Jeremiah 51:2

2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and ¹they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side ²on the day of trouble.

Jeremiah 51:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:2

And I will send unto Babylon farmers, that shall fan her, and
shall empty her land
Or, "strangers that shall fan her" ^F3; meaning the Medes and Persians, who should be like a strong wind upon the mountains, where corn, having been threshed, was fanned, and the chaff carried away by the wind; and such would the Chaldeans be in the hand of the Persians, scattered and dispersed among the nations as chaff with the wind, and their cities be emptied of inhabitants, and of their wealth and riches. The Targum is,

``I will send against Babylon spoilers, that shall spoil and exhaust the land:''

for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about;
in the time of the siege they shall surround her on all sides, so that none might escape; as Babylon had been a fanner of the Lord's people, now she should be fanned herself, and stripped of all she had; see ( Jeremiah 15:7 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (Myrz) "alienos", Cocceius; some in Vatablus; so Kimchi, Ben Melech, Abendana.

Jeremiah 51:2 In-Context

1 Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,

2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble.

3 Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army.

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

5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

Cross References

• 1. [Matthew 3:12]; See Jeremiah 15:7
• 2. [Jeremiah 2:28]