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Glite Dictionary
to let this cup pass from me

to let this cup pass from me

9.9
To ask or hope, often in prayer, not to have a hard time
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : dejar que esta copa pase de mí
  • When faced with the harsh reality of his actions, he sighed, wishing that this cup would pass from him.

Examples

  • "He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will'" (Matthew 26:39, NKJV).

    Blog text (32)

  • In his moment of despair, he prayed, "Father, let this cup pass from me, if it is Your will."

  • Before making his difficult decision, he whispered, "I hope this cup may pass from me and spare me the burden."

Antonyms

to take responsibility
193 3.3

To admit you caused a problem and accept the blame

Surface Forms

let this cup pass from me infinitive

Morphology

let + this + cup + pass + from + me

The verbs and prepositions ('let', 'pass', 'from me') are compositionally clear — a B1 learner could guess it means to allow something to be taken away from the speaker — but the use of 'cup' as a metaphor for suffering or a difficult ordeal is culturally/religiously loaded and not predictable from the literal noun. Because the central metaphoric mapping (cup = hardship) is required to reach the idiomatic sense 'be spared from a trial', the expression is only partly derivable and would likely need prior exposure.

Etymology

Let this cup pass from me comes from the Bible, where Jesus asks God to take away a cup he must drink because the cup is a picture of suffering. So saying this means 'to hope to be spared from a hard or painful situation'.