Yirmeyah 51:14

14 Hashem Tzva’os hath sworn by His Nefesh, saying, Surely I will fill thee with adam, as with locusts; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

Yirmeyah 51:14 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 51:14

The Lord hath sworn by himself, [saying]
Or, "by his soul" or "life" ^F17; which is himself, than which he cannot swear by a greater, ( Hebrews 6:13 ) ; and the certain performance of what he swears unto need not be doubted of; and indeed the design of the oath is to assure of the truth of the thing, about which, after this, there ought to be no hesitation: surely I fill thee with men as with caterpillars;
or "locusts" ^F18; march in vast numbers, and make sad desolation where they come; and to which a numerous army may fitly be compared; and which are here meant, even the army of Cyrus, that should enter Babylon, and fill it, as it did. So the Targum,

``the Lord of hosts hath sworn by his word, if I fill them with armies of many people as locusts:''

and they shall lift up a shout against thee;
as soldiers, when they make the onset in battle; or as besiegers, when they make their attack on a city; or as when grape gatherers bring in their vintage, or tread out their wine, to which the allusion is: it signifies that her enemies should get an entire victory, and triumph over her.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (wvpnb) "per animam suam", Pagninus, Cocceius, Schmidt.
F18 (qlyk) "ut, [vel] quasi brucho", V. L. Cocceius, Montanus, Grotius, Schmidt.

Yirmeyah 51:14 In-Context

12 Lift up the nes (banner) upon the chomat Bavel, reinforce the mishmeret (guard), station the shomrim (watchmen), prepare the ambushes; for Hashem hath both devised and done that which He spoke against the inhabitants of Bavel.

13 O thou that dwellest upon mayim rabbim, abundant in otzarot, thine end is come, and the cubit of thy being cut off.

14 Hashem Tzva’os hath sworn by His Nefesh, saying, Surely I will fill thee with adam, as with locusts; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.

15 He hath made Eretz by His ko’ach, He hath established the tevel by His chochmah, and hath stretched out Shomayim by His tevunah.

16 When He thundereth His voice, there is a tumult of mayim in Shomayim; and He bringeth up clouds from the ends of ha’aretz; He maketh lightnings with matar, and bringeth forth the ru’ach out of his otzarot.