Jeremiah 51:57

57 I will make Babylon's rulers and wise men drunk, and her governors, officers, and soldiers, too. Then they will sleep forever and never wake up," says the King, whose name is the Lord All-Powerful.

Jeremiah 51:57 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:57

And I will make drunk her princes
With the wine of divine wrath; that is, slay them; though there may be an allusion to their being drunk with wine at the feast Belshazzar made for his thousand lords; who are the princes here intended, together with the king and his royal family, ( Daniel 5:1 Daniel 5:4 ) ; and her wise [men], her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men:
the counsellors of state, priests, magicians, and astrologers; officers in the army, superior and inferior ones; and the soldiers and warriors, whom Cyrus and his men slew; when they entered the city; compare with this ( Revelation 19:18 ) ; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake;
be all asleep in their drunken fits, and be slain therein; and so never wake, or live more. The Targum is,

``and they shall die the second death, and not come into the world to come;''

(See Gill on Jeremiah 51:39); saith the king, whose name [is] the Lord of hosts;
the King of kings and Lord of lords; the Lord of armies in heaven and earth; and can do, and does, what he pleases in both worlds.

Jeremiah 51:57 In-Context

55 The Lord is destroying Babylon and making the loud sounds of the city become silent. Enemies come roaring in like ocean waves. The roar of their voices is heard all around.

56 The army has come to destroy Babylon. Her soldiers have been captured, and their bows are broken, because the Lord is a God who punishes people for the evil they do. He gives them the full punishment they deserve.

57 I will make Babylon's rulers and wise men drunk, and her governors, officers, and soldiers, too. Then they will sleep forever and never wake up," says the King, whose name is the Lord All-Powerful.

58 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Babylon's thick wall will be completely pulled down and her high gates burned. The people will work hard, but it won't help; their work will only become fuel for the flames!"

59 This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the officer Seraiah son of Neriah, who was the son of Mahseiah. Seraiah went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year Zedekiah was king of Judah. His duty was to arrange the king's food and housing on the trip.