Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord addresses Jerusalem directly, calling the city to rouse itself after a period of divine judgment and abandonment. This follows God’s declaration in verse 16 that He has established His words and people, and precedes verse 18’s observation that Jerusalem lacks human guidance.
The words — The Hebrew הִתְעוֹרְרִי (hit.'o.Ri) and ק֚וּמִי (Ku.mi) command the city to rouse itself and arise. The phrase מִ/יַּ֥ד יְהוָ֖ה (mi./Yad Yah.weh) literally means from the hand of Yahweh, indicating the source of the cup of fury.
The thread — The command to awake and rise reappears in Isaiah 52:1 as a call to clothe Zion in strength. The imagery of drinking a cup of wrath resurfaces in Revelation 14:10 regarding undiluted wine of God’s anger.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that suffering originated from divine discipline, not mere chance. It requires the reader to stop passive endurance and prepare for restoration by acknowledging God’s prior establishment of His people.
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
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- 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.
- 1 Corinthians 15:34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.
- Job 21:20 Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
- Psalms 60:3 You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
- Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?
- Ephesians 5:14 So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Psalms 11:6 On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.
- Psalms 75:8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.
- Zechariah 12:2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. Judah will be besieged, as well as Jerusalem.