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.
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. This verse intensifies the cup imagery with graphic effects. The imperatives šĕṯû wĕšikrû ûqîʾû ûnip̄lû wĕlōʾ ṯāqûmû (שְׁתוּ וְשִׁכְרוּ וּקִיאוּ וּנִפְלוּ וְלֹא תָקוּמוּ, drink, be drunken, vomit, fall, and rise no more) depict complete helplessness. Drunkenness represents loss of control and rationality; vomiting suggests violent rejection but inability to escape; falling with no rising pictures permanent defeat.
The finality of wĕlōʾ ṯāqûmû (וְלֹא תָקוּמוּ, and rise no more) emphasizes irreversible judgment. This isn't temporary discipline but ultimate destruction. The phrase mipnê haḥereḇ ʾăsher ʾānōḵî shōlēaḥ bênêḵem (מִפְּנֵי הַחֶרֶב אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ בֵּינֵיכֶם, because of the sword which I send among you) reiterates God's active agency in judgment. This imagery of God's cup making nations drunk appears in Revelation: 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen...for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication' (Revelation 14:8, 18:3). The final judgment will be comprehensive, irreversible, and divinely ordained.
Historical Context
This graphic imagery describes the collapse of nations under Babylonian conquest. Survivors reported the horror—cities destroyed, populations massacred or enslaved, civilizations ended. For some nations (like Edom), the judgment was permanent—they never recovered. For others (like Judah), temporary exile preceded restoration. The difference depended on God's sovereign purposes. The imagery of nations 'falling never to rise' found fulfillment in peoples that disappeared from history: Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites—all extinct as distinct peoples.
Questions for Reflection
How does this graphic imagery—drunkenness, vomiting, falling—emphasize the complete helplessness of those facing God's judgment?
What does the finality of 'rise no more' teach about the irreversibility of divine judgment on those who persistently reject God?
How should these warnings of certain, irreversible judgment motivate urgency in evangelism and personal repentance?
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Analysis & Commentary
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. This verse intensifies the cup imagery with graphic effects. The imperatives šĕṯû wĕšikrû ûqîʾû ûnip̄lû wĕlōʾ ṯāqûmû (שְׁתוּ וְשִׁכְרוּ וּקִיאוּ וּנִפְלוּ וְלֹא תָקוּמוּ, drink, be drunken, vomit, fall, and rise no more) depict complete helplessness. Drunkenness represents loss of control and rationality; vomiting suggests violent rejection but inability to escape; falling with no rising pictures permanent defeat.
The finality of wĕlōʾ ṯāqûmû (וְלֹא תָקוּמוּ, and rise no more) emphasizes irreversible judgment. This isn't temporary discipline but ultimate destruction. The phrase mipnê haḥereḇ ʾăsher ʾānōḵî shōlēaḥ bênêḵem (מִפְּנֵי הַחֶרֶב אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ בֵּינֵיכֶם, because of the sword which I send among you) reiterates God's active agency in judgment. This imagery of God's cup making nations drunk appears in Revelation: 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen...for all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication' (Revelation 14:8, 18:3). The final judgment will be comprehensive, irreversible, and divinely ordained.