Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Jeremiah » Chapter 51 » Verse 1-64

Jeremiah 51:1-64 King James Version (KJV)

1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.

7 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.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.

11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

14 The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.

29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,

32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.

39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.

46 And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.

49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house.

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:

55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:

56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.

60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;

62 Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:

64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.


Jeremiah 51:1-64 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, I will raise up H5782 against Babylon, H894 and against them that dwell H3427 in the midst H3820 of them that rise up H6965 against me, a destroying H7843 wind; H7307

2 And will send H7971 unto Babylon H894 fanners, H2114 that shall fan H2219 her, and shall empty H1238 her land: H776 for in the day H3117 of trouble H7451 they shall be against her round about. H5439

3 Against him that bendeth H1869 let the archer H1869 bend H1869 his bow, H7198 and against him that lifteth himself up H5927 in his brigandine: H5630 and spare H2550 ye not her young men; H970 destroy ye utterly H2763 all her host. H6635

4 Thus the slain H2491 shall fall H5307 in the land H776 of the Chaldeans, H3778 and they that are thrust through H1856 in her streets. H2351

5 For Israel H3478 hath not been forsaken, H488 nor Judah H3063 of his God, H430 of the LORD H3068 of hosts; H6635 though their land H776 was filled H4390 with sin H817 against the Holy One H6918 of Israel. H3478

6 Flee out H5127 of the midst H8432 of Babylon, H894 and deliver H4422 every man H376 his soul: H5315 be not cut off H1826 in her iniquity; H5771 for this is the time H6256 of the LORD'S H3068 vengeance; H5360 he will render H7999 unto her a recompence. H1576

7 Babylon H894 hath been a golden H2091 cup H3563 in the LORD'S H3068 hand, H3027 that made all the earth H776 drunken: H7937 the nations H1471 have drunken H8354 of her wine; H3196 therefore the nations H1471 are mad. H1984

8 Babylon H894 is suddenly H6597 fallen H5307 and destroyed: H7665 howl H3213 for her; take H3947 balm H6875 for her pain, H4341 if so be she may be healed. H7495

9 We would have healed H7495 Babylon, H894 but she is not healed: H7495 forsake H5800 her, and let us go H3212 every one H376 into his own country: H776 for her judgment H4941 reacheth H5060 unto heaven, H8064 and is lifted up H5375 even to the skies. H7834

10 The LORD H3068 hath brought forth H3318 our righteousness: H6666 come, H935 and let us declare H5608 in Zion H6726 the work H4639 of the LORD H3068 our God. H430

11 Make bright H1305 the arrows; H2671 gather H4390 the shields: H7982 the LORD H3068 hath raised up H5782 the spirit H7307 of the kings H4428 of the Medes: H4074 for his device H4209 is against Babylon, H894 to destroy H7843 it; because it is the vengeance H5360 of the LORD, H3068 the vengeance H5360 of his temple. H1964

12 Set up H5375 the standard H5251 upon the walls H2346 of Babylon, H894 make the watch H4929 strong, H2388 set up H6965 the watchmen, H8104 prepare H3559 the ambushes: H693 for the LORD H3068 hath both devised H2161 and done H6213 that which he spake H1696 against the inhabitants H3427 of Babylon. H894

13 O thou that dwellest H7931 H7931 upon many H7227 waters, H4325 abundant H7227 in treasures, H214 thine end H7093 is come, H935 and the measure H520 of thy covetousness. H1215

14 The LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 hath sworn H7650 by himself, H5315 saying, Surely I will fill H4390 thee with men, H120 as with caterpillers; H3218 and they shall lift up H6030 a shout H1959 against thee.

15 He hath made H6213 the earth H776 by his power, H3581 he hath established H3559 the world H8398 by his wisdom, H2451 and hath stretched out H5186 the heaven H8064 by his understanding. H8394

16 When he uttereth H5414 his voice, H6963 there is a multitude H1995 of waters H4325 in the heavens; H8064 and he causeth the vapours H5387 to ascend H5927 from the ends H7097 of the earth: H776 he maketh H6213 lightnings H1300 with rain, H4306 and bringeth forth H3318 the wind H7307 out of his treasures. H214

17 Every man H120 is brutish H1197 by his knowledge; H1847 every founder H6884 is confounded H3001 by the graven image: H6459 for his molten image H5262 is falsehood, H8267 and there is no breath H7307 in them.

18 They are vanity, H1892 the work H4639 of errors: H8595 in the time H6256 of their visitation H6486 they shall perish. H6

19 The portion H2506 of Jacob H3290 is not like them; for he is the former H3335 of all things: and Israel is the rod H7626 of his inheritance: H5159 the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 is his name. H8034

20 Thou art my battle axe H4661 and weapons H3627 of war: H4421 for with thee will I break in pieces H5310 the nations, H1471 and with thee will I destroy H7843 kingdoms; H4467

21 And with thee will I break in pieces H5310 the horse H5483 and his rider; H7392 and with thee will I break in pieces H5310 the chariot H7393 and his rider; H7392

22 With thee also will I break in pieces H5310 man H376 and woman; H802 and with thee will I break in pieces H5310 old H2205 and young; H5288 and with thee will I break in pieces H5310 the young man H970 and the maid; H1330

23 I will also break in pieces H5310 with thee the shepherd H7462 and his flock; H5739 and with thee will I break in pieces H5310 the husbandman H406 and his yoke of oxen; H6776 and with thee will I break in pieces H5310 captains H6346 and rulers. H5461

24 And I will render H7999 unto Babylon H894 and to all the inhabitants H3427 of Chaldea H3778 all their evil H7451 that they have done H6213 in Zion H6726 in your sight, H5869 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying H4889 mountain, H2022 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 which destroyest H7843 all the earth: H776 and I will stretch out H5186 mine hand H3027 upon thee, and roll thee down H1556 from the rocks, H5553 and will make H5414 thee a burnt H8316 mountain. H2022

26 And they shall not take H3947 of thee a stone H68 for a corner, H6438 nor a stone H68 for foundations; H4146 but thou shalt be desolate H8077 for ever, H5769 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068

27 Set ye up H5375 a standard H5251 in the land, H776 blow H8628 the trumpet H7782 among the nations, H1471 prepare H6942 the nations H1471 against her, call together H8085 against her the kingdoms H4467 of Ararat, H780 Minni, H4508 and Ashchenaz; H813 appoint H6485 a captain H2951 against her; cause the horses H5483 to come up H5927 as the rough H5569 caterpillers. H3218

28 Prepare H6942 against her the nations H1471 with the kings H4428 of the Medes, H4074 the captains H6346 thereof, and all the rulers H5461 thereof, and all the land H776 of his dominion. H4475

29 And the land H776 shall tremble H7493 and sorrow: H2342 for every purpose H4284 of the LORD H3068 shall be performed H6965 against Babylon, H894 to make H7760 the land H776 of Babylon H894 a desolation H8047 without an inhabitant. H3427

