Jeremiah 51:48

48 Everything on earth and in the sky will shout for joy when Babylonia falls to the people who come from the north to destroy it. 1

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 Do not lose courage or be afraid because of the rumors you hear. Every year a different rumor spreads - rumors of violence in the land and of one king fighting another.
47 And so the time is coming when I will deal with Babylonia's idols. The whole country will be put to shame, and all its people will be killed.
48 Everything on earth and in the sky will shout for joy when Babylonia falls to the people who come from the north to destroy it.
49 Babylonia caused the death of people all over the world, and now Babylonia will fall because it caused the death of so many Israelites. I, the Lord, have spoken."
50 The Lord says to his people in Babylonia: "You have escaped death! Now go! Don't wait! Though you are far from home, think about me, your Lord, and remember Jerusalem.

Cross References 1

  • 1. 51.48Revelation 18.20.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.