Jeremiah 25:15-33

Why must the nations drink the cup they cannot refuse?

Berean Standard Bible

15 This is what 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 from it. 16 And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.” 17 So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me, 18 to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people; 20 all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod; 21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites; 22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media; 26 all the kings of the north, both near and far, one after another—all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshach will drink it too. 27 “Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’ 28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘You most certainly must drink it! 29 For behold, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of Hosts.’ 30 So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’” declares the LORD. 32 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” 33 Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.

What is the context?

The Lord gives Jeremiah a cup of wrath to make the nations drink. Staggering and loss of control picture the judgment coming through the sword.

The list begins with Jerusalem and extends through Egypt, neighboring kingdoms, distant regions, and finally Sheshach. Covenant status does not protect the first city, nor imperial power the last.

The refusal to drink cannot prevent the sentence. The logic is explicit: if the city bearing God’s name faces judgment, the other nations cannot assume exemption.

The roar, grape-treading shout, spreading storm, and unburied slain widen the scene beyond a private dispute. The Lord brings a charge against wrongdoing among the nations.

The cup is an enacted prophetic picture of judgment. It is not a command to poison people, promote drunkenness, or carry out a personal campaign against the nations listed.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley reads the cup as a vision and identifies Sheshach with Babylon, which drinks after the other kingdoms. His explanation does not require Jeremiah personally visiting every ruler with an ordinary drinking vessel. The picture places the judging Lord above the power that had judged others.

Where does this fit in God's plan?

Revelation 14:6–13 gives an established Christian parallel through the cup of God’s wrath, the fall of Babylon, and a call for faithful endurance. Revelation 18:1–8 also turns the cup back upon Babylon. These are later uses of a shared prophetic judgment image, not a claim that Jeremiah supplies a name-by-name account of every detail in Revelation.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

No deeper study linked yet.

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