30 The mighty men H1368 of Babylon H894 have forborn H2308 to fight, H3898 they have remained H3427 in their holds: H4679 their might H1369 hath failed; H5405 they became as women: H802 they have burned H3341 her dwellingplaces; H4908 her bars H1280 are broken. H7665

31 One post H7323 shall run H7323 to meet H7125 another, H7323 and one messenger H5046 to meet H7125 another, H5046 to shew H5046 the king H4428 of Babylon H894 that his city H5892 is taken H3920 at one end, H7097

32 And that the passages H4569 are stopped, H8610 and the reeds H98 they have burned H8313 with fire, H784 and the men H582 of war H4421 are affrighted. H926

33 For thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 the God H430 of Israel; H3478 The daughter H1323 of Babylon H894 is like a threshingfloor, H1637 it is time H6256 to thresh H1869 her: yet a little while, H4592 and the time H6256 of her harvest H7105 shall come. H935

34 Nebuchadrezzar H5019 the king H4428 of Babylon H894 hath devoured H398 me, he hath crushed H2000 me, he hath made H3322 me an empty H7385 vessel, H3627 he hath swallowed me up H1104 like a dragon, H8577 he hath filled H4390 his belly H3770 with my delicates, H5730 he hath cast me out. H1740

35 The violence H2555 done to me and to my flesh H7607 be upon Babylon, H894 shall the inhabitant H3427 of Zion H6726 say; H559 and my blood H1818 upon the inhabitants H3427 of Chaldea, H3778 shall Jerusalem H3389 say. H559

36 Therefore thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, I will plead H7378 thy cause, H7379 and take vengeance H5358 for thee; H5360 and I will dry up H2717 her sea, H3220 and make her springs H4726 dry. H3001

37 And Babylon H894 shall become heaps, H1530 a dwellingplace H4583 for dragons, H8577 an astonishment, H8047 and an hissing, H8322 without an inhabitant. H3427

38 They shall roar H7580 together H3162 like lions: H3715 they shall yell H5286 as lions' H738 whelps. H1484

39 In their heat H2527 I will make H7896 their feasts, H4960 and I will make them drunken, H7937 that they may rejoice, H5937 and sleep H3462 a perpetual H5769 sleep, H8142 and not wake, H6974 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068

40 I will bring them down H3381 like lambs H3733 to the slaughter, H2873 like rams H352 with he goats. H6260

41 How is Sheshach H8347 taken! H3920 and how is the praise H8416 of the whole earth H776 surprised! H8610 how is Babylon H894 become an astonishment H8047 among the nations! H1471

42 The sea H3220 is come up H5927 upon Babylon: H894 she is covered H3680 with the multitude H1995 of the waves H1530 thereof.

43 Her cities H5892 are a desolation, H8047 a dry H6723 land, H776 and a wilderness, H6160 a land H776 wherein no man H376 dwelleth, H3427 neither doth any son H1121 of man H120 pass H5674 thereby. H2004

44 And I will punish H6485 Bel H1078 in Babylon, H894 and I will bring forth H3318 out of his mouth H6310 that which he hath swallowed up: H1105 and the nations H1471 shall not flow together H5102 any more unto him: yea, the wall H2346 of Babylon H894 shall fall. H5307

45 My people, H5971 go ye out H3318 of the midst H8432 of her, and deliver H4422 ye every man H376 his soul H5315 from the fierce H2740 anger H639 of the LORD. H3068

46 And lest your heart H3824 faint, H7401 and ye fear H3372 for the rumour H8052 that shall be heard H8085 in the land; H776 a rumour H8052 shall both come H935 one year, H8141 and after H310 that in another year H8141 shall come a rumour, H8052 and violence H2555 in the land, H776 ruler H4910 against ruler. H4910

47 Therefore, behold, the days H3117 come, H935 that I will do judgment H6485 upon the graven images H6456 of Babylon: H894 and her whole land H776 shall be confounded, H954 and all her slain H2491 shall fall H5307 in the midst H8432 of her.

48 Then the heaven H8064 and the earth, H776 and all that is therein, shall sing H7442 for Babylon: H894 for the spoilers H7703 shall come H935 unto her from the north, H6828 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068

49 As H1571 Babylon H894 hath caused the slain H2491 of Israel H3478 to fall, H5307 so at Babylon H894 shall fall H5307 the slain H2491 of all the earth. H776

50 Ye that have escaped H6405 the sword, H2719 go away, H1980 stand not still: H5975 remember H2142 the LORD H3068 afar off, H7350 and let Jerusalem H3389 come H5927 into your mind. H3824

51 We are confounded, H954 because we have heard H8085 reproach: H2781 shame H3639 hath covered H3680 our faces: H6440 for strangers H2114 are come H935 into the sanctuaries H4720 of the LORD'S H3068 house. H1004

52 Wherefore, behold, the days H3117 come, H935 saith H5002 the LORD, H3068 that I will do judgment H6485 upon her graven images: H6456 and through all her land H776 the wounded H2491 shall groan. H602

53 Though Babylon H894 should mount up H5927 to heaven, H8064 and though she should fortify H1219 the height H4791 of her strength, H5797 yet H227 from me shall spoilers H7703 come H935 unto her, saith H5002 the LORD. H3068

54 A sound H6963 of a cry H2201 cometh from Babylon, H894 and great H1419 destruction H7667 from the land H776 of the Chaldeans: H3778

55 Because the LORD H3068 hath spoiled H7703 Babylon, H894 and destroyed H6 out of her the great H1419 voice; H6963 when her waves H1530 do roar H1993 like great H7227 waters, H4325 a noise H7588 of their voice H6963 is uttered: H5414

56 Because the spoiler H7703 is come H935 upon her, even upon Babylon, H894 and her mighty men H1368 are taken, H3920 every one of their bows H7198 is broken: H2865 for the LORD H3068 God H410 of recompences H1578 shall surely H7999 requite. H7999

57 And I will make drunk H7937 her princes, H8269 and her wise H2450 men, her captains, H6346 and her rulers, H5461 and her mighty men: H1368 and they shall sleep H3462 a perpetual H5769 sleep, H8142 and not wake, H6974 saith H5002 the King, H4428 whose name H8034 is the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635

58 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts; H6635 The broad H7342 walls H2346 of Babylon H894 shall be utterly H6209 broken, H6209 and her high H1364 gates H8179 shall be burned H3341 with fire; H784 and the people H5971 shall labour H3021 in vain, H7385 and the folk H3816 in H1767 the fire, H784 and they shall be weary. H3286

59 The word H1697 which Jeremiah H3414 the prophet H5030 commanded H6680 Seraiah H8304 the son H1121 of Neriah, H5374 the son H1121 of Maaseiah, H4271 when he went H3212 with Zedekiah H6667 the king H4428 of Judah H3063 into Babylon H894 in the fourth H7243 year H8141 of his reign. H4427 And this Seraiah H8304 was a quiet H4496 prince. H8269

60 So Jeremiah H3414 wrote H3789 in a H259 book H5612 all the evil H7451 that should come H935 upon Babylon, H894 even all these words H1697 that are written H3789 against Babylon. H894

61 And Jeremiah H3414 said H559 to Seraiah, H8304 When thou comest H935 to Babylon, H894 and shalt see, H7200 and shalt read H7121 all these words; H1697

62 Then shalt thou say, H559 O LORD, H3068 thou hast spoken H1696 against this place, H4725 to cut it off, H3772 that none shall remain H3427 in it, neither man H120 nor beast, H929 but that it shall be desolate H8077 for ever. H5769

63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end H3615 of reading H7121 this book, H5612 that thou shalt bind H7194 a stone H68 to it, and cast H7993 it into the midst H8432 of Euphrates: H6578

64 And thou shalt say, H559 Thus shall Babylon H894 sink, H8257 and shall not rise H6965 from H6440 the evil H7451 that I will bring H935 upon her: and they shall be weary. H3286 Thus far are the words H1697 of Jeremiah. H3414


Jeremiah 51:1-64 American Standard (ASV)

1 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind.

