Jeremiah 51:37

37 Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a jackals' den, a desolation and an object of scorn,^[a] without inhabitant.

Jeremiah 51:37 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:37

And Babylon shall become heaps
The houses should be demolished, and the stones lie in heaps one upon another, and become mere rubbish: a dwelling place for dragons;
and other wild and savage creatures. Dragons, as Aelianus ^F1 observes, love to live in desert places, and such now Babylon is; it lies in ruins; and even its palace is so full of scorpions and serpents, as Benjamin of Tudela ^F2 says it was in his time, that men durst not enter into it; see ( Jeremiah 50:39 ) ( Isaiah 13:21 Isaiah 13:22 ) ; an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant;
an astonishment to neighbouring nations, and to all that pass by; who shall hiss at the destruction of it, and rejoice, there being not so much as a single inhabitant in it; which is its case to this day; see ( Jeremiah 50:13 Jeremiah 50:39 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 De Animal. l. 6. c. 63.
F2 Itinerarium, p. 76.

Jeremiah 51:37 In-Context

35 says the inhabitant of Zion; "Let the violence [done] to me and my family [be done] to Babylon. Let my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea," says Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her fountain run dry.

37 Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a jackals' den, a desolation and an object of scorn, without inhabitant.

38 They will roar together like young lions; they will growl like lion cubs.

39 While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they revel. Then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

Footnotes

• [a] Jr 18:16; 19:8; 2 Ch 29:8