Jeremiah 29:10 (70 Years Until Return)
Prophecy
“For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” — Jeremiah 29:10 (ESV)
Fulfillment
This prophecy was fulfilled through the return of Jewish exiles following the decree of Cyrus the Great. The book of Ezra explicit links this event to Jeremiah's words:
“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled... he made a proclamation... ‘Whoever is among you of all his people... let him go up to Jerusalem... and rebuild the house of the LORD.’” — Ezra 1:1-3 (ESV)
Historians and theologians identify two periods that align with the seventy-year timeline:
- Exile Duration (605–536 BCE): From the first deportation (Daniel taken) to the first return under Zerubbabel.
- Temple Desolation (586–516 BCE): From the destruction of Solomon's Temple to the completion of the Second Temple.
The Cyrus Cylinder provides archaeological confirmation of Cyrus's policy allowing displaced peoples to return home and rebuild their sanctuaries, corroborating the biblical account.
Biblical
The prophet Daniel explicitly refers to this prophecy in Daniel 9:2, stating that he "perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years."
Conclusion
The prophecy was fulfilled when Cyrus the Great issued the decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, ending the Babylonian exile exactly within the prophesied seventy-year timeframe (whether calculated from the first deportation or the temple's destruction).
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