2 And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

3 Against `him that' bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against `him that' lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.

4 And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.

5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Jehovah's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.

7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both purposed and done that which he spake concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy covetousness.

14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, `saying', Surely I will fill thee with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens:

16 when he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.

17 Every man is become brutish `and is' without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and `Israel' is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with thee will I break in pieces the nations; and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;

22 and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and him that rideth therein; and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;

23 and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke `of oxen'; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and deputies.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith Jehovah.

25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.

28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors thereof, and all the deputies thereof, and all the land of their dominion.

29 And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

32 and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath, like a monster, swallowed me up, he hath filled his maw with my delicacies; he hath cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' whelps.

39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.

43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will execute judgment upon Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah.

46 And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye for the tidings that shall be heard in the land; for tidings shall come one year, and after that in another year `shall come' tidings, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah.

49 As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go ye, stand not still; remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.

52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will execute judgment upon her graven images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come unto her, saith Jehovah.

54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For Jehovah layeth Babylon waste, and destroyeth out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:

56 for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words,

62 and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:

64 and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring upon her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.


Jeremiah 51:1-64 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am stirring up against Babylon, And the inhabitants of Leb -- My withstanders, A destroying wind,

2 And I have sent to Babylon fanners, And they have fanned it, and they empty its land, For they have been against it, Round about -- in the day of evil.

3 Let not the treader tread his bow, Nor lift himself up in his coat of mail, Nor have ye pity on her young men, Devote ye to destruction all her host.

4 And fallen have the wounded in the land of the Chaldeans, And the pierced-through in her streets.

5 For, not forsaken is Israel and Judah, By its God -- by Jehovah of Hosts, For their land hath been full of guilt, Against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, And deliver ye each his soul, Be not cut off in its iniquity, For a time of vengeance it `is' to Jehovah, Recompence He is rendering to her.

7 A golden cup `is' Babylon in the hand of Jehovah, Making drunk all the earth, Of its wine drunk have nations, Therefore boast themselves do nations.

8 Suddenly hath Babylon fallen, Yea, it is broken, howl ye for it, Take balm for her pain, if so be it may be healed.

9 We healed Babylon, and she was not healed, Forsake her, and we go, each to his land, For come unto the heavens hath its judgment, And it hath been lifted up unto the clouds.

10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousnesses, Come, and we recount in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

11 Cleanse ye the arrows, fill the shields, Stirred up hath Jehovah the spirit of the kings of Madia, For against Babylon His device `is' to destroy it, For the vengeance of Jehovah it `is', The vengeance of His temple.

12 Unto the walls of Babylon lift up an ensign, Strengthen the watch, Establish the watchers, prepare the ambush, For Jehovah hath both devised and done that which He spake, Concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 O dweller on many waters, abundant in treasures, Come in hath thine end, the measure of thy dishonest gain.

14 Sworn hath Jehovah of Hosts by Himself, That, Surely I have filled thee `with' men as the cankerworm, And they have cried against thee -- shouting.

15 The maker of earth by His power, The establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who by His understanding stretched out the heavens,

16 At the voice He giveth forth, A multitude of waters `are' in the heavens, And He causeth vapours to come up from the end of the earth, Lightnings for rain He hath made, And He bringeth out wind from His treasures.

17 Brutish hath been every man by knowledge, Put to shame hath been every refiner by a graven image, For false `is' his molten image, And there is no breath in them.

18 Vanity `are' they -- work of errors, In the time of their inspection they perish.

19 Not like these `is' the portion of Jacob, For He `is' former of all things, And `Israel is' the rod of His inheritance, Jehovah of Hosts `is' His name.

20 An axe `art' thou to me -- weapons of war, And I have broken in pieces by thee nations, And I have destroyed by thee kingdoms,

21 And I have broken in pieces by thee horse and its rider, And I have broken in pieces by thee chariot and its charioteer,

22 And I have broken in pieces by thee man and woman, And I have broken in pieces by thee old and young, And I have broken in pieces by thee young man and virgin,

23 And I have broken in pieces by thee shepherd and his drove, And I have broken in pieces by thee husbandman and his team, And I have broken in pieces by thee governors and prefects.

24 And I have recompensed to Babylon, And to all inhabitants of Chaldea, All the evil that they have done in Zion, Before your eyes -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

25 Lo, I `am' against thee, O destroying mount, An affirmation of Jehovah, That is destroying all the earth, And I have stretched out My hand against thee, And I have rolled thee from the rocks, And given thee for a burnt mountain.

26 And they take not out of thee a stone for a corner, And a stone for foundations, For desolations age-during art thou, An affirmation of Jehovah.

27 Lift ye up an ensign in the land, Blow a trumpet among nations, Sanctify against it nations, Summon against it the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, Appoint against it an infant head, Cause the horse to ascend as the rough cankerworm.

28 Sanctify against it the nations with the kings of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, And all the land of its dominion.

29 And shake doth the land, and it is pained, For stood against Babylon have the purposes of Jehovah, To make the land of Babylon a desolation without inhabitant.

30 Ceased have the mighty of Babylon to fight, They have remained in strongholds, Failed hath their might, they have become woman, They have burnt her tabernacles, Broken have been her bars.

31 Runner to meet runner doth run, And announcer to meet announcer, To announce to the king of Babylon, For, captured hath been his city -- at the extremity.

32 And the passages have been captured, And the reeds they have burnt with fire, And the men of war have been troubled.

33 For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, The daughter of Babylon `is' as a threshing-floor, The time of her threshing -- yet a little, And come hath the time of her harvest.

34 Devoured us, crushed us, hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, He hath set us `as' an empty vessel, He hath swallowed us as a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, He hath driven us away.

35 My wrong, and `that of' my flesh `is' on Babylon, Say doth the inhabitant of Zion, And my blood `is' on the inhabitants of Chaldea, Say doth Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am pleading thy cause, And I have avenged thy vengeance, And dried up its sea, and made its fountains dry.

