שֶׁ֫מֶר (she.mer)
she.mer
dreg
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun shemer refers to the sediment or dregs left at the bottom of a wine vessel after the clear liquid has been poured off. It appears in only three biblical passages, all within the prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zephaniah. In these contexts, the word describes the thick, bitter residue that remains when wine is not properly filtered or settled.
This imagery carries a heavy theological weight. The prophets use shemer to symbolize God’s wrath, portraying it as a cup of judgment filled with its most potent and unpleasant elements. When Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem drinking the "dregs" (Isaiah 51:17), he evokes the experience of consuming something toxic and bitter, representing the full measure of divine punishment. The term highlights the severity of the consequence, suggesting that the people are forced to endure the worst part of God’s anger without dilution.
Translators typically render shemer as "dregs" or "lees," preserving the concrete image of sediment. This choice helps modern readers understand the visceral nature of the judgment described. The word does not refer to the wine itself, but to the unwanted remainder, emphasizing that those who face this wrath must swallow the bitterest part of the cup.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shemer describes the thick sediment left at the bottom of a wine jar. In ancient times, this residue was bitter and unpleasant. The prophets used this image to describe God’s wrath as a cup filled with its most potent dregs. When people face judgment, they are forced to drink the worst part, without any dilution or relief.
This imagery reminds us that sin has serious consequences. It is not a light matter. Yet, the contrast is clear: while some face these bitter dregs, God also offers a feast of fine wine to His people (Isaiah 25:6). The choice between these two outcomes depends on our response to God.
We can trust that God’s justice is real, but so is His mercy. He invites us to turn away from the bitterness of sin and toward the joy of His presence. This hope anchors our faith in a world full of uncertainty.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- old wine<s>2×
- lees/ their1×
- lees/ its1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- שִׁמְרֵי/הֶ֔ם1×
- שְׁמָרָ֔י/ו1×
- שְׁמָרִ֖ים1×
- שְׁמָרִ֑ים1×
Key Verses
-
Jeremiah 48:11
“Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity; therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.
This verse shows how settling on dregs leads to unchanged bitterness, illustrating the consequence of refusing God's correction.
-
Zephaniah 1:12
It will happen at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, “Yahweh will not do good, neither will he do evil.”
Here, the dregs represent a complacent heart that assumes God is indifferent, highlighting the danger of spiritual apathy.
-
Isaiah 25:6
In this mountain, Yahweh of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines.
This passage contrasts the bitter dregs with a feast of refined wine, showing God’s desire to provide joy rather than judgment.