Jeremiah 25:15–38

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

¹⁵Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^z“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. ¹⁶They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^athe sword that I am sending among them.”

¹⁷So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, ^band made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: ^18cJerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^dto make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; ^19ePharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, ²⁰and ^fall the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^gthe land of Uz and all the kings of ^hthe land of the Philistines (^hAshkelon, ^hGaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ⁱAshdod); ^21jEdom, ^kMoab, and the sons of ^lAmmon; ²²all the kings of ^mTyre, all the kings of ^mSidon, and the kings of the coastland across ⁿthe sea; ^23oDedan, ^pTema, ^qBuz, and all who cut ^rthe corners of their hair; ²⁴all the ^skings of Arabia and all the kings of ^fthe mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; ²⁵all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^tElam, and all the kings of ^uMedia; ²⁶all the kings of ^vthe north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of ^wBabylon¹ shall drink.

²⁷“Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^xDrink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^ythe sword that I am sending among you.’

²⁸“And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^zYou must drink! ²⁹For behold, ^aI begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^yfor I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’

³⁰“You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

^b“ ‘The Lord will roar from on high,

and from his holy habitation utter his voice;

he will roar mightily against his fold,

^cand shout, like those who tread grapes,

against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,

for ^dthe Lord has an indictment against the nations;

^ehe is entering into judgment with all flesh,

and the wicked he will put to the sword,

declares the Lord.’

³²“Thus says the Lord of hosts:

Behold, disaster is going forth

from nation to nation,

^fand a great tempest is stirring

^gfrom the farthest parts of the earth!

^33h“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ⁱThey shall not be lamented, ^jor gathered, or buried; ^jthey shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

^34k“Wail, ^lyou shepherds, and cry out,

^mand roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,

for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,

and you shall fall like a choice vessel.

³⁵No refuge will remain ⁿfor the shepherds,

nor escape for the lords of the flock.

³⁶A voice—the cry ⁿof the shepherds,

^oand the wail of the lords of the flock!

For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,

^37pand the peaceful folds are devastated

^qbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.

³⁸Like a lion ^rhe has left his lair,

for their land has become a waste

because of ^sthe sword of the oppressor,

^qand because of his fierce anger.”