Jeremiah 51:1-7

The Utter Destruction of Babylon

1 Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will stir up ¹the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai, ^[a]

2 and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and ²they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side ³on the day of trouble.

3 ⁴Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; ⁵devote to destruction^[b] all her army.

4 They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, ⁶and wounded in her streets.

5 ⁷For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans^[c] is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.

6 ⁸“Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! ⁹Be not cut off in her punishment, ¹⁰for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.

7 Babylon was ¹¹a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, ¹²making all the earth drunken; ¹³the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

Jeremiah 51:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 51

The former part of this chapter is a continuation of the prophecy of the preceding chapter, concerning the destruction of Babylon, Jer 51:1-58; the latter part of it contains a prophecy of Jeremiah sent to the captives in Babylon by the hand of Seraiah, with the copy of the above prophecy against Babylon, and an order to fasten a stone to it, and cast it into the river Euphrates, as a sign, confirming the utter and irreparable ruin of Babylon, Jer 51:59-64.

Cross References

• 1. 51:1 [ch. 4:11; Isa. 21:1]
• 2. 51:2 [Matt. 3:12]; See ch. 15:7
• 3. 51:2 [ch. 2:28]
• 4. 51:3 [ch. 50:14, 29]
• 5. 51:3 [ch. 50:21]
• 6. 51:4 ch. 49:26
• 7. 51:5 See Isa. 54:5-7
• 8. 51:6 ver. 45; ch. 50:8
• 9. 51:6 [Gen. 19:15]
• 10. 51:6 ch. 50:15
• 11. 51:7 [Ps. 75:8; Rev. 17:4]
• 12. 51:7 Rev. 14:8
• 13. 51:7 See ch. 25:15, 16

Footnotes

• [a] 51:1 A code name for Chaldea
• [b] 51:3 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
• [c] 51:5 Hebrew 'their land'