land among you. 28. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shall thou say unto them, Thus faith the LORD of hosts, Ye shall certainly drink. 29. For he, 'I begin to bring evil on the city' which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, faith the LORD of hosts. Judgment here begins at the house of God, but it spreads far and near. The neighbouring nations must drink at the same cup, and at last Babylon herself take it in turn. 1. The judgment is represented under a wine-cup of forty. The fine of all these nations had provoked God's wrath, and heavy it falls on them; like men intoxicated with liquor, without wisdom or might, they should become an ealy conquest, and the sword of God devour them. Nor would their reluctance to submit to their doom avail any thing, v. 28. The prophet is commanded to make them drink, denouncing the judgments of God, that would quite overwhelm them and sink them into ruin, from which they should never, or at least not for a long while, recover. Now, It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: then all resistance is vain. 2. The nations who are the subjects of this prophecy are, first Jeruches and the cities of Judah: their fine being most aggravated, they suffer first. Egypt, on whom they placed dependence, next falls under the Babylonish yoke: then all the mindful people, the boniering nations; none, as Tyre and Zelon, that had been the friends; others, as Mosh and Zelon, who had been the inveterate foes of Judah, but now sink in the promiscuous ruin: far and wide the rapid conqueror spreads his arms, even to all the kingdoms of the then known world, at least to the whole extent of that great monarchy, which was termed, from its vast territory, universal. At last the fifty quers of nations herself must be laid in the doft, and the king of Shethart, or Babylon, see chap. ii. 21. must drink at the same cup, and perish as the kingdoms he had destroyed. It is added, v. 18. as it is this day, in a parenthesis: probably that was inserted by Jeremiah, who lived to for the ruin of his country; or by him, whether Baruch or Ezra, who collected these prophecies when the event had verified the prediction. 3. If God spares not his own people, let not the rest of the nations, of whom they have learnt idolatry, think to go unpunished. His determination is fixed, and the accomplishment of it is inevitable. Now, (1.) When God arises to judge, the greatest nations are but as stubble before the whirlwind. (2.) Wherever sinners are, however many, however mighty, surely they shall not go unpunished. 30. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, 'The LORD shall rose from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation, he shall mightily sow upon his habitation, he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations: he will plead with all flesh, he will give them that are wicked to the sword, faith the LORD. 32. Thus faith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 33. And the stain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: 'they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried, they shall be dung upon the ground. 34. ¶ 'Howl, ye shepherds, and cry, and wallow yourselves as the alien, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter, and of your dispersions, are accomplished, and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. 35. 'And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an hourling of the principal of the flock shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. 37. And the peaceable habitations are cut down, 'because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38. 'He hath forsaken his covers, as the hon: for their land is a desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.