The Meaning of Jeremiah 25:15 Explained

Jeremiah 25:15

KJV: 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.

YLT: 'For thus said Jehovah God of Israel unto me, Take the wine cup of this fury out of My hand, and thou hast caused all the nations to drink it unto whom I am sending thee;

Darby: For thus hath Jehovah the God of Israel said unto me: Take the cup of the wine of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it.

ASV: For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, unto me: take this cup of the wine of wrath at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Jeremiah 25:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord instructed Jeremiah to take from His hand, figuratively, a cup (or flagon) of His wrath, and to cause all the nations-to whom the Lord would send him-to drink from it. The cup is a common figure for the wrath of God in Scripture (cf. Jeremiah 13:12-14; Jeremiah 49:12; Jeremiah 51:7; Job 21:20; Psalm 60:3; Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:21-22; Lamentations 4:21; Ezekiel 23:31-34; Habakkuk 2:16; Mark 10:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 18:11; Revelation 14:8; Revelation 14:10; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 18:6). It is also a symbol of God"s blessing (cf. Psalm 16:5; Psalm 23:5; Luke 22:17; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). In a larger sense, it refers to one"s lot in life, be it cursing or blessing. This was another symbolic action that God prescribed to communicate to His people, though in this case the action was not literal.

Context Summary

Jeremiah 25:1-38 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.
God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 25

1  Jeremiah, reproving the Jews' disobedience to the prophets,
8  foretells the seventy years' captivity;
12  and after that, the destruction of Babylon
15  Under the type of a cup of wine he foreshows the destruction of all nations
34  The howling of the shepherds

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 25:15 mean?

For thus says Yahweh God of Israel to me take - cup of wine fury this from My hand and cause to drink it all the nations to whom I send you unto whom
כִּ֣י כֹה֩ אָמַ֨ר יְהוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֵלַ֔י קַ֠ח אֶת־ כּ֨וֹס הַיַּ֧יִן הַחֵמָ֛ה הַזֹּ֖את מִיָּדִ֑י וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֤ה אֹתוֹ֙ כָּל־ הַגּוֹיִ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י שֹׁלֵ֥חַ אוֹתְךָ֖ אֲלֵיהֶֽם

כֹה֩  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֨ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֜ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵ֤י  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
אֵלַ֔י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
קַ֠ח  take 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
כּ֨וֹס  cup 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: כֹּוס 
Sense: cup.
הַיַּ֧יִן  of  wine 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַיִן  
Sense: wine.
הַחֵמָ֛ה  fury 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֵמָא 
Sense: heat, rage, hot displeasure, indignation, anger, wrath, poison, bottles.
הַזֹּ֖את  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
מִיָּדִ֑י  from  My  hand 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֤ה  and  cause  to  drink 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: שָׁקָה  
Sense: to give to drink, irrigate, drink, water, cause to drink water.
הַגּוֹיִ֔ם  the  nations 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
אֲשֶׁ֧ר  to  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
שֹׁלֵ֥חַ  send 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
אֲלֵיהֶֽם  unto  whom 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).