Jeremiah 51:51-58
New English Translation
51 ‘We[a] are ashamed because we have been insulted.[b]
Our faces show our disgrace.[c]
For foreigners have invaded
the holy rooms[d] in the Lord’s temple.’
52 Yes, but the time will certainly come,”[e] says the Lord,[f]
“when I will punish her idols.
Throughout her land the mortally wounded will groan.
53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky[g]
and fortifies her elevated stronghold,[h]
I will send destroyers against her,”[i]
says the Lord.[j]
54 Cries of anguish will come from Babylon,
the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.
55 For the Lord is ready to destroy Babylon,
and put an end to her loud noise.
Their waves[k] will roar like turbulent[l] waters.
They will make a deafening noise.[m]
56 For a destroyer is attacking Babylon.[n]
Her warriors will be captured;
their bows will be broken.[o]
For the Lord is a God who punishes;[p]
he pays back in full.[q]
57 “I will make her officials and wise men drunk,
along with her governors, leaders,[r] and warriors.
They will fall asleep forever and never wake up,”[s]
says the King whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[t]
58 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[u] says,
“Babylon’s thick wall[v] will be completely demolished.[w]
Her high gates will be set on fire.
The peoples strive for what does not satisfy.[x]
The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.”[y]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 51:51 sn The exiles lament the way they have been humiliated.
- Jeremiah 51:51 tn Heb “we have heard an insult.”
- Jeremiah 51:51 tn Heb “disgrace covers our face.”
- Jeremiah 51:51 tn Or “holy places, sanctuaries.”
- Jeremiah 51:52 tn Heb “that being so, look, days are approaching.” Here לָכֵן (lakhen) introduces the Lord’s response to the people’s lament (v. 51). It has the force of “yes, but” or “that may be true.” See Judg 11:8 and BDB 486-87 s.v. כֵּן 3.d.
- Jeremiah 51:52 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 51:53 tn Or “ascends [into] heaven.” Note the use of the phrase in Deut 30:12; 2 Kgs 2:11; Amos 9:2.
- Jeremiah 51:53 tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong, elevated place.”
- Jeremiah 51:53 tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”
- Jeremiah 51:53 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 51:55 tn The antecedent of the third masculine plural pronominal suffix is not entirely clear. It probably refers back to the “destroyers” mentioned in v. 53 as the agents of God’s judgment on Babylon.
- Jeremiah 51:55 tn Or “mighty waters.”
- Jeremiah 51:55 tn Heb “and the noise of their sound will be given.”
- Jeremiah 51:56 tn Heb “for a destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon.”
- Jeremiah 51:56 tn The Piel form (which would be intransitive here, see GKC 142 §52.k) should probably be emended to Qal.
- Jeremiah 51:56 tn Or “God of retribution.”
- Jeremiah 51:56 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “he certainly pays one back.” The translation assumes that the imperfect verbal form here describes the Lord’s characteristic actions. Another option is to take it as referring specifically to his judgment on Babylon, in which case one should translate, “he will pay (Babylon) back in full.”
- Jeremiah 51:57 sn For discussion of the terms “governors” and “leaders,” see the note at Jer 51:23.
- Jeremiah 51:57 sn See the note at Jer 51:39.
- Jeremiah 51:57 tn For the title “Yahweh of Armies” see the study note on Jer 2:19.
- Jeremiah 51:58 sn See the note at Jer 2:19.
- Jeremiah 51:58 tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.
- Jeremiah 51:58 tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”
- Jeremiah 51:58 tn Heb “for what is empty.”
- Jeremiah 51:58 tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”
Jeremiah 51:51-58
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
51 We are put to shame, for we have heard insults;
dishonor has covered our faces,
for aliens have come
into the holy places of the Lord’s house.(A)
52 Therefore the time is surely coming, says the Lord,
when I will punish her idols,
and through all her land
the wounded shall groan.(B)
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,
and though she should fortify her strong height,
from me destroyers would come upon her,
says the Lord.(C)
54 Listen!—a cry from Babylon!
A great crashing from the land of the Chaldeans!(D)
55 For the Lord is laying Babylon waste
and stilling her loud clamor.
Their waves roar like mighty waters;
the sound of their clamor resounds,(E)
56 for a destroyer has come against her,
against Babylon;
her warriors are taken;
their bows are broken,
for the Lord is a God of recompense;
he will repay in full.(F)
57 I will make her officials and her sages drunk,
also her governors, her deputies, and her warriors;
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and never wake,
says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.(G)
58 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
The broad wall of Babylon
shall be leveled to the ground,
and her high gates
shall be burned with fire.
The peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,
the nations only for fire,
and they have become weary.(H)
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