Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand. Babylon is compared to a cup, because she was the vessel in the hand of God to make drunken with His vengeance the other peoples (Jeremiah 13:12; Jeremiah 25:15-16). Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:4. The cup is termed "golden," to express the splendour and opulence of Babylon; whence also, in the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:38), the head representing Babylon is of gold (cf. Isaiah 14:4).