Jeremiah 51:48

48 "Then 1heaven and earth and all that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, For 2the destroyers will come to her from 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 "Now so that your heart does not grow faint, And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land - For the report will come one year, And after that another report in another year, And violence will be in the land With ruler against ruler -
47 Therefore behold, days are coming When I will punish the idols of Babylon; And her whole land will be put to shame And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 "Then heaven and earth and all that is in them Will shout for joy over Babylon, For the destroyers will come to her from the north," Declares the LORD .
49 Indeed Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel, As also for Babylon the slain of all the earth have fallen.
50 You who have escaped the sword, Depart! Do not stay! Remember the LORD from afar, And let Jerusalem come to your mind.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 44:23; Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:13; Revelation 18:20
  • 2. Jeremiah 50:3
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