Jeremiah 51:48

48 1Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, 2for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 51:48 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:48

Then the heaven and the earth, and all that [is] therein,
shall sing for Babylon
At the destruction of her, rejoicing at it; not at the ruin of fellow creatures, simply considered; but relatively, at the righteousness of God in it, and the glory of his justice, and the deliverance of many by it from tyranny and bondage. This seems to be a figurative expression often used, in which the heavens and the earth are brought in as witnesses, approvers, and applauders, of what is done by the Lord. Some indeed interpret it of the angels, the inhabitants of the heavens, and of the Jews, dwellers on earth; and others of the church of God, in heaven and in earth; which, of the two, seems best; the like will be done at the fall of mystical Babylon, ( Revelation 18:20 ) ; for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the Lord;
the Medes and Persians that should and did spoil and plunder Babylon; and who came from countries that lay north to it.

Jeremiah 51:48 In-Context

46 Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler.
47 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the LORD.
49 Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.
50 "You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind:

Cross References 2

  • 1. [Revelation 18:20]; See Isaiah 44:23
  • 2. Jeremiah 50:3
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.