Jeremiah 50:23

23 Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth, lies broken and shattered. Babylon is desolate among the nations!

Jeremiah 50:23 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 50:23

How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken!
&c.] The Targum is,

``how is the king cut down and broken that moved the whole earth!''

The king of Babylon, or the kingdom of Babylon, which was like a hammer for its hardness and strength; and being an instrument, in the hand of God, of beating to pieces and destroying the kingdoms and nations around it; but is now destroyed itself. These are the words either of the prophet, or rather of the people of other nations, wondering how this destruction came about, and rejoicing at it; how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
this explains who and what is meant by the hammer of the earth, and by its being cut asunder and broken; even the utter destruction of the city and kingdom of Babylon.

Jeremiah 50:23 In-Context

21 “Go up, my warriors, against the land of Merathaim and against the people of Pekod. Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them, as I have commanded you,” says the LORD .

22 “Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction.

23 Babylon, the mightiest hammer in all the earth, lies broken and shattered. Babylon is desolate among the nations!

24 Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the LORD .

25 The LORD has opened his armory and brought out weapons to vent his fury. The terror that falls upon the Babylonians will be the work of the Sovereign LORD of Heaven’s Armies.