The organisation reads the seventy years of Jeremiah 25:11, Jeremiah 29:10, 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 and Daniel 9:2 as seventy years of Jewish exile during which the land of Judah lay completely desolate and uncultivated, beginning in the month Tishri after the remaining inhabitants fled to Egypt.
Claim ID claim-chronology-70-years-desolationConcerns 1 October 2011Explicit statement
The organisation’s position or later explanation: Insight on the Scriptures states: ‘The Bible prophecy does not allow for the application of the 70-year period to any time other than that between the desolation of Judah, accompanying Jerusalem’s destruction, and the return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland as a result of Cyrus’ decree.’
1 October 2011 · p.27 · pars. 9-11 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“So according to the Bible, the 70 years was a period of bitter punishment for Judah, and God used the Babylonians as the instrument for inflicting this severe chastisement.”
The article first states the alternative reading it rejects: “Instead of saying 70 years ‘at Babylon,’ many translations read ‘for Babylon.’ (NIV) Some historians therefore claim that this 70-year period applies to the Babylonian Empire. According to secular chronology, the Babylonians dominated the land of ancient Judah and Jerusalem for some 70 years, from about 609 B.C.E. until 539 B.C.E. when the capital city of Babylon was captured.” It then argues from Jeremiah 25:4-11 and Lamentations that the 70 years were aimed at Judah and Jerusalem.
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One
Confidence note. Full document fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quotation, the paragraph and the page were confirmed against the article text and its embedded page markers (span class=“pageNum”).
Notes. The article states the “for Babylon” reading of Jeremiah 29:10 before rejecting it; critics sometimes assert that the organisation never mentions it.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-chr-o-w-2011-1001-70-years-judah
1 October 2011 · pp.27-28 · pars. 13-16 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“Only then, in the seventh Jewish month, Tishri (September/October), of that year could it be said that the land, now desolate and unworked, began to enjoy its Sabbath rest.”
Reading 2 Chronicles 36:20, 21 with Leviticus 25 and 26, the article argues that the 70 years were a period in which the land of Judah lay uncultivated, and that the count therefore began not at the first deportation but after Jerusalem was razed and the remaining people fled to Egypt (2 Kings 25:25, 26).
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part One
Confidence note. Full document fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quotation, the paragraph and the page were confirmed against the article text and its embedded page markers (span class=“pageNum”).
1988 · p.463 · under “From 607 B.C.E. to return from exile” · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“Hence the count of the 70 years of desolation must have begun about October 1, 607 B.C.E., ending in 537 B.C.E.”
The same passage sets out the regnal framework: “Jerusalem came under final siege in Zedekiah’s 9th year (609 B.C.E.), and the city fell in his 11th year (607 B.C.E.), corresponding to Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year of actual rule (counting from his accession year in 625 B.C.E.).” It also states: “The Bible prophecy does not allow for the application of the 70-year period to any time other than that between the desolation of Judah, accompanying Jerusalem’s destruction, and the return of the Jewish exiles to their homeland as a result of Cyrus’ decree.”
Provenance and verification note for Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, Chronology
Confidence note. Full article fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026; the quotation and the page were confirmed against the text and its embedded page markers. Insight on the Scriptures is undated on the Online Library; the 1988 publication year is the work’s own imprint date.
Notes. Places Nebuchadnezzar’s accession in 625 BCE; conventional chronology places it in 605 BCE. The 20-year difference runs through every regnal date in the scheme.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-chr-o-it1-chronology-70-years
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