Discovery BoxJeremiah 25:27-31
Context25:27 Then the Lord said to me, 1 “Tell them that the Lord God of Israel who rules over all 2 says, 3 ‘Drink this cup 4 until you get drunk and vomit. Drink until you fall down and can’t get up. 5 For I will send wars sweeping through you.’ 6 25:28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, tell them that the Lord who rules over all says 7 ‘You most certainly must drink it! 8 25:29 For take note, I am already beginning to bring disaster on the city that I call my own. 9 So how can you possibly avoid being punished? 10 You will not go unpunished! For I am proclaiming war against all who live on the earth. I, the Lord who rules over all, 11 affirm it!’ 12
25:30 “Then, Jeremiah, 13 make the following prophecy 14 against them:
‘Like a lion about to attack, 15 the Lord will roar from the heights of heaven;
from his holy dwelling on high he will roar loudly.
He will roar mightily against his land. 16
He will shout in triumph like those stomping juice from the grapes 17
against all those who live on the earth.
25:31 The sounds of battle 18 will resound to the ends of the earth.
For the Lord will bring charges against the nations. 19
He will pass judgment on all humankind
and will hand the wicked over to be killed in war.’ 20
The Lord so affirms it! 21
[25:27] 1 tn The words “Then the
[25:27] 2 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.”
[25:27] 3 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
[25:27] 4 tn The words “this cup” are not in the text but are implicit to the metaphor and the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[25:27] 5 tn Heb “Drink, and get drunk, and vomit and fall down and don’t get up.” The imperatives following drink are not parallel actions but consequent actions. For the use of the imperative plus the conjunctive “and” to indicate consequent action, even intention see GKC 324-25 §110.f and compare usage in 1 Kgs 22:12; Prov 3:3b-4a.
[25:27] 6 tn Heb “because of the sword that I will send among you.” See the notes on 2:16 for explanation.
[25:28] 7 tn Heb “Tell them, ‘Thus says the
[25:28] 8 tn The translation attempts to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute preceding the finite verb which is here an obligatory imperfect. (See Joüon 2:371-72 §113.m and 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Gen 15:13.)
[25:29] 9 tn Heb “which is called by my name.” See translator’s note on 7:10 for support.
[25:29] 10 tn This is an example of a question without the formal introductory particle following a conjunctive vav introducing an opposition. (See Joüon 2:609 §161.a.) It is also an example of the use of the infinitive before the finite verb in a rhetorical question involving doubt or denial. (See Joüon 2:422-23 §123.f, and compare usage in Gen 37:8.)
[25:29] 11 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”
[25:29] 12 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.”
[25:30] 13 tn The word “Jeremiah” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation to make clear who is being addressed.
[25:30] 14 tn Heb “Prophesy against them all these words.”
[25:30] 15 tn The words “like a lion about to attack” are not in the text but are implicit in the metaphor. The explicit comparison of the
[25:30] 16 sn The word used here (Heb “his habitation”) refers to the land of Canaan which the
[25:30] 17 sn The metaphor shifts from God as a lion to God as a mighty warrior (Jer 20:11; Isa 42:13; Zeph 3:17) shouting in triumph over his foes. Within the metaphor is a simile where the warrior is compared to a person stomping on grapes to remove the juice from them in the making of wine. The figure will be invoked later in a battle scene where the sounds of joy in the grape harvest are replaced by the sounds of joy of the enemy soldiers (Jer 48:33). The picture is drawn in more gory detail in Isa 63:1-6.
[25:31] 18 tn For the use of this word see Amos 2:2; Hos 10:14; Ps 74:23. See also the usage in Isa 66:6 which is very similar to the metaphorical usage here.
[25:31] 19 tn Heb “the
