For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.
They whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken - the Jews, to whom, by virtue of the covenant relation, it did not belong to drink the cup, who, it might have expected, would be spared. Translate, not "have ... drunken," but 'shall assuredly drink it.' For it is wrong to translate the same Hebrew х shaatow (H8354) yishtuw (H8354)] as past in the first place, "have ... drunken it" and as future in the second х kiy (H3588) shaatoh (H8354) tishteh (H8354)], 'but thou shalt surely drink of it.' Since they are future in the second place, they must be so in the first [shaatow yishtuw, and shaatoh tishteh]. He regards not the merits of the Jews-for they were as bad or worse than others-but the grace and adoption of God: it is just and natural ("judgment") that God should pardon His sons sooner than aliens (Calvin).
And art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? The "THOU" is emphatic. Shall such a one as thou, not in covenant with the God of Israel, escape just punishment, when even the elect nation hath not escaped it? On the image of drinking, and the same argument as here, see Jeremiah 25:15-16; Jeremiah 25:29.