37 And Babylon hath been for heaps, A habitation of dragons, An astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

38 Together as young lions they roar, They have shaken themselves as lions' whelps.

39 In their heat I make their banquets, And I have caused them to drink, so that they exult, And have slept a sleep age-during, And awake not -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

40 I cause them to go down as lambs to slaughter, As rams with he-goats.

41 How hath Sheshach been captured, Yea, caught is the praise of the whole earth, How hath Babylon been for an astonishment among nations.

42 Come up against Babylon hath the sea, With a multitude of its billows it hath been covered.

43 Its cities have been for a desolation, A dry land, and a wilderness, A land -- none doth dwell in them, Nor pass over into them doth a son of man.

44 And I have seen after Bel in Babylon, And I have brought forth that which he swallowed -- from his mouth, And flow no more unto him do nations, Also the wall of Babylon hath fallen.

45 Go forth from its midst, O My people, And deliver ye, each his soul, Because of the fierceness of the anger of Jehovah,

46 And lest your heart be tender, And ye be afraid of the report that is heard in the land, And come in a year hath the report, And after it in a year the report, And violence `is' in the land, ruler against ruler;

47 Therefore, lo, days are coming, And I have seen after the graven images of Babylon. And all its land is ashamed, And all its pierced ones do fall in its midst.

48 And cried aloud against Babylon Have heavens and earth, and all that `is' in them, For, from the north come to it do the spoilers, An affirmation of Jehovah.

49 Even Babylon `is' to fall, ye pierced of Israel, Even they of Babylon have fallen, Ye pierced of all the earth.

50 Ye escaped of the sword, go on, stand not, Remember ye from afar Jehovah, And let Jerusalem come up on your heart.

51 We have been ashamed, for we heard reproach, Covered hath shame our faces, For come in have strangers, against the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah.

52 Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And I have seen after its graven images, And in all its land groan doth the wounded.

53 Because Babylon goeth up to the heavens, And because it fenceth the high place of its strength, From Me come into it do spoilers, An affirmation of Jehovah.

54 A voice of a cry `is' from Babylon, And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldean.

55 For Jehovah is spoiling Babylon, And hath destroyed out of it a great voice, And sounded have its billows as many waters, Given forth a noise hath their voice.

56 For come in against it -- against Babylon -- hath a spoiler, And captured have been its mighty ones, Broken have been their bows, For the God of recompences -- Jehovah -- doth certainly repay.

57 And I have caused its princes to drink, And its wise men, its governors, And its prefects, and its mighty ones, And they have slept a sleep age-during, And they awake not -- an affirmation of the king, Jehovah of Hosts `is' His name.

58 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, the wall of Babylon -- The broad one -- is utterly made bare, And her high gates with fire are burnt, And peoples labour in vain, And nations in fire, and have been weary!

59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet hath commanded Seraiah son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, in his going with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign -- and Seraiah `is' a quiet prince;

60 and Jeremiah writeth all the evil that cometh unto Babylon on one book -- all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah saith unto Seraiah, `When thou dost enter Babylon, then thou hast seen, and hast read all these words,

62 and hast said: Jehovah, Thou, Thou hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that there is none dwelling in it, from man even unto cattle, for it is a desolation age-during.

63 And it hath come to pass, when thou dost finish reading this book, thou dost bind to it a stone, and hast cast it into the midst of Phrat,

64 and said, Thus sink doth Babylon, and it doth not arise, because of the evil that I am bringing in against it, and they have been weary.' Hitherto `are' words of Jeremiah.


Jeremiah 51:1-64 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind;

2 and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host.

4 And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.

5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence.

7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies.

10 Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.

11 Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity.

14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.

15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

17 Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and [Israel] is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.

20 Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;

21 and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;

22 and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23 and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and rulers.

24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.

25 Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.

27 Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.

28 Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion.

29 And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.

31 Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;

32 and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.

33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry.

37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.

39 When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.

43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby.

44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen.

45 Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah!

46 lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come [one] year, and after that a rumour in [another] year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah.

49 As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.

50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 -- We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.

52 -- Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah.

54 The sound of a cry [cometh] from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;

55 for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth.

56 For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the ùGod of recompences, will certainly requite.

57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.

58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.

59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

60 And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;

62 and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.

63 And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;

64 and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.


Jeremiah 51:1-64 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against those who dwell in Lebkamai, a destroying wind.

2 I will send to Babylon strangers, who shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.

3 Against [him who] bends let the archer bend his bow, and against [him who] lifts himself up in his coat of mail: and don't you spare her young men; destroy you utterly all her host.

4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.

5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Yahweh of Hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; don't be cut off in her iniquity: for it is the time of Yahweh's vengeance; he will render to her a recompense.

7 Babylon has been a golden cup in Yahweh's hand, who made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go everyone into his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.

10 Yahweh has brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Yahweh our God.

11 Make sharp the arrows; hold firm the shields: Yahweh has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; because his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it: for it is the vengeance of Yahweh, the vengeance of his temple.

12 Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Yahweh has both purposed and done that which he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.

13 You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end is come, the measure of your covetousness.

14 Yahweh of Hosts has sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you.

15 He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens:

16 when he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasuries.

17 Every man is become brutish [and is] without knowledge; every goldsmith is disappointed by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

19 The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and [Israel] is the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Hosts is his name.

20 You are my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with you will I break in pieces the nations; and with you will I destroy kingdoms;

21 and with you will I break in pieces the horse and his rider;

22 and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and him who rides therein; and with you will I break in pieces man and woman; and with you will I break in pieces the old man and the youth; and with you will I break in pieces the young man and the virgin;

23 and with you will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke [of oxen]; and with you will I break in pieces governors and deputies.

24 I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says Yahweh.

25 Behold, I am against you, destroying mountain, says Yahweh, which destroy all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand on you, and roll you down from the rocks, and will make you a burnt mountain.

26 They shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever, says Yahweh.

27 Set up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz: appoint a marshal against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough canker-worm.

28 Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, the governors of it, and all the deputies of it, and all the land of their dominion.

29 The land trembles and is in pain; for the purposes of Yahweh against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might has failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken.

31 One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to met another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter:

32 and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are frightened.

33 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has, like a monster, swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; he has cast me out.

35 The violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and, My blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus says Yahweh: Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.

37 Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.

38 They shall roar together like young lions; they shall growl as lions' cubs.

39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, says Yahweh.

40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.

41 How is Sheshach taken! and the praise of the whole earth seized! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

42 The sea is come up on Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves of it.

43 Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land in which no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass thereby.

44 I will execute judgment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall.

45 My people, go you out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Yahweh.

46 Don't let your heart faint, neither fear for the news that shall be heard in the land; for news shall come one year, and after that in another year [shall come] news, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment on the engraved images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come to her from the north, says Yahweh.

49 As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.

50 You who have escaped the sword, go you, don't stand still; remember Yahweh from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.

51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach; confusion has covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Yahweh's house.

52 Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will execute judgment on her engraved images; and through all her land the wounded shall groan.

