Jeremiah 25:15-38
New American Standard Bible
15 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this (A)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it. 16 Then they will (B)drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and (C)gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: 18 To (D)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, [a]hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 To (E)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 and to all the (F)foreign [b]people, all the kings of the (G)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (H)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of (I)Ashdod); 21 To (J)Edom, (K)Moab, and the sons of (L)Ammon; 22 and to all the kings of (M)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of (N)the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23 and to (O)Dedan, Tema, (P)Buz, and all who (Q)trim the corners of their hair; 24 and to all the kings of (R)Arabia and all the kings of the (S)foreign [c]people who live in the desert; 25 and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (T)Elam, and all the kings of (U)Media; 26 and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and (V)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of [d](W)Sheshach shall drink it after them.
27 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “(X)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the (Y)sword which I am sending among you.”’ 28 And if they (Z)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “(AA)You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I am (AB)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is (AC)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for (AD)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of armies.’
30 “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,
‘The (AE)Lord will (AF)roar from on high
And raise His voice from His holy dwelling;
He will roar forcefully against His [e]fold.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
Because the Lord has (AG)a controversy with the nations.
He is entering into (AH)judgment with [f]humanity;
As for the wicked, He has turned them over to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”
32 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, evil is going out
From (AI)nation to nation,
And a great (AJ)storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.
33 “Those (AK)put to death by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the [g]other. They will (AL)not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like (AM)dung on the face of the ground.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
(AN)Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your (AO)slaughter and your dispersions [h]have come,
And you will fall like a precious vessel.
35 [i]There will be (AP)no sanctuary for the shepherds,
Nor escape for the masters of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
For the Lord is destroying their pasture,
37 And the peaceful (AQ)grazing places are devastated
Because of the (AR)fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left His hiding place (AS)like the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the [j]oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 25:18 Or whistling
- Jeremiah 25:20 Or mercenaries
- Jeremiah 25:24 Or mercenaries
- Jeremiah 25:26 Cryptic name for Babylon
- Jeremiah 25:30 Or pasture; i.e., a ref to His people
- Jeremiah 25:31 Lit all flesh
- Jeremiah 25:33 Lit other end of the earth
- Jeremiah 25:34 Lit are full
- Jeremiah 25:35 Lit Sanctuary will perish from
- Jeremiah 25:38 Or oppressor
Jeremiah 25:15-38
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Cup of God’s Wrath
15 For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.(A) 16 They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.(B)
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, an object of hissing and of cursing, as they are today;(C) 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 all the mixed people;[a] all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;(D) 21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;(E) 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;(F) 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who have shaved temples;(G) 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed peoples[b] that live in the desert;(H) 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the 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 Sheshach[c] shall drink.(I)
27 Then you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink; get drunk and vomit; fall and rise no more because of the sword that I am sending among you.(J)
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: You must drink! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that is called by my name, and how can you possibly avoid punishment? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts.(K)
30 You, therefore, shall prophesy to them all these words and say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold
and shout like those who tread grapes
against all the inhabitants of the earth.(L)
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the guilty he will put to the sword,
says the Lord.(M)
32 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
See, disaster is spreading
from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirring
from the farthest parts of the earth!
33 Those slain by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented or gathered or buried; they shall become dung on the surface of the ground.(N)
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter have come—and your dispersions,[d]
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.(O)
35 Flight shall fail the shepherds,
and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock.
36 Listen! The cry of the shepherds
and the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is despoiling their pasture,
37 and the peaceful folds are devastated
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion he has left his den,
for their land has become a waste
because of the cruel anger
and because of his fierce anger.
Jeremiah 25:15-38
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
15 For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Take the cup of wine of this fury at my hand: and thou shalt make all the nations to drink thereof, unto which I shall send thee.
16 And they shall drink, and be troubled, and be mad because of the sword, which I shall send among them.
17 And I took the cup at the hand of the Lord, and I presented it to all the nations to drink of it, to which the Lord sent me:
18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof: to make them a desolation, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a curse, as it is at this day.
19 Pharao the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people,
20 And all in general: all the kings of the land of Ausitis, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ascalon, and Gaza, and Accaron, and the remnant of Azotus.
21 And Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon.
22 And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon: and the kings of the land of the islands that are beyond the sea.
23 And Dedan, and Thema, and Buz, and all that have their hair cut round.
24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the west, that dwell in the desert.
