Jeremiah 51:14

14 The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself: I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.

Jeremiah 51:14 in Other Translations

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.

14 The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.

14 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has taken this vow and has sworn to it by his own name: “Your cities will be filled with enemies, like fields swarming with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.”

14 God-of-the-Angel-Armies has solemnly sworn: "I'll fill this place with soldiers. They'll swarm through here like locusts chanting victory songs over you."

14 The Lord of Hosts has sworn by Himself: I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will sing the victory song over you.

Jeremiah 51:14 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:14

The Lord hath sworn by himself, [saying]
Or, "by his soul" or "life" ^F17; which is himself, than which he cannot swear by a greater, ( Hebrews 6:13 ) ; and the certain performance of what he swears unto need not be doubted of; and indeed the design of the oath is to assure of the truth of the thing, about which, after this, there ought to be no hesitation: surely I fill thee with men as with caterpillars;
or "locusts" ^F18; march in vast numbers, and make sad desolation where they come; and to which a numerous army may fitly be compared; and which are here meant, even the army of Cyrus, that should enter Babylon, and fill it, as it did. So the Targum,

``the Lord of hosts hath sworn by his word, if I fill them with armies of many people as locusts:''

and they shall lift up a shout against thee;
as soldiers, when they make the onset in battle; or as besiegers, when they make their attack on a city; or as when grape gatherers bring in their vintage, or tread out their wine, to which the allusion is: it signifies that her enemies should get an entire victory, and triumph over her.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (wvpnb) "per animam suam", Pagninus, Cocceius, Schmidt.
F18 (qlyk) "ut, [vel] quasi brucho", V. L. Cocceius, Montanus, Grotius, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 51:14 In-Context

12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The LORD will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon.

13 You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed.

14 The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself: I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.

15 “He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 22:16; Amos 6:8
• 2. ver 27; Amos 7:1; Nahum 3:15
• 3. Jeremiah 50:15