Jeremiah 25:16
New International Version
When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”

New Living Translation
When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them.”

English Standard Version
They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.”

Berean Standard Bible
And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.”

King James Bible
And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

New King James Version
And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

New American Standard Bible
Then they will drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”

NASB 1995
“They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

NASB 1977
“And they shall drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

Legacy Standard Bible
They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

Amplified Bible
They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

Christian Standard Bible
They will drink, stagger, and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They will drink, stagger, and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”

American Standard Version
And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

Contemporary English Version
They will vomit and act crazy, because of the war this cup of anger will bring to them."

English Revised Version
And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When they drink from it, they will stagger and go insane because of the wars that I'm going to send them.

Good News Translation
When they drink from it, they will stagger and go out of their minds because of the war I am sending against them."

International Standard Version
They'll drink, stagger, and act like madmen because of the sword I'm sending among them."

Majority Standard Bible
And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.?

NET Bible
When they have drunk it, they will stagger to and fro and act insane. For I will send wars sweeping through them."

New Heart English Bible
They shall drink, and reel back and forth, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them."

Webster's Bible Translation
And they shall drink, and be moved, and enraged, because of the sword that I will send among them.

World English Bible
They will drink, and reel back and forth, and be insane, because of the sword that I will send among them.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and they have drunk, and shaken themselves and shown themselves [to be] foolish, because of the sword that I am sending among them.”

Young's Literal Translation
And they have drunk, and shaken themselves and shewn themselves foolish, because of the sword that I am sending among them.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they drank and they staggered, and they were mad from the face of the sword which I sent in the midst of them.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they shall drink, and be troubled, and be mad because of the sword, which I shall send among them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they will drink, and be stirred up, and become maddened, before the face of the sword that I will send among them.”

New American Bible
They shall drink, and retch, and go mad, because of the sword I will send among them.

New Revised Standard Version
They shall drink and stagger and go out of their minds because of the sword that I am sending among them.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they shall drink, and be dazed and be troubled because of the sword which I am sending among them.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
They shall drink and they shall be confused and shall be disturbed from before the sword that I send among them
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be like madmen, because of the sword that I will send among them.--

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they shall drink, and vomit, and be mad, because of the sword which I send among them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Cup of God's Wrath
15This is what 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 from it. 16And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.” 17So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me,…

Cross References
Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

Revelation 18:3
All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

Isaiah 51:17
Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men stagger.

Revelation 17:2
The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

Revelation 18:6
Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.

Isaiah 29:9
Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not from strong drink.

Habakkuk 2:16
You will be filled with shame instead of glory. You too must drink and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory.

Revelation 16:19
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.

Isaiah 63:6
I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”

Revelation 14:10
he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

Jeremiah 51:7
Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.

Ezekiel 23:32-34
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much. / You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. / You will drink it and drain it; you will dash it to pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken,’ declares the Lord GOD.

Revelation 18:23
The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

Isaiah 24:20
The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.

Revelation 18:24
And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.


Treasury of Scripture

And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

Jeremiah 25:27
Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

Jeremiah 51:7,39
Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad…

Lamentations 3:15
He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

Jump to Previous
Crazed Drink Drinking Drunk Enraged Foolish Forth Fro Mad Madmen Moved Reel Rolling Sending Shaken Shewn Side Stagger Sword Themselves
Jump to Next
Crazed Drink Drinking Drunk Enraged Foolish Forth Fro Mad Madmen Moved Reel Rolling Sending Shaken Shewn Side Stagger Sword Themselves
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.














And they will drink
This phrase signifies the inevitability of God's judgment upon the nations. The Hebrew root for "drink" (שָׁתָה, shatah) often symbolizes experiencing the consequences of one's actions, particularly in the context of divine wrath. In the ancient Near Eastern context, drinking from a cup often represented partaking in a fate or destiny, especially one decreed by a higher power. Here, it underscores the certainty that the nations will face the repercussions of their rebellion against God.

and stagger
The word "stagger" (נָעוּ, na'u) conveys a sense of instability and confusion, often associated with drunkenness. This imagery is used to depict the disorientation and helplessness that will befall the nations as they experience God's judgment. Historically, this reflects the chaos and disorder that ensue when a nation is under divine retribution, as seen in the fall of empires throughout biblical history.