53 Though Babylon should mount up to the sky, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall destroyers come to her, says Yahweh.

54 The sound of a cry from Babylon, and of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

55 For Yahweh lays Babylon waste, and destroys out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is uttered:

56 for the destroyer is come on her, even on Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Yahweh is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.

57 I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Hosts.

58 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.

59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.

60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words,

62 and say, Yahweh, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor animal, but that it shall be desolate forever.

63 It shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates:

64 and you shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I will bring on her; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.


Jeremiah 51:1-64 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 The Lord has said: See, I will make a wind of destruction come up against Babylon and against those who are living in Chaldaea;

2 And I will send men to Babylon to make her clean and get her land cleared: for in the day of trouble they will put up their tents against her on every side.

3 Against her the bow of the archer is bent, and he puts on his coat of metal: have no mercy on her young men, give all her army up to the curse.

4 And the dead will be stretched out in the land of the Chaldaeans, and the wounded in her streets.

5 For Israel has not been given up, or Judah, by his God, by the Lord of armies; for their land is full of sin against the Holy One of Israel.

6 Go in flight out of Babylon, so that every man may keep his life; do not be cut off in her evil-doing: for it is the time of the Lord's punishment; he will give her her reward.

7 Babylon has been a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, which has made all the earth overcome with wine: the nations have taken of her wine, and for this cause the nations have gone off their heads.

8 Sudden is the downfall of Babylon and her destruction: make cries of grief for her; take sweet oil for her pain, if it is possible for her to be made well.

9 We would have made Babylon well, but she is not made well: give her up, and let us go everyone to his country: for her punishment is stretching up to heaven, and lifted up even to the skies.

10 The Lord has made clear our righteousness: come, and let us give an account in Zion of the work of the Lord our God.

11 Make bright the arrows; take up the body-covers: the Lord has been moving the spirit of the king of the Medes; because his design against Babylon is its destruction: for it is the punishment from the Lord, the payment for his Temple.

12 Let the flag be lifted up against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, put the watchmen in their places, make ready a surprise attack: for it is the Lord's purpose, and he has done what he said about the people of Babylon.

13 O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended.

14 The Lord of armies has taken an oath by himself, saying, Truly, I will make you full with men as with locusts, and their voices will be loud against you.

15 He has made the earth by his power, he has made the world strong in its place by his wisdom, and by his wise design the heavens have been stretched out:

16 At the sound of his voice there is a massing of the waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain and sends out the wind from his store-houses.

17 Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.

18 They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.

19 The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.

20 You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken;

21 With you the horse and the horseman will be broken; with you the war-carriage and he who goes in it will be broken;

22 With you man and woman will be broken; with you the old man and the boy will be broken; with you the young man and the virgin will be broken;

23 With you the keeper of sheep with his flock will be broken, and with you the farmer and his oxen will be broken, and with you captains and rulers will be broken.

24 And I will give to Babylon, and to all the people of Chaldaea, their reward for all the evil they have done in Zion before your eyes, says the Lord.

25 See, I am against you, says the Lord, O mountain of destruction, causing the destruction of all the earth: and my hand will be stretched out on you, rolling you down from the rocks, and making you a burned mountain.

26 And they will not take from you a stone for the angle of a wall or the base of a building; but you will be a waste place for ever, says the Lord.

27 Let a flag be lifted up in the land, let the horn be sounded among the nations, make the nations ready against her; get the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz together against her, make ready a scribe against her; let the horses come up against her like massed locusts.

28 Make the nations ready for war against her, the king of the Medes and his rulers and all his captains, and all the land under his rule.

29 And the land is shaking and in pain: for the purposes of the Lord are fixed, to make the land of Babylon an unpeopled waste.

30 Babylon's men of war have kept back from the fight, waiting in their strong places; their strength has given way, they have become like women: her houses have been put on fire, her locks are broken.

31 One man, running, will give word to another, and one who goes with news will be handing it on to another, to give word to the king of Babylon that his town has been taken from every quarter:

32 And the ways across the river have been taken, and the water-holes ... burned with fire, and the men of war are in the grip of fear.

33 For these are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a grain-floor when it is stamped down; before long, the time of her grain-cutting will come.

34 Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, has made a meal of me, violently crushing me, he has made me a vessel with nothing in it, he has taken me in his mouth like a dragon, he has made his stomach full with my delicate flesh, crushing me with his teeth.

35 May the violent things done to me, and my downfall, come on Babylon, the daughter of Zion will say; and, May my blood be on the people of Chaldaea, Jerusalem will say.

36 For this reason the Lord has said: See, I will give support to your cause, and take payment for what you have undergone; I will make her sea dry, and her fountain without water.

37 And Babylon will become a mass of broken walls, a hole for jackals, a cause of wonder and surprise, without a living man in it.

38 They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions.

39 When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord.

40 I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together.

41 How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations!

42 The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves.

43 Her towns have become a waste, a dry and unwatered land, where no man has his living-place and no son of man goes by.

44 And I will send punishment on Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what went into it; no longer will the nations be flowing together to him: truly, the wall of Babylon will come down.

45 My people, go out from her, and let every man get away safe from the burning wrath of the Lord.

46 So that your hearts may not become feeble and full of fear because of the news which will go about in the land; for a story will go about one year, and after that in another year another story, and violent acts in the land, ruler against ruler.

47 For this cause, truly, the days are coming when I will send punishment on the images of Babylon, and all her land will be shamed, and her dead will be falling down in her.

48 And the heaven and the earth and everything in them, will make a song of joy over Babylon: for those who make her waste will come from the north, says the Lord.

49 As Babylon had the dead of Israel put to the sword, so in Babylon the dead of all the land will be stretched out.

50 You who have got away safe from the sword, go, waiting for nothing; have the Lord in memory when you are far away, and keep Jerusalem in mind.

51 We are shamed because bitter words have come to our ears; our faces are covered with shame: for men from strange lands have come into the holy places of the Lord's house.

52 For this reason, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send punishment on her images; and through all her land the wounded will be crying out in pain.

53 Even if Babylon was lifted up to heaven, even if she had the high places of her strength shut in with walls, still I would send against her those who will make her waste, says the Lord.

54 There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans:

55 For the Lord is making Babylon waste, and putting an end to the great voice coming out of her; and her waves are thundering like great waters, their voice is sounding loud:

56 For the waster has come on her, even on Babylon, and her men of war are taken, their bows are broken: for the Lord is a rewarding God, and he will certainly give payment.

57 And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.

58 The Lord of armies has said: The wide walls of Babylon will be completely uncovered and her high doorways will be burned with fire; so peoples keep on working for nothing, and the weariness of nations comes to an end in the smoke.

59 The order which Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, to Babylon in the fourth year of his rule. Now Seraiah was the chief controller of the house.

60 And Jeremiah put in a book all the evil which was to come on Babylon.

61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, see that you give them all these words;

62 And after reading them, say, O Lord, you have said about this place that it is to be cut off, so that no one will be living in it, not a man or a beast, but it will be unpeopled for ever.

