Jeremiah 51:4

1 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I will raise a destroying wind against Babylon, And against boasters of wisdom, my adversaries; 2 And I will send against Babylon winnowers, And they shall winnow her and empty her land; For they shall be against her around in the day of evil. 3 As to him who bends the bow, And him who raises himself up in his coat of mail, — Spare ye not her young men, Destroy all her army 4 And fall shall they wounded, in her land, And pierced through in her streets. 5 For not widowed is Israel, nor Judah By his God, by Jehovah of hosts: But rather their land is filled with sin On account of the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, And save ye, every one his life, Lest ye perish in her iniquity; For it is the time of Jehovah's vengeance, A reward will he render to her 7 A golden cup has Babylon been In Jehovah's hand, inebriating the whole earth; From her wine have the nations drunk, Therefore have the nations become mad. 8 Suddenly has Babylon fallen, and is broken; Howl ye for her, take rosin for her wound, It may be that she can be healed! 9 We have tried to heal Babylon, But she was not healed; Leave her, and let us depart, Every one to his own land; For to the heavens has reached her judgment And has risen up to the clouds. 10 Brought forth has Jehovah our righteousness; Come ye and let us declare in Sion The work of Jehovah our God.

; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind; 2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. 3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. 4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets. 5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. 7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. 8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. 10 The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God. 11 Make bright the arrows;

51:1-58 The particulars of this prophecy are dispersed and interwoven, and the same things left and returned to again. Babylon is abundant in treasures, yet neither her waters nor her wealth shall secure her. Destruction comes when they did not think of it. Wherever we are, in the greatest depths, at the greatest distances, we are to remember the Lord our God; and in the times of the greatest fears and hopes, it is most needful to remember the Lord. The feeling excited by Babylon's fall is the same with the New Testament Babylon, Re 18:9,19. The ruin of all who support idolatry, infidelity, and superstition, is needful for the revival of true godliness; and the threatening prophecies of Scripture yield comfort in this view. The great seat of antichristian tyranny, idolatry, and superstition, the persecutor of true Christians, is as certainly doomed to destruction as ancient Babylon. Then will vast multitudes mourn for sin, and seek the Lord. Then will the lost sheep of the house of Israel be brought back to the fold of the good Shepherd, and stray no more. And the exact fulfilment of these ancient prophecies encourages us to faith in all the promises and prophecies of the sacred Scriptures.

Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans,.... By the sword, or by the arrows and darts of the Medes and Persians: and they that are thrust through in her streets; either by the one or by the other, especially the latter, since they only are mentioned; See Gill on Jeremiah 50:30.

These strangers shall kill, without sparing, every warrior of Babylon, and annihilate its whole military forces. In the first half of the verse the reading is doubtful, since the Masoretes would have the second ידרד (Qeri) expunged, probably because (as Bttcher, N. Aehrenl. ii. S. 166, supposes) they considered it merely a repetition. The meaning is not thereby changed. According to the Qeri, we would require to translate, "against him who bends the bow, may there be, or come, one who bends his bow;" according to the Kethib, "against him who bends the bow, may he who bends his bow bend it." As to אל־ידרך with אשׁר omitted, cf. 1 Chronicles 15:12 ; 2 Chronicles 1:4 , and Ewald, 333, b. יתעל בּס' stands in apposition to אל־ידרך ; יתעל is the Hithpael from עלה, and means to raise oneself: it is to be taken as the shortened form of the imperfect passive; cf. Gesenius, 128, Rem. 2. Certainly, the Hithpael of עלה occurs nowhere else, but it is quite appropriate here; so that it is unnecessary, with Hitzig, to adduce, for explanation, the Arabic tl', to stretch the head out of anything, or, with Ewald, to derive the form from the Aramaic עלל, Arabic gl, to thrust in. Neither is there any foundation for the remark, that the abbreviated form of the imperfect would be admissible only if אל were found instead of אל.

Indeed, the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate have actually read and rendered from אל, which several codices also present, "Let him not bend his bow, nor stretch himself in his coat of mail." But by this reading the first half of the verse is put in contradiction to the second; and this contradiction is not removed by the supposition of J. D. Michaelis and Hitzig, who refer these clauses to the Chaldeans, and find the thought expressed in them, that the Chaldeans, through loss of courage, cannot set themselves for defence. For, in that case, we would be obliged, with Hitzig, to explain as spurious the words that follow, "and spare ye not her young men;" but for this there is no valid reason. As to החרימוּ, cf. Jeremiah 50:21 , Jeremiah 50:26 . On Jeremiah 51:4 , cf. Jeremiah 50:30 and Jeremiah 49:26 . The suffix in "her streets" refers to Babylon.

[Bible] Jeremias Chapter 51 The miseries that shall fall upon Babylon from the Medes: the destruction of her idols. 51:1. Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will raise up as it were a pestilential wind against Babylon and against the inhabitants thereof, who have lifted up their heart against me. 51:2. And I will send to Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall destroy her land: for they are come upon her on every side in the day of her affliction. 51:3. Let not him that bendeth, bend his bow, and let not him go up that is armed with a coat of mail: spare not her young men, destroy all her army. 51:4. And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and the wounded in the regions thereof. 51:5. For Israel and Juda have not been forsaken by their God the Lord of hosts: but their land hath been filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 51:6. Flee ye from the midst of Babylon, and let every one save his own life: be not silent upon her iniquity: for it is the time of revenge from the Lord, he will render unto her what she hath deserved. 51:7. Babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that made all the earth drunk: the nations have drunk of her wine, and therefore they have staggered. 51:8. Babylon is suddenly fallen, and destroyed: howl for her, take balm for her pain, if so she may be healed. 51:9. We would have cured Babylon, but she is not healed: let us forsake her, and let us go every man to his own land: because her judgment hath reached even to the heavens, and is lifted up to the clouds. 51:10. The Lord hath brought forth our justices: Come, and let us declare in Sion the work of the Lord our God. 51:11. Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers, the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: and his mind is against Babylon to destroy it, because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.