Jeremiah 51:59-64

59 This is the order which Yirmeyahu the prophet gave to S'rayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went to Bavel with Tzidkiyahu the king of Y'hudah in the fourth year of his reign. S'rayah was quartermaster.

60 Yirmeyahu had written on a separate scroll all the above words describing the disaster that was to befall Bavel.

61 Yirmeyahu said to S'rayah, "See to it that when you arrive in Bavel you read all these words aloud. Then say,

62 'ADONAI, you have promised to destroy this place, that no one will live here, neither human nor animal, but that it will be desolate forever.'

63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock to it, throw it into the middle of the Euphrates,

64 and say, 'Like this, Bavel will sink, never to rise again, because of the disaster I am bringing on her; and they will grow weary.'" (Up to here, these have been the words of Yirmeyahu.)

Jeremiah 51:59-64 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.