Jeremiah 25:15
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What's easy to miss is that this isn't just a metaphor for God's judgment; Jeremiah is being handed a cup from God's own hand. This isn't a general decree, but a direct, personal commission where Jeremiah becomes the agent carrying out a specific, divinely ordained consequence. He's not just announcing doom, he's acting as God's cupbearer for the nations.
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jeremiah has just declared that all the nations, including Judah, will face destruction and become a desolation for 70 years, primarily at the hands of Babylon. Now, God gives Jeremiah a dramatic vision to drive home this message: he is to take a cup filled with God's furious wrath and make all the nations he's sent to prophesy against drink from it. This vision, a powerful metaphor for God's judgment, emphasizes that these calamitous events are directly from God's hand and will be distributed to all who have incurred His displeasure.
Imagine being handed a literal cup filled with something terrifying. That's the vision God gives Jeremiah in this verse, and it's packed with meaning for us today.
A Divine Decree in Vision
God calls Jeremiah to a powerful symbolic act. He's given a "cup of the wine of wrath" to take from God's own hand.
What This Vision Means:
This isn't just about one nation or one specific event. The cup Jeremiah is to serve has a reach that spans the globe, and it reveals God's universal justice.
God's Global Justice
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The verse explicitly states that Jeremiah is to make "all the nations to whom I send you drink it." This highlights several crucial points:
The Scope of Judgment:
This demonstrates that God holds all nations accountable for their actions, and His judgments, though sometimes delayed, are certain.
Understand the original words
kos / chemah · Hebrew Noun
A common biblical metaphor representing the judgment, anger, or holy indignation of God against sin. It signifies the inescapable experience of God's righteous reaction to evil.
Jeremiah's vision of the 'cup of wrath' being passed to all nations is deeply rooted in the reality of Babylonian conquest and exile, a terrifying period when Judah and surrounding nations experienced God's judgment firsthand.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, begins his reign and initiates the first major deportation of Judean captives, including members of the royal family and elite, to Babylon. This marks the beginning of Judah's vassalage to Babylon.
c. 597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
After a rebellion by King Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar deports more Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel, and installs Zedekiah as king. This event underscores Babylon's growing dominance and Judah's precarious position.
c. 586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Following Zedekiah's rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, destroys the Temple, and deports the majority of the remaining population to Babylon, ending Judah as an independent kingdom.
c. 582 BC
Third Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar conducts a final deportation of Judeans from the remnants of the kingdom, further solidifying Babylonian control and scattering the Jewish people.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon
Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, overthrows the Babylonian Empire. This marks a significant shift in regional power and paves the way for the eventual return of the Jewish exiles.
This Psalm uses the same imagery of a cup of wrath that God holds, to describe his judgment poured out on the wicked, powerfully echoing Jeremiah's vision.
Isaiah 51:17Isaiah also speaks of Jerusalem drinking the cup of the LORD's fury, illustrating the devastating judgments that would fall upon her and her enemies.
Ezekiel 23:31-34Ezekiel describes God giving a cup of staggering and devastation to the unfaithful sisters Samaria and Jerusalem, showing how this divine judgment affects His own people and others.
Revelation 14:10The New Testament picks up this imagery, with John describing the wine of God's wrath being poured out unmixed on those who worship the beast, continuing the theme of divine judgment.
Matthew 20:22Jesus uses the metaphor of a 'cup' in reference to suffering, asking if His disciples can drink the cup He is to drink, showing how personal suffering can be part of God's redemptive plan, distinct from punitive wrath.
gillJeremiah 25:15: "For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it."
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me,.... The prophet: take the wine cup of this fury at my hand; in a vision the Lord appeared to Jeremiah with a cup of wine in his hand, which he bid him take of him. It is usual in Scripture for the judgments of God on men to be signified by a cup of hot and intoxicating liquor, Isaia…
calvinJeremiah 25:15: "For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it."
- Quia sic dixit Jehova Deus Israel ad me, Sume calicem vini furoris (vel, iracundiae) Sume calicem vini furoris (vel, iracundiae) hujus e manu mea, et propina illum cunctis gentibus, ad quas ego mittam to ad eas (sed hoc secundum redundat.)
Jeremiah now explains more at large what might on account of its brevity have appeare…
What's easy to miss is that this isn't just a metaphor for God's judgment; Jeremiah is being handed a cup from God's own hand. This isn't a general decree, but a direct, personal commission where Jeremiah becomes the agent carrying out a specific, divinely ordained consequence. He's not just announcing doom, he's acting as God's cupbearer for the nations.
Jeremiah has just declared that all the nations, including Judah, will face destruction and become a desolation for 70 years, primarily at the hands of Babylon. Now, God gives Jeremiah a dramatic vision to drive home this message: he is to take a cup filled with God's furious wrath and make all the nations he's sent to prophesy against drink from it. This vision, a powerful metaphor for God's judgment, emphasizes that these calamitous events are directly from God's hand and will be distributed to all who have incurred His displeasure.
Jeremiah has just declared that all the nations, including Judah, will face destruction and become a desolation for 70 years, primarily at the hands of Babylon. Now, God gives Jeremiah a dramatic vision to drive home this message: he is to take a cup filled with God's furious wrath and make all the nations he's sent to prophesy against drink from it. This vision, a powerful metaphor for God's judgment, emphasizes that these calamitous events are directly from God's hand and will be distributed to all who have incurred His displeasure.
"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." — What's easy to miss is that this isn't just a metaphor for God's judgment; Jeremiah is being handed a cup from God's own hand. This isn't a general decree, but a direct, personal commission where J…
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Last reviewed October 2026
