Jeremiah 51:1-4

1 This is what the LORD says: “See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai.^[a]

2 I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster.

3 Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy^[b] her army.

4 They will fall down slain in Babylon,^[c]fatally wounded in her streets.

Jeremiah 51:1-4 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.

Cross References

• 1. S Isaiah 13:17
• 2. Jeremiah 25:12
• 3. Isaiah 13:5
• 4. S Isaiah 41:16; Jeremiah 15:7; Matthew 3:12
• 5. S Isaiah 13:9
• 6. S Jeremiah 50:29
• 7. Jeremiah 46:4
• 8. Isaiah 13:15
• 9. S Isaiah 13:18; Jeremiah 49:26; Jeremiah 50:30

Footnotes

• [a] "Leb Kamai" is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
• [b] The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
• [c] Or "Chaldea"