The Lord is the God of Israel. He said to me, “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my great anger. Make all the nations to which I send you drink it.
In the hand of the Lord is a cup. It is full of wine mixed with spices. It is the wine of his anger. He pours it out. All the evil people on earth drink it down to the very last drop.
Wake up, Jerusalem! Wake up! Get up! The Lord has handed you the cup of his great anger. And you have drunk from it. That cup makes people unsteady on their feet. And you have drunk from it to the very last drop.
Your Lord and King speaks. He is your God. He stands up for his people. He says, “I have taken from you the cup of my great anger. It made you unsteady on your feet. But you will never drink from that cup again.
Instead, I will give it to those who made you suffer. They said to you, ‘Fall down flat on the ground. Then we can walk all over you.’ And that is exactly what you did. You made your back like a street to be walked on.”
“Before I formed you in your mother’s body I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart to serve me. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
“Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you. Write down what I have said about Israel, Judah and all the other nations. Write what I have said to you from the time of King Josiah until now.
He will come and attack Egypt. He will bring death to those I have appointed to die. He will take away as prisoners those I have appointed to be taken away. And he will kill with swords those I have appointed to be killed.
So should you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. I will bring trouble on everyone,” announces the Lord. “But no matter where you go, I will let you escape with your life.” ’ ”
“Moab’s people think they are better than I am. So let their enemies make them drunk. Let the people get sick and throw up. Let them roll around in the mess they have made. Let people laugh at them.
The Lord says, “What if those who do not have to drink the cup must drink it anyway? Then shouldn’t you be punished? You will certainly be punished. You must drink the cup.
The Lord and King says to Oholibah, “You will drink from your sister’s cup. It is large and deep. It is filled with the wine of my anger. So others will laugh at you. They will make fun of you.
Egypt will be more empty than any other land. Its destroyed cities will lie empty for 40 years. I will scatter the people of Egypt among the nations. I will send them to other countries.”
So the Lord and King says, “I am very angry with those nations. I have spoken against them and the whole land of Edom. They were very happy when they took over my land. Deep down inside them, they hated Israel. They wanted to take its grasslands.
You Edomites made my holy mountain of Zion impure by drinking and celebrating there. So all the nations will drink from the cup of my anger. And they will keep on drinking from it. They will vanish. It will be as if they had never existed.
But the Babylonians will be filled with shame instead of glory. So now it is their turn to drink and be stripped of their clothes. The cup of anger in my powerful right hand is going to punish them. They will be covered with shame instead of glory.
They, too, will drink the wine of God’s great anger. His wine has been poured full strength into the cup of his anger. They will be burned with flaming sulfur. The holy angels and the Lamb will see it happen.