25 And all the kings of Zambri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Medes:
26 And all the kings of the north far and near, every one against his brother: and all the kingdoms of the earth, which are upon the face thereof: and the king of Sesac shall drink after them.
27 And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Drink ye, and be drunken, and vomit: and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword, which I shall send among you.
28 And if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Drinking you shall drink:
29 For behold I begin to bring evil on the city wherein my name is called upon: and shall you be as innocent and escape free? you shall not escape free: for I will call for the sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.
30 And thou shalt prophesy unto them all these words, and thou shalt say to them: The Lord shall roar from on high, and shall utter his voice from his holy habitation: roaring he shall roar upon the place of his beauty: the shout as it were of them that tread grapes shall be given out against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The noise is come even to the ends of the earth: for the Lord entereth into judgement with the nations: he entereth into judgement with all flesh; the wicked I have delivered up to the sword, saith the Lord.
32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation: and a great whirlwind shall go forth from the ends of the earth.
33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end thereof: they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be gathered up, nor buried: they shall lie as dung upon the face of the earth.
34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry: and sprinkle yourselves with ashes, ye leaders of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and your dispersion are accomplished, and you shall fall like precious vessels.
35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to save themselves.
36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock: because the Lord hath wasted their pastures.
37 And the fields of peace have been silent, because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has forsaken his covert as the lion, for the land is laid waste because of the wrath of the dove, and because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
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Jeremiah 25:15-38
The Message
God Puts the Human Race on Trial
15-16 This is a Message that the God of Israel gave me: “Take this cup filled with the wine of my wrath that I’m handing to you. Make all the nations where I send you drink it down. They’ll drink it and get drunk, staggering in delirium because of the killing that I’m going to unleash among them.”
17-26 I took the cup from God’s hand and made them drink it, all the nations to which he sent me:
Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, along with their kings and leaders, turning them into a vast wasteland, a horror to look at, a cussword—which, in fact, they now are;
Pharaoh king of Egypt with his attendants and leaders, plus all his people and the melting pot of foreigners collected there;
All the kings of Uz;
All the kings of the Philistines from Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what’s left of Ashdod;
Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
All the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and the coastlands across the sea;
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and the nomads on the fringe of the desert;
All the kings of Arabia and the various Bedouin sheiks and chieftains wandering about in the desert;
All the kings of Zimri, Elam, and the Medes;
All the kings from the north countries near and far, one by one;
All the kingdoms on planet Earth . . .
And the king of Sheshak (that is, Babylon) will be the last to drink.
27 “Tell them, ‘These are orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Drink and get drunk and vomit. Fall on your faces and don’t get up again. You’re slated for a massacre.’
28 “If any of them refuse to take the cup from you and drink it, say to them, ‘God-of-the-Angel-Armies has ordered you to drink. So drink!
29 “‘Prepare for the worst! I’m starting off the catastrophe in the city that I claim as my own, so don’t think you are going to get out of it. No, you’re not getting out of anything. It’s the sword and nothing but the sword against everyone everywhere!’” The God-of-the-Angel-Armies’ Decree.
30-31 “Preach it all, Jeremiah. Preach the entire Message to them. Say:
“‘God roars like a lion from high heaven;
thunder rolls out from his holy dwelling—
Ear-splitting bellows against his people,
shouting hurrahs like workers in harvest.
The noise reverberates all over the earth;
everyone everywhere hears it.
God makes his case against the godless nations.
He’s about to put the human race on trial.
For the wicked the verdict is clear-cut:
death by the sword.’” God’s Decree.
* * *
32 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Prepare for the worst! Doomsday!
Disaster is spreading from nation to nation.
A huge storm is about to rage
all across planet Earth.”
* * *
33 Laid end to end, those killed in God’s judgment that day will stretch from one end of the earth to the other. No tears will be shed and no burials conducted. The bodies will be left where they fall, like so much horse dung fertilizing the fields.
* * *
34-38 Wail, shepherds! Cry out for help!
Grovel in the dirt, you masters of flocks!
Time’s up—you’re slated for the slaughterhouse,
like a choice ram with its throat cut.
There’s no way out for the rulers,
no escape for those shepherds.
Hear that? Rulers crying for help,
shepherds of the flock wailing!
God is about to ravage their fine pastures.
The peaceful sheepfolds will be silent with death,
silenced by God’s deadly anger.
God will come out into the open
like a lion leaping from its cover,
And the country will be torn to pieces,
ripped and ravaged by his anger.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson