16 And athey will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me:
18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them aa desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and ba curse, as itis this day;
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people;
20 all the mixed multitude, all the kings of athe land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the bPhilistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and cthe remnant of Ashdod);
22 all the kings of aTyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the bsea;
23aDedan, Tema, Buz, and all whoare in the farthest corners;
24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the amixed multitude who dwell in the desert;
25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of aElam, and all the kings of the bMedes;
26aall the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of1 Sheshach shall drink after them.
27 “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: a“Drink, bbe drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’
28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink!
29 For behold, aI begin to bring calamity on the city bwhich is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for cI will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’
This is a tremendously broad commission to lay on one man's shoulders! His ministry embraced the totality of the biblical world, and some verses can be understood to encompass the entire world. Many of these nations had existed from the time God scattered the people by confusing the languages at Babel (Genesis 11). Did Jeremiah actually, in person, deliver this warning to these nations? We do not know because records are so rare. Jeremiah's writings include specific prophecies against Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Elam, Kedar, Hazor, and Babylon. Did he deliver these prophecies in person, or does the duality principle apply so that the literal fulfillment will occur in a time like ours, when rapid transportation and communication systems exist?
