A cup is in the Lord’s hand. (Its foaming wine is thoroughly mixed with spices.) He will empty it, ⌞and⌟ all the wicked people on earth will have to drink every last drop.
This is what the Lord of Armies says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness throughout the land.
This is what the Lord God of Israel said to me: Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my fury, and make all the nations to whom I’m sending you drink from it.
I am going to watch over them. I am going to watch over them to bring disasters, not blessings. In Egypt the people from Judah will die in wars and famines until everyone is gone.
I’ll defeat the people of Elam in the presence of their enemies, in the presence of those who want to kill them. I’ll bring disaster with my burning anger, declares the Lord. I’ll send armies after them until I put an end to them.
Why are we just sitting here? Let’s get up! Let’s go into the fortified cities and die there. The Lord our God has condemned us to die. He has given us poison to drink because we have sinned against the Lord.
One-third of you will die in plagues and be devoured in famines. Another third will die in battles against those around you. I will scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will pursue them with a sword.
When the blockade is over, burn one-third of your hair in a fire in the middle of the city. Take another third, and cut it up with a blade around the city. Then scatter the remaining third to the wind, and I will draw a sword and go after it.
Make sure there is no man, woman, family, or tribe among you today who turns from the Lord our God to worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that no one among you is the source of this kind of bitter poison.