Jeremiah 25:17-28

17 And I took the cup at Jehovah's hand, and made all the nations to drink, to whom Jehovah had sent me:
18 Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a waste, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day;
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;
20 and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gazah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon;
22 and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles that are beyond the sea;
23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that have the corners [of their beard] cut off;
24 and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert;
25 and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes;
26 and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, and be drunken, and vomit, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword that I will send among you.
28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ye shall certainly drink.

Jeremiah 25:17-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 25

This chapter contains a prophecy of the destruction of Judea by the king of Babylon; and also of Babylon itself, after the Jews' captivity of seventy years; and likewise of all the nations round about. The date of this prophecy is in Jer 25:1; when the prophet puts the Jews in mind of the prophecies that had been delivered unto them by himself and others, for some years past, without effect, Jer 25:2-7; wherefore they are threatened with the king of Babylon, that he should come against them, and strip them of all their desirable things; make their land desolate, and them captives for seventy years, Jer 25:8-11; at the expiration of which he in his turn shall be punished, and the land of Chaldea laid waste, and become subject to other nations and kings, Jer 25:12-14; and by a cup of wine given to all the nations round about, is signified the utter ruin of them, and who are particularly mentioned by name, Jer 25:15-26; which is confirmed by beginning with the city of Jerusalem, and the destruction of that, Jer 25:27-29; wherefore the prophet is bid to prophesy against them, and to declare the Lord's controversy with them, and that there should be a slaughter of them from one end of the earth to the other, Jer 25:30-33; upon which the shepherds, kings, and rulers of them, are called to lamentation and howling, Jer 25:34-38.

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Or 'people of Arabia.'
  • [b]. Or 'maritime countries.'
  • [c]. Job 22.1; Isa. 21.14.
  • [d]. Job 32.2, Buzite.
  • [e]. See ch. 9.26.
  • [f]. An enigmatical name for Babel, formed by reversing the order of the Hebrew letters: see ch. 51.41, also 51.1, and Note.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.