63 And it will be that, when you have come to an end of reading this book, you are to have a stone fixed to it, and have it dropped into the Euphrates:

64 And you are to say, So Babylon will go down, never to be lifted up again, because of the evil which I will send on her: and weariness will overcome them. So far, these are the words of Jeremiah.

Commentary on Jeremiah 51 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 51

Jer 51:1-64. Continuation of the Prophecy against Babylon Begun in the Fiftieth Chapter.

1. in the midst of them that rise … against me—literally, "in the heart" of them. Compare Ps 46:2, "the midst of the sea," Margin; Eze 27:4, "the heart of the seas"; Margin; Mt 12:40. In the center of the Chaldeans. "Against Me," because they persecute My people. The cabalistic mode of interpreting Hebrew words (by taking the letters in the inverse order of the alphabet, the last letter representing the first, and so on, Jer 25:26) would give the very word Chaldeans here; but the mystical method cannot be intended, as "Babylon" is plainly so called in the immediately preceding parallel clause.

wind—God needs not warlike weapons to "destroy" His foes; a wind or blast is sufficient; though, no doubt, the "wind" here is the invading host of Medes and Persians (Jer 4:11; 2Ki 19:7).

2. fanners—(See on Jer 15:7). The fanners separate the wheat from the chaff; so God's judgments shall sweep away guilty Babylon as chaff (Ps 1:4).

3. Against him that bendeth—namely, the bow; that is, the Babylonian archer.

let the archer bend—that is, the Persian archer (Jer 50:4). The Chaldean version and Jerome, by changing the vowel points, read, "Let not him (the Babylonian) who bendeth his bow bend it." But the close of the verse is addressed to the Median invaders; therefore it is more likely that the first part of the verse is addressed to them, as in English Version, not to the Babylonians, to warn them against resistance as vain, as in the Chaldean version. The word "bend" is thrice repeated: "Against him that bendeth let him that bendeth bend," to imply the utmost straining of the bow.

4. (See on Jer 49:26; Jer 50:30; Jer 50:37).

5. forsaken—as a widow (Hebrew). Israel is not severed from her husband, Jehovah (Isa 54:5-7), by a perpetual divorce.

though … sin—though the land of Israel has been filled with sin, that is, with the punishment of their sin, devastation. But, as the Hebrew means "for," or "and therefore," not "though," translate, "and therefore their (the Chaldeans') land has been filled with (the penal consequences of) their sin" [Grotius].

6. Warning to the Israelite captives to flee from Babylon, lest they should be involved in the punishment of her "iniquity." So as to spiritual Babylon and her captives (Re 18:4).

7. 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 (Jer 13:12; 25:15, 16). Compare as to spiritual Babylon, Re 14:8; 17:4. The cup is termed "golden," to express the splendor and opulence of Babylon; whence also in the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar (Da 2:38) the head representing Babylon is of gold (compare Isa 14:4).

8, 9. Her friends and confederates, who behold her fall, are invited to her aid. They reply, her case is incurable, and that they must leave her to her fate. (Isa 21:9; Re 14:8; 18:2, 9).

balm—(Jer 8:22; 46:11).

9. We would have healed—We attempted to heal.

her judgment—her crimes provoking God's "judgments" [Grotius].

reacheth unto heaven—(Ge 18:21; Jon 1:2; Re 18:5). Even the heathen nations perceive that her awful fall must be God's judgment for her crying sins (Ps 9:16; 64:9).

10. Next after the speech of the confederates of Babylon, comes that of the Jews celebrating with thanksgivings the promise-keeping faithfulness of their covenant God.

brought forth, &c.—(Ps 37:6).

our righteousness—not the Jews' merits, but God's faithfulness to Himself and to His covenant, which constituted the "righteousness" of His people, that is, their justification in their controversy with Babylon, the cruel enemy of God and His people. Compare Jer 23:6, "The Lord our righteousness"; Mic 7:9. Their righteousness is His righteousness.

declare in Zion—(Ps 102:13-21).

11. Make bright—literally, "pure." Polish and sharpen.

gather—literally, "fill"; that is, gather in full number, so that none be wanting. So, "gave in full tale" (1Sa 18:27). Gesenius, not so well, translates, "Fill with your bodies the shields" (compare So 4:4). He means to tell the Babylonians, Make what preparations you will, all will be in vain (compare Jer 46:3-6).

kings of … Medes—He names the Medes rather than the Persians, because Darius, or Cyaxares, was above Cyrus in power and the greatness of his kingdom.

temple—(Jer 50:28).

12. With all your efforts, your city shall be taken.

standard—to summon the defenders together to any point threatened by the besiegers.

13. waters—(Jer 51:32, 36; see on Isa 21:1). The Euphrates surrounded the city and, being divided into many channels, formed islands. Compare as to spiritual Babylon "waters," that is, "many peoples," Re 17:1, 15. A large lake also was near Babylon.

measure—literally, "cubit," which was the most common measure, and therefore is used for a measure in general. The time for putting a limit to thy covetousness [Gesenius]. There is no "and" in the Hebrew: translate, "thine end, the retribution for thy covetousness" [Grotius]. Maurer takes the image to be from weaving: "the cubit where thou art to be cut off"; for the web is cut off, when the required number of cubits is completed (Isa 38:12).

14. by himself—literally, "by His soul" (2Sa 15:21; Heb 6:13).

fill … with caterpillars—locusts (Na 3:15). Numerous as are the citizens of Babylon, the invaders shall be more numerous.

15-19. Repeated from Jer 10:12-16; except that "Israel" is not in the Hebrew of Jer 51:19, which ought, therefore, to be translated, "He is the Former of all things, and (therefore) of the rod of His inheritance" (that is, of the nation peculiarly His own). In Jer 10:1-25 the contrast is between the idols and God; here it is between the power of populous Babylon and that of God: "Thou dwellest upon many waters" (Jer 51:13); but God can, by merely "uttering His voice," create "many waters" (Jer 51:16). The "earth" (in its material aspect) is the result of His "power"; the "world" (viewed in its orderly system) is the result of His "wisdom," &c. (Jer 51:15). Such an Almighty Being can be at no loss for resources to effect His purpose against Babylon.

20. (See on Jer 50:23). "Break in pieces" refers to the "hammer" there (compare Na 2:1, Margin). The club also was often used by ancient warriors.

22. old and young—(2Ch 36:17).

24. The detail of particulars (Jer 51:20-23) is in order to express the indiscriminate slaughters perpetrated by Babylon on Zion, which, in just retribution, are all to befall her in turn (Jer 50:15, 29).

in your sight—addressed to the Jews.

