Psalms 75:8
8. in the hand . . . a cup . . . red—God's wrath often thus represented (compare Isa 51:17 Jer 25:15).
but the dregs—literally, "surely the dregs, they shall drain it."Isaiah 51:17
17. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, &c.— (Isa 52:1).
drunk—Jehovah's wrath is compared to an intoxicating draught because it confounds the sufferer under it, and makes him fall (Job 21:20; Ps 60:3; 75:8; Jer 25:15, 16; 49:12; Zec 12:2; Re 14:10); ("poured out without mixture"; rather, "the pure wine juice mixed with intoxicating drugs"). of trembling—which produced trembling or intoxication. wrung . . . out—drained the last drop out; the dregs were the sediments from various substances, as honey, dates, and drugs, put into the wine to increase the strength and sweetness.Isaiah 51:21-23
21. drunken . . . not with wine— (Isa 29:9; compare Isa 51:17, 20, here; La 3:15).
22. pleadeth . . . cause— (Ps 35:1; Jer 50:34; Mic 7:9).
no more drink it— (Isa 54:7-9). This cannot apply to Israel after the return from Babylon, but only to them after their final restoration.23. (Isa 49:26; Jer 25:15-29; Zec 12:2).
Bow down that . . . go over—Conquerors often literally trod on the necks of conquered kings, as Sapor of Persia did to the Roman emperor Valerian (Jos 10:24; Ps 18:40; 66:11, 12).Jeremiah 25:26-27
26. Sheshach—Babylon; as the parallelism in Jer 51:41 proves. In the Cabalistic system (called Athbash, the first Hebrew letter in the alphabet being expressed by the last) Sheshach would exactly answer to Babel. Jeremiah may have used this system (as perhaps in Jer 51:41) for concealment at the time of this prediction, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, while Nebuchadnezzar was before Jerusalem. In Jer 51:41 there can be no concealment, as Babylon is expressly mentioned. MICHAELIS more simply explains the term "brazen-gated" (compare Isa 45:2); others, "the house of a prince." Rather, it comes from the Babylonian goddess, Shach, by reduplication of the first letter; from her Misael was named Meshach by the Babylonians. The term Shace was applied to a festival at Babylon, alluded to in Jer 51:39, 57; Isa 21:5. It was during this feast that Cyrus took Babylon [HERODOTUS, 1]. Thus Jeremiah mystically denotes the time of its capture by this term [GLASSIUS].
27. rise no more—The heathen nations in question should fall to rise no more. The Jews should fall but for a time, and then rise again. Therefore, the epithet is given, "the God of Israel."