Jeremiah 25:15-17
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It's easy to focus on the nations drinking from a cup of wrath, but the real emphasis here is on God entrusting this specific cup to Jeremiah. God isn't just passively observing; He's actively handing Jeremiah the "cup of wrath" from His own hand, showing that the judgment is directly from Him and that the prophet is His chosen messenger to administer it.
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. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.” So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it:
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Lord reveals to Jeremiah a powerful vision: he is to take a symbolic cup filled with God's wrath and offer it to all the nations. This imagery explains the preceding prophecy that Judah and surrounding peoples would face severe judgment, emphasizing that the coming destruction is not random but a measured outpouring of God's fury. Jeremiah's role as prophet extends beyond Judah to serve as God's cupbearer, dispensing this divine judgment upon all nations he is sent to.
Imagine God handing you a cup, not of refreshing water, but of His own furious wrath. What does this powerful image in Jeremiah’s prophecy reveal about God’s justice?
Jeremiah is given a dramatic vision: the Lord God of Israel instructs him to take a cup filled with the wine of His wrath and make all the nations drink it. This isn't a literal cup, but a symbolic act.
A Divine Decree
This vision signifies that God's judgment, stirred by sin, is not random but a deliberate decree. The 'wine of wrath' represents the severe and intoxicating consequences of sin, leading to confusion, terror, and desolation.
The Prophet as Agent
Jeremiah isn't acting on his own initiative. He is commanded by God to be the agent of this judgment. This highlights that God uses human instruments, even prophets, to carry out His sovereign plans. The nations will drink this cup because God sends Jeremiah to them with this message of doom.
We often think of God's judgment primarily affecting His chosen people. But what does this verse reveal about the scope of God's justice impacting the entire world?
This prophecy makes it clear that God’s judgment isn't limited to Judah. The command is to make all the nations drink from this cup.
Universal Scope of Sin
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Sin has a way of spreading, and so does God’s justice in response to it. The nations have all, in their own ways, incurred God's displeasure. Jeremiah is sent not just to his own people but to all nations to declare this impending reckoning.
God's Sovereignty Over All
This act underscores God's absolute sovereignty over every nation on earth. He is not just the God of Israel, but the God of all peoples. He appoints and He removes kings; He raises up and He brings down kingdoms. This cup is a testament to His authority and His righteous administration of justice throughout the world.
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.
kos · Hebrew Noun
A physical tool for liquid, but biblically used as a frequent metaphor for a portion of divine experience, often representing divine wrath, judgment, or suffering poured out upon individuals or nations.
chereb · Hebrew Noun
A weapon of war, but frequently utilized in Scripture as a symbol of divine judgment, warfare, and the execution of God's justice against rebellion and sin.
This vision of the cup of wrath comes at the climax of God's judgment on Judah, directly as Jerusalem is being destroyed. It powerfully shows that the same judgment being poured out on Judah will extend to all nations that oppose God, making the Babylonians, who are the instruments of Judah's punishment, participants in this divine cup themselves.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian Captivity of Northern Israel
The Northern Kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrian Empire, and many of its people are exiled. This event serves as a precedent for future divine judgment and exile upon the remaining kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquers Judah and begins deporting its elite citizens, including the prophet Daniel, to Babylon. This marks the initial stage of Judah's subjugation and foreshadows greater judgment.
c. 598-597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
Following a revolt, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Judah's population, including King Jehoiachin and Ezekiel the prophet, to Babylon. This deepens the crisis and exile for the people of Judah.
587-586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
The Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple, and exile the majority of the remaining population. This is the pinnacle of God's judgment upon Judah.
c. 586 BC
Jeremiah's Prophecy to the Nations
In the midst of Jerusalem's destruction, Jeremiah receives a vision of a cup of wrath from God, symbolizing the judgment that will fall upon all nations who have oppressed or defied God. This vision is delivered as the Babylonians carry out their destruction.
Post-586 BC
Babylonian Exile Continues
The Jewish people remain in exile in Babylon for generations. Jeremiah's prophecies about the nations drinking the cup of wrath are fulfilled as Babylon itself eventually faces judgment.
This psalm vividly portrays God holding a cup of intoxicating wrath that He pours out on the wicked, echoing Jeremiah's vision of the cup of fury.
Isaiah 51:17The prophet Isaiah describes Jerusalem drinking from the Lord's hand a cup of wrath, which she has drained in her desolation, paralleling Jeremiah's commission to make nations drink.
Ezekiel 23:31-34God tells Ezekiel that He will give Samaria and Jerusalem a cup of horror and desolation, which they will drink, illustrating how God uses such imagery to describe His judgment.
Revelation 14:10The New Testament uses the same imagery, describing God pouring out the wine of His wrath in a cup for those who worship the beast, showing the continuity of this judgment metaphor.
Habakkuk 2:15-16Habakkuk condemns those who give strong drink to their neighbors, causing them to drink and be exposed, which God promises to turn back on them, likening His judgment to a cup of 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…
It's easy to focus on the nations drinking from a cup of wrath, but the real emphasis here is on God entrusting this specific cup to Jeremiah. God isn't just passively observing; He's actively handing Jeremiah the "cup of wrath" from His own hand, showing that the judgment is directly from Him and that the prophet is His chosen messenger to administer it.
The Lord reveals to Jeremiah a powerful vision: he is to take a symbolic cup filled with God's wrath and offer it to all the nations. This imagery explains the preceding prophecy that Judah and surrounding peoples would face severe judgment, emphasizing that the coming destruction is not random but a measured outpouring of God's fury. Jeremiah's role as prophet extends beyond Judah to serve as God's cupbearer, dispensing this divine judgment upon all nations he is sent to.
The Lord reveals to Jeremiah a powerful vision: he is to take a symbolic cup filled with God's wrath and offer it to all the nations. This imagery explains the preceding prophecy that Judah and surrounding peoples would face severe judgment, emphasizing that the coming destruction is not random but a measured outpouring of God's fury. Jeremiah's role as prophet extends beyond Judah to serve as God's cupbearer, dispensing this divine judgment upon all nations he is sent to.
"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. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among t…" — It's easy to focus on the nations drinking from a cup of wrath, but the real emphasis here is on God entrusting this specific cup to Jeremiah. God isn't just passively observing; He's actively hand…
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Last reviewed October 2026
