Jeremiah 51:24-34

24 I will repay Babylon and all its inhabitants for the terrible things they have done to Zion in your sight, declares the LORD.
25 I'm against you, you mountain of destruction, declares the LORD, you destroyer of the whole earth! I will reach out against you; I will topple you from your heights; I will turn you into a rubbish heap.
26 They will never remove a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you. You will be a wasteland forever, declares the LORD.
27 Set up a flag in the land; sound the alarm among the nations! Prepare them for war against her; summon kingdoms against her— Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; call up the troops, like swarms of locusts!
28 Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of Media, its governors, all its officials, and all the countries they rule.
29 The earth quakes and trembles because the LORD's plans against Babylon are fulfilled: to reduce Babylon to a wasteland, with no one left in it.
30 Babylon's warriors quit fighting; they hide in their fortifications. Their strength is worn out; their courage is gone! Babylon's houses are burned down, and its gates are smashed.
31 Courier joins courier, messenger joins messenger to relate the news to the king of Babylon that his entire city has fallen.
32 The river crossings are blocked; the marshes are on fire; the soldiers are terrified.
33 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor ready to be trampled down. In a little while her harvest will come.
34 Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar has eaten us alive; he's drained us of strength; he's left us for dead. He's gobbled us up like a great sea monster; he's filled his belly with our treasures; and he's spit us out.

Jeremiah 51:24-34 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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or He’s made us an empty container.
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