25. destroying mountain—called so, not from its position, for it lay low (Jer 51:13; Ge 11:2, 9), but from its eminence above other nations, many of which it had "destroyed"; also, because of its lofty palaces, towers, hanging gardens resting on arches, and walls, fifty royal cubits broad and two hundred high.

roll thee down from the rocks—that is, from thy rock-like fortifications and walls.

burnt mountain—(Re 8:8). A volcano, which, after having spent itself in pouring its "destroying" lava on all the country around, falls into the vacuum and becomes extinct, the surrounding "rocks" alone marking where the crater had been. Such was the appearance of Babylon after its destruction, and as the pumice stones of the volcano are left in their place, being unfit for building, so Babylon should never rise from its ruins.

26. corner … stone … foundations—The corner-stone was the most important one in the building, the foundation-stones came next in importance (Eph 2:20). So the sense is, even as there shall be no stones useful for building left of thee, so no leading prince, or governors, shall come forth from thy inhabitants.

27. (Jer 50:29). As in Jer 51:12 the Babylonians were told to "set up the standard," so here her foes are told to do so: the latter, to good purpose; the former, in vain.

Ararat—Upper or Major Armenia, the regions about Mount Ararat.

Minni—Lower or Lesser Armenia. Rawlinson says that Van was the capital of Minni. It was conquered by Tettarrassa, the general of Tetembar II, the Assyrian king whose wars are recorded on the black obelisk now in the British Museum.

Ashchenaz—a descendant of Japheth (Ge 10:3), who gave his name to the sea now called the Black Sea; the region bordering on it is probably here meant, namely, Asia Minor, including places named Ascania in Phrygia and Bithynia. Cyrus had subdued Asia Minor and the neighboring regions, and from these he drew levies in proceeding against Babylon.

rough caterpillars—The horsemen in multitude, and in appearance bristling with javelins and with crests, resemble "rough caterpillars," or locusts of the hairy-crested kind (Na 3:15).

28. kings of … Medes—(Jer 51:11). The satraps and tributary kings under Darius, or Cyaxares.

his dominion—the king of Media's dominion.

29. land shall tremble … every purpose of … Lord shall be performed—elegant antithesis between the trembling of the land or earth, and the stability of "every purpose of the Lord" (compare Ps 46:1-3).

30. forborne to fight—for the city was not taken by force of arms, but by stratagem, according to the counsel given to Cyrus by two eunuchs of Belshazzar who deserted.

remained in … holds—not daring to go forth to fight; many, with Nabonidus, withdrew to the fortified city Borsippa.

31. (See on Jer 50:24).

One post—One courier after another shall announce the capture of the city. The couriers despatched from the walls, where Cyrus enters, shall "meet" those sent by the king. Their confused running to and fro would result from the sudden panic at the entrance of Cyrus into the city, which he had so long besieged ineffectually; the Babylonians had laughed at his attempts and were feasting at the time without fear.

taken at one end—which was not known for a long time to the king and his courtiers feasting in the middle of the city; so great was its extent that, when the city was already three days in the enemy's hands, the fact was not known in some parts of the city [Aristotle, Politics, 3.2].

32. passages are stopped—The guarded fords of the Euphrates are occupied by the enemy (see on Jer 50:38).

reeds … burned—literally, "the marsh." After draining off the river, Cyrus "burned" the stockade of dense tree-like "reeds" on its banks, forming the outworks of the city's fortifications. The burning of these would give the appearance of the marsh or river itself being on "fire."

33. like a threshing-floor, it is time to thresh her—rather, "like a threshing-floor at the time of threshing," or "at the time when it is trodden." The treading, or threshing, here put before the harvest, out of the natural order, because the prominent thought is the treading down or destruction of Babylon. In the East the treading out of the corn took place only at harvest-time. Babylon is like a threshing-floor not trodden for a long time; but the time of harvest, when her citizens shall be trodden under foot, shall come [Calvin]. "Like a threshing-floor full of corn, so is Babylon now full of riches, but the time of harvest shall come, when all her prosperity shall be cut off" [Ludovicus De Dieu]. Grotius distinguishes the "harvest" from the "threshing"; the former is the slaying of her citizens, the latter the pillaging and destruction of the city (compare Joe 3:13; Re 14:15, 18).

34. me—Zion speaks. Her groans are what bring down retribution in kind on Babylon (Jer 50:17; Ps 102:13, 17, 20).

empty vessel—He has drained me out.

dragon—The serpent often "swallows" its prey whole; or a sea monster [Grotius].

filled his belly … cast me out—like a beast, which, having "filled" himself to satiety, "casts out" the rest [Calvin]. After filling all his storehouses with my goods, he has cast me out of this land [Grotius].

35. my flesh—which Nebuchadnezzar hath "devoured" (Jer 51:34). Zion thus calls her kinsmen (Ro 11:14) slain throughout the country or carried captives to Babylon [Grotius]. Or, as "my blood" follows, it and "my flesh" constitute the whole man: Zion, in its totality, its citizens and all its substance, have been a prey to Babylon's violence (Ps 137:8).

36. plead … cause—(Jer 50:34).

sea—the Euphrates (Jer 51:13; Jer 50:38). Compare Isa 19:5, "sea," that is, the Nile (Isa 21:1).

37. (Jer 50:26, 39; Re 18:2).

38, 39. The capture of Babylon was effected on the night of a festival in honor of its idols.

roar … yell—The Babylonians were shouting in drunken revelry (compare Da 5:4).

39. In their heat I will make their feasts—In the midst of their being heated with wine, I will give them "their" potions,—a very different cup to drink, but one which is their due, the wine cup of My stupefying wrath (Jer 25:15; 49:12; Isa 51:17; La 4:21).

rejoice, and sleep … perpetual, &c.—that they may exult, and in the midst of their jubilant exultation sleep the sleep of death (Jer 51:57; Isa 21:4, 5).

41. Sheshach—Babylon (compare Note, see Jer 25:26); called so from the goddess Shach, to whom a five days' festival was kept, during which, as in the Roman Saturnalia, the most unbridled licentiousness was permitted; slaves ruled their masters, and in every house one called Zogan, arrayed in a royal garment, was chosen to rule all the rest. He calls Babylon "Sheshach," to imply that it was during this feast the city was taken [Scaliger].

42. The sea—the host of Median invaders. The image (compare Jer 47:2; Isa 8:7, 8) is appropriately taken from the Euphrates, which, overflowing in spring, is like a "sea" near Babylon (Jer 51:13, 32, 36).

43. Her cities—the cities, her dependencies. So, "Jerusalem and the cities thereof" (Jer 34:1). Or, the "cities" are the inner and outer cities, the two parts into which Babylon was divided by the Euphrates [Grotius].

44. Bel … swallowed—in allusion to the many sacrifices to the idol which its priests pretended it swallowed at night; or rather, the precious gifts taken from other nations and offered to it (which it is said to have "swallowed"; compare "devoured," "swallowed," Jer 51:34; Jer 50:17), which it should have to disgorge (compare Jer 51:13; Jer 50:37). Of these gifts were the vessels of Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem (2Ch 36:7; Da 1:2). The restoration of these, as foretold here, is recorded in Ezr 1:7-11.

flow—as a river; fitly depicting the influx of pilgrims of all "nations" to the idol.

45, 46. (See on Jer 51:6).

