory.
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