God’s anger is compared to a cup of strong wine, which he makes the wicked drink (see similar language in 60.3b; Isa 51.17; Jer 25.15-16). “Strong wine” is literally foaming wine, and the word translated well mixed occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament; it indicates that spices have been added to the wine to make it even more intoxicating (Briggs).

In line c he will pour does not say where God pours it, and it might seem that he is throwing it away. So it may be better to translate “He pours it out for the wicked to drink, and they all drink it.” The English word draught, in this context, means a quantity that a person drinks.

The Hebrew expression all the wicked of the earth should not be taken to contrast with heaven, God’s abode. It is simply an emphatic way of saying “all the wicked people in the world.”

Good News Translation “the wicked … drink it down to the last drop” translates what is literally “they drain its dregs, they drink it.” The dregs (also known as “lees”) are the material (sediment) that settles to the bottom of a bottled liquid such as wine. The meaning is that the wicked “drink it to the bottom,” that is, they will receive the complete and severe punishment their sins deserve. Translators must judge if the metaphorical use of a cup will symbolize anger and judgment naturally. The metaphorical problem is further compounded, since the contents of the cup are poured out “and all the wicked drink it.” In some languages it is possible, as in Good News Translation, to define the contents as “his anger” and then to continue the unfolding of the metaphor. In some languages it may be necessary to say, for example, “The LORD holds the cup which represents his judgment of the wicked; the cup is filled with strong wine which is his anger. He pours it and all the wicked people drink. They drink it all.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .