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27 Then the Lord said to me,[a] “Tell them that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[b] says,[c] ‘Drink this cup[d] until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up.[e] For I will send wars sweeping through you.’[f] 28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,[g] ‘You most certainly must drink it![h] 29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own.[i] So how can you possibly avoid being punished?[j] You will not go unpunished. For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[k] affirm it!’[l]

30 “Then, Jeremiah,[m] make the following prophecy[n] against them:

‘Like a lion about to attack,[o] the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven;
from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly.
He will roar mightily against his land.[p]
He will shout in triumph, like those stomping juice from the grapes,[q]
against all those who live on the earth.
31 The sounds of battle[r] will resound to the ends of the earth.
For the Lord will bring charges against the nations.[s]
He will pass judgment on all humankind
and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’[t]
The Lord so affirms it![u]
32 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,
‘Disaster will soon come on one nation after another.[v]
A mighty storm of military destruction[w] is rising up
from the distant parts of the earth.’

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 25:27 tn The words “Then the Lord said to me” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity, to connect this part of the narrative with vv. 15, 17 after the long intervening list of nations who were to drink the cup of God’s wrath in judgment.
  2. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
  3. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord….’” The translation is intended to eliminate one level of imbedded quotation marks to help avoid confusion.
  4. Jeremiah 25:27 tn The words “this cup” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor and the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  5. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “Drink, and get drunk, and vomit and fall down and don’t get up.” The imperatives following drink are not parallel actions but consequent actions. For the use of the imperative plus the conjunctive “and” to indicate consequent action, even intention, see GKC 324-25 §110.f and compare usage in 1 Kgs 22:12 and Prov 3:3b-4a.
  6. Jeremiah 25:27 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among you.” See the notes on 2:16 for explanation.
  7. Jeremiah 25:28 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord…’” The translation is intended to eliminate one level of imbedded quote marks to help avoid confusion.
  8. Jeremiah 25:28 tn The translation attempts to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb, which is here an obligatory imperfect. (See Joüon 2:371-72 §113.m and 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Gen 15:13.)
  9. Jeremiah 25:29 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.
  10. Jeremiah 25:29 tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)
  11. Jeremiah 25:29 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3 for explanation of this extended title.
  12. Jeremiah 25:29 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of Armies.”
  13. Jeremiah 25:30 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to make clear who is being addressed.
  14. Jeremiah 25:30 tn Heb “Prophesy against them all these words.”
  15. Jeremiah 25:30 tn The words “like a lion about to attack” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. The explicit comparison of the Lord to a lion is made at the end of the passage in v. 38. The words are supplied in the translation here for clarity.sn For the metaphor of the Lord going forth against his enemies like an attacking lion, see Jer 49:19; 50:44; and Isa 31:4, in all of which the Lord comes against the nations in defense of his people. In Hos 5:14 the metaphor is turned against his own people. The figure of a lion ravaging people has already been used in Jer 4:7 of the enemy from the north (Babylon).
  16. Jeremiah 25:30 sn The word used here (Heb “his habitation”) refers to the land of Canaan, which the Lord chose to make his earthly dwelling (Exod 15:13) and which was the dwelling place of his chosen people (Jer 10:25; Isa 32:18). Judgment would begin at the “house of God” (v. 29; 1 Pet 4:17) but would extend to the rest of the earth (v. 29).
  17. Jeremiah 25:30 sn The metaphor shifts from God as a lion to God as a mighty warrior (Jer 20:11; Isa 42:13; Zeph 3:17) shouting in triumph over his foes. Within the metaphor is a simile where the warrior is compared to a person stomping on grapes to remove the juice from them in the making of wine. The figure will be invoked later in a battle scene where the sounds of joy in the grape harvest are replaced by the sounds of joy of the enemy soldiers (Jer 48:33). The picture is drawn in more gory detail in Isa 63:1-6.
  18. Jeremiah 25:31 tn For the use of this word see Amos 2:2; Hos 10:14; Ps 74:23. See also the usage in Isa 66:6, which is very similar to the metaphorical usage here.
  19. Jeremiah 25:31 tn Heb “the Lord has a lawsuit against the nations.” For usage with “lawsuit” see Hos 4:1 and Mic 6:2, and compare use of the related verb in Jer 2:9 and 12:1.
  20. Jeremiah 25:31 tn Heb “give the wicked over to the sword.”sn There is undoubtedly a deliberate allusion here to the “wars” (Heb “sword”) that the Lord had said he would send raging through the nations (vv. 16, 27), and to the “war” (Heb “sword”) that he is proclaiming against them (v. 29).
  21. Jeremiah 25:31 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
  22. Jeremiah 25:32 tn Heb “will go forth from nation to nation.”
  23. Jeremiah 25:32 tn The words “of military destruction” have been supplied in the translation to make the metaphor clear. The metaphor has shifted from that of God as a lion, to God as a warrior, to God as a judge, to God as the author of the storm winds of destruction. sn For the use of this word in a literal sense see Jonah 1:4. For its use to refer to the wrath of the Lord that will rage over the wicked, see Jer 23:19 and 30:23. Here it refers to the mighty Babylonian army that will come bringing destruction over all the known world. The same prophecy has just been given under the figure of the nations drinking the wine of God’s wrath (vv. 15-29).

27 Then say to them: The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Drink this seething cup of wine and get drunk. Vomit and collapse and don’t get up again because of the sword that I’m thrusting into you. 28 If they refuse to take the cup in your hand and drink from it, tell them: This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says: You must drink! 29 Look! I’m bringing disaster upon the city that bears my name; how then will you escape unpunished? You will not! I’m summoning the sword against everyone on earth, declares the Lord of heavenly forces.

30 Now prophesy all these things and say to them:
The Lord roars on high;
    from his holy place he thunders.
He roars fiercely against his flock,
    like the shouting of those who tread on grapes,
        against everyone on earth.
31 The uproar is heard far and wide,
    because the Lord is bringing a lawsuit against the nations.
        He’s entering into judgment with all people,
            sentencing the guilty to death,
                declares the Lord.
32 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Look! Disaster travels from nation to nation.
    A terrible storm comes from the far ends of the earth.

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