and go out of their minds
This phrase illustrates the complete loss of control and rationality that accompanies divine judgment. The Hebrew root (הָלַל, halal) can mean to boast or to act madly, suggesting that the nations will be driven to madness by the overwhelming nature of God's wrath. This serves as a warning of the severe consequences of turning away from God's commandments and the resulting spiritual and moral disintegration.

because of the sword
The "sword" (חֶרֶב, chereb) is a common biblical symbol for war and destruction. It represents the instrument of God's judgment, often used to execute divine justice. In the historical context of Jeremiah, the sword signifies the impending Babylonian invasion, which God uses as a tool to discipline the nations, including Judah. This highlights the seriousness of God's warnings and the reality of His justice.

that I will send among them
This phrase emphasizes God's active role in orchestrating the events that lead to judgment. The sending of the sword is not a random act of violence but a deliberate action by God to fulfill His purposes. It reflects the sovereignty of God over the nations and His ability to use even the actions of pagan empires to accomplish His divine will. This serves as a reminder of God's ultimate authority and the importance of aligning with His righteous standards.

(16) They shall drink . . .--The words describe what history has often witnessed, the panic-terror of lesser nations before the onward march of a great conqueror--they are as if stricken with a drunken madness, and their despair or their resistance is equally infatuated. The imagery is one familiar in earlier prophets. (Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22; Habakkuk 2:16; Psalm 60:5; Psalm 75:8; Ezekiel 23:31.) . . . Verse 16. - And be moved, and be mad; rather, and reel to and fro, and behave themselves madly. The inspired writers do not scruple to ascribe all phenomena, the "bad" as well as the "good," to a Divine operation. "Shall there be evil in a city, and Jehovah hath not done it?" (Amos 3:6). "An evil spirit from Elohim came upon Saul, and he became frenzied" (1 Samuel 18:10; see also Isaiah 19:14; Isaiah 29:10; 1 Kings 22:19-23, and especially the very remarkable prologue of the Book of Job). To understand this form of expression, we must remember the strength of the reaction experienced by the prophets against the polytheism of the surrounding nations. It was not open to them to account for the existence of evil by ascribing it to the activity of various divinities; they knew Jehovah to be the sole cause in the universe. To us, "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought," such a doctrine occasions "great searchings of heart," and is sometimes a sore trial of our faith. But the prophets were not logicians, and their faith, compared to ours, was as an oak tree to a sapling; hence they can generally (see, however, Isaiah 63:17) express the truth of the universal causation of Jehovah with perfect tranquility. Because of the sword. Here Jeremiah deserts the figure of the Cup, and, as most commentators think, uses the language of fact. It is not, however, certain that "the sword" means that of God's human instruments; Jehovah himself has a sword (Jeremiah 46:10; Jeremiah 47:6; Jeremiah 50:35-38; Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 34:5; and elsewhere), just as he has a hand (Isaiah 8:11; Isaiah 59:1) and an arm (Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 53:1). All these belong to a group of childlike symbolic expressions for the manifestation of the Deity. Jehovah's "sword" is described more fully in Genesis 3:24; it "turns hither and thither," like the lightning - a striking figure of the completeness with which God performs his work of vengeance (see also on ver. 27).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And they will drink
וְשָׁת֕וּ (wə·šā·ṯū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

and stagger
וְהִֽתְגֹּֽעֲשׁ֖וּ (wə·hiṯ·gō·‘ă·šū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1607: To agitate violently

and go out of their minds,
וְהִתְהֹלָ֑לוּ (wə·hiṯ·hō·lā·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 1984: To shine

because of
מִפְּנֵ֣י (mip·pə·nê)
Preposition-m | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

the sword
הַחֶ֔רֶב (ha·ḥe·reḇ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

that
אֲשֶׁ֛ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I
אָנֹכִ֥י (’ā·nō·ḵî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 595: I

will send
שֹׁלֵ֖חַ (šō·lê·aḥ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

among them.”
בֵּינֹתָֽם׃ (bê·nō·ṯām)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's 996: An interval, space between


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 25:16 They shall drink and reel back (Jer.)
Jeremiah 25:15
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