Bible Strands
Ezekiel 23:33
You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD addresses the allegorical sisters representing Israel and Judah in Ezekiel 23, pronouncing their shared fate following their spiritual adultery. The declaration occurs within a sequence of oracle verses detailing the specific contents and consequences of the cup they will drink.
The words — שִׁכָּר֥וֹן (shi.ka.Ron) denotes drunkenness, while שַמָּ֣ה (sha.Mah) literally means horror or devastation. The text pairs these terms to describe the physical and emotional state resulting from consuming the cup of desolation.
The thread — The cup of judgment motif appears in Isaiah 51:17, where Jerusalem is described as having already drunk the cup of God's fury, and in Jeremiah 25:27, where the command to drink, become drunk, and vomit is issued. Isaiah 51:22 uses the perfect tense to state that God has already removed the cup of staggering from His people's hand.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that spiritual rebellion produces inevitable, measurable consequences rather than abstract warnings. It requires the reader to acknowledge the reality of the cup's contents and the certainty of the spoken judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
Cross-references
- 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.
- Jeremiah 25:27 “Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the sword I will send among you.’
- Isaiah 51:22 Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God, who defends His people: “See, I have removed from your hand the cup of staggering. From that goblet, the cup of My fury, you will never drink again.
- Jeremiah 25:15 This 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.
- 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.