46. And lest—Compare, for the same ellipsis, Ge 3:22; Ex 13:17; De 8:12. "And in order that your heart may not faint at the (first) rumor" (of war), I will give you some intimation of the time. In the first "year" there shall "come a rumor" that Cyrus is preparing for war against Babylon. "After that, in another year, shall come a rumor," namely, that Cyrus is approaching, and has already entered Assyria. Then is your time to "go out" (Jer 51:45). Babylon was taken the following or third year of Belshazzar's reign [Grotius].

violence in the land—of Babylon (Ps 7:16).

ruler against ruler—or, "ruler upon ruler," a continual change of rulers in a short space. Belshazzar and Nabonidus, supplanted by Darius or Cyaxares, who is succeeded by Cyrus.

47. Grotius translates, "Because then (namely, on the third year) the time shall have come that," &c.

confounded—at seeing their gods powerless to help them.

her slain—in retribution for "Israel's slain" (Jer 51:49) who fell by her hand. Grotius translates, "her dancers," as in Jud 21:21, 23; 1Sa 18:6, the same Hebrew word is translated, alluding to the dancing revelry of the festival during which Cyrus took Babylon.

48. heaven … earth … sing for Babylon—(Isa 14:7-13; 44:23; Re 18:20).

49. caused … to fall—literally, "has been for the falling," that is, as Babylon made this its one aim to fill all places with the slain of Israel, so at Babylon shall all the slain of that whole land (not as English Version, "of all the earth") [Maurer]. Henderson translates, "Babylon also shall fall, ye slain of Israel. Those also of Babylon shall fall, O ye slain of all the earth." But, "in the midst of her," Jer 51:47, plainly answers to "at Babylon," Jer 51:49, English Version.

50. escaped … sword—namely, of the Medes. So great will be the slaughter that even some of God's people shall be involved in it, as they had deserved.

afar off—though ye are banished far off from where ye used formerly to worship God.

let Jerusalem come into your mind—While in exile remember your temple and city, so as to prefer them to all the rest of the world wherever ye may be (Isa 62:6).

51. The prophet anticipates the Jews' reply; I know you will say in despair, "We are confounded," &c. "Wherefore (God saith to you) behold, I will," &c. (Jer 51:52) [Calvin]. I prefer taking Jer 51:51 as the prayer which the Jews are directed to offer in exile (Jer 51:50), "let Jerusalem come into your mind" (and say in prayer to God), "We are confounded." This view is confirmed by Ps 44:15, 16; 79:4; 102:17-20; Isa 62:6, 7.

for strangers—The "reproach," which especially has stung us, came when they taunted us with the fact that they had burned the temple, our peculiar glory, as though our religion was a thing of naught.

52. Wherefore—because of these sighs of the Jews directed to God (Jer 51:21).

I … judgment upon … images—in opposition to the Babylonian taunt that Jehovah's religion was a thing of naught, since they had burned His temple (Jer 51:51): I will show that, though I have thus visited the Jews neglect of Me, yet those gods of Babylon cannot save themselves, much less their votaries, who shall "through all her land" lie and "groan" with wounds.

53. We are not to measure God's power by what seems to our perceptions natural or probable. Compare Ob 4 as to Edom (Am 9:2).

55. great voice—Where once was the great din of a mighty city, there shall be the silence of death [Vatablus]. Or, the "great voice" of the revellers (Jer 51:38, 39; Isa 22:2). Or, the voice of mighty boasting [Calvin], (compare Jer 51:53).

her waves—"when" her calamities shall cause her to give forth a widely different "voice," even such a one as the waves give that lash the shores (Jer 51:42) [Grotius]. Or, "when" is connected thus: "the great voice" in her, when her "waves," &c. (compare Jer 51:13). Calvin translates, "their waves," that is, the Medes bursting on her as impetuous waves; so Jer 51:42. But the parallel, "a great voice," belongs to her, therefore the wave-like "roar" of "their voice" ought also belong to her (compare Jer 51:54). The "great voice" of commercial din, boasting, and feasting, is "destroyed"; but in its stead there is the wave-like roar of her voice in her "destruction" (Jer 51:54).

56. taken—when they were least expecting it, and in such a way that resistance was impossible.

57. (Jer 51:39; Da 5:1, &c.).

58. broad walls—eighty-seven feet broad [Rosenmuller]; fifty cubits [Grotius]. A chariot of four horses abreast could meet another on it without collision. The walls were two hundred cubits high, and four hundred and eighty-five stadia, or sixty miles in extent.

gates—one hundred in number, of brass; twenty-five on each of the four sides, the city being square; between the gates were two hundred and fifty towers. Berosus says triple walls encompassed the outer, and the same number the inner city. Cyrus caused the outer walls to be demolished. Taking the extent of the walls to be three hundred and sixty-five stadia, as Diodorus states, it is said two hundred thousand men completed a stadium each day, so that the whole was completed in one year.

labour … in the fire—The event will show that the builders of the walls have "labored" only for the "fire" in which they shall be consumed, "In the fire" answers to the parallel, "burned with fire." Translate, "shall have labored in vain," &c. Compare Job 3:14, "built desolate places for themselves," that is, grand places, soon about to be desolate ruins. Jeremiah has in view here Hab 2:13.

59-64. A special copy of the prophecy prepared by Jeremiah was delivered to Seraiah, to console the Jews in their Babylonian exile. Though he was to throw it into the Euphrates, a symbol of Babylon's fate, no doubt he retained the substance in memory, so as to be able orally to communicate it to his countrymen.

went with Zedekiah—rather, "in behalf of Zedekiah"; sent by Zedekiah to appease Nebuchadnezzar's anger at his revolt [Calvin].

fourth year—so that Jeremiah's prediction of Babylon's downfall was thus solemnly written and sealed by a symbolical action, six whole years before the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

quiet prince—Compare 1Ch 22:9, "a man of rest." Seraiah was not one of the courtiers hostile to God's prophets, but "quiet" and docile; ready to execute Jeremiah's commission, notwithstanding the risk attending it. Glassius translates, "prince of Menuchah" (compare 1Ch 2:52, Margin). Maurer translates, "commander of the caravan," on whom it devolved to appoint the resting-place for the night. English Version suits the context best.

61. read—not in public, for the Chaldeans would not have understood Hebrew; but in private, as is to be inferred from his addressing himself altogether to God (Jer 51:62) [Calvin].

62. O Lord, thou—and not merely Jeremiah or any man is the author of this prophecy; I therefore here in Thy presence embrace as true all that I read.

63. bind a stone, &c.—(Re 18:21). So the Phoceans in leaving their country, when about to found Marseilles, threw lead into the sea, binding themselves not to return till the lead should swim.

64. they shall be weary—The Babylonians shall be worn out, so as not to be able to recover their strength.

Thus far … Jeremiah—Hence it is to be inferred that the last chapter is not included in Jeremiah's writings but was added by some inspired man, mainly at 2Ki 24:18-25:30 to explain and confirm what precedes [Calvin].