←Jeremiah 51→BSB

In This Chapter 10 people 19 places 61 terms

People

Israel 8 Jeremiah (Son of Hilkiah) 6 Jacob (Patriarch) 2 Nebuchadnezzar 2 Seraiah (Jeremiah 51:59) 2 Neriah 2 Mahseiah 2 Jeshurun (Israel) Zedekiah Mattaniah (Zedekiah)

Places

    Key Terms

    Deal With 11 Possession 5 Fear 5 Knowledge 4 Holy 3 Transgression 3 Strength 3 Ability (Skill) 3 Understanding (Awareness) 3 Visitation 3 Be Holy 2 Arrow 2 Plan 2 Swear 2 Holy (Pure) Holy Thing Most Holy Place Holiness Holy (Devout) Hallow Sanctuary To Sin Sin Guilt (State) Sin (Act) Sin (Incur Guilt) Guilty (Responsible) Guilt (Consequence) Guiltiness Trespass (Sin) Sinful Sin (Offense) To Stand Guilty Sin (Guilty) Sin (Wrongdoing) Guilty Considered Guilty Guilty Of Sin Previously Sin Against Ability (Power) World Wisdom Universe Miracle Ability (Spiritual) Lordship Spiritually Understanding Intention (Evil) To Cause to Possess Possession Appoint Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People)

    Judgment on Babylon

    ⓘ The Lord chose Persia, led by Cyrus, to...

    The Lord chose Persia, led by Cyrus, to destroy Babylon in 539 BC.

    1This is what the LORD says:

    “Behold, I will stir up against Babylonand against the people of Leb-kamai†the spirit of a destroyer.2I will send strangers to Babylonto winnow her and empty her land;for they will come against her from every sidein her day of disaster.
    ⓘ God acted as a commander and instructed the...
    3Do not let the archer bend his bowor put on his armor.Do not spare her young men;devote all her army to destruction!†4And they will fall slain in the land of the Chaldeans,†and pierced through in her streets.5For Israel and Judah have not been abandonedby their God, the LORD of Hosts,though their land is full of guiltbefore the Holy One of Israel.”
    6Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives!Do not be destroyed in her punishment.For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance;He will pay her what she deserves.7Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD,making the whole earth drunk.The nations drank her wine;therefore the nations have gone mad.
    8Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered.Wail for her; get her balm for her pain;perhaps she can be healed.
    ⓘ Nothing could save Babylon; her punishment was immense....

    Nothing could save Babylon; her punishment was immense. After Babylon fell, the exiles would return home. There, they could share stories of God's wonderful acts for them.
    9“We tried to heal Babylon,but she could not be healed.Abandon her!Let each of us go to his own land,for her judgment extends to the skyand reaches to the clouds.”
    10“The LORD has brought forth our vindication;come, let us tell in Zionwhat the LORD our God has accomplished.”
    ⓘ The kings of the Medes included Cyrus. He...

    The kings of the Medes included Cyrus. He marched against Babylon and overthrew it in 539 BC.
    11Sharpen the arrows!Fill the quivers!†The LORD has aroused the spiritof the kings of the Medes,because His plan is aimed at Babylonto destroy her,for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.
    12Raise a banner against the walls of Babylon;post the guard;station the watchmen;prepare the ambush.For the LORD has both devised and accomplishedwhat He spoke against the people of Babylon.13You who dwell by many waters,rich in treasures,your end has come;the thread of your life is cut.

    14The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself:

    “Surely I will fill you up with men as with locusts,and they will shout in triumph over you.”

    Praise to the God of Jacob

    (Isaiah 25:1–12)

    ⓘ God, as the Creator and preserver of everything,...

    God, as the Creator and preserver of everything, controls the storm with its thunder, rain, lightning, and wind, not Baal. The Lord can use these forces whenever He wants.
    ⓘ This song of praise highlights the Lord's uniqueness...

    This song of praise highlights the Lord's uniqueness and greatness. It compares the true God with the emptiness of idols.
    15The LORD made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomand stretched out the heavens by His understanding.16When He thunders,the waters in the heavens roar;He causes the clouds to risefrom the ends of the earth.He generates the lightning with the rainand brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
    17Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge;every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols.For his molten images are a fraud,and there is no breath in them.18They are worthless, a work to be mocked.In the time of their punishment they will perish.19The Portion of Jacob is not like these,for He is the Maker of all things,and of the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

    Babylon’s Punishment

    20“You are My war club,My weapon for battle.With you I shatter nations;with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.21With you I shatter the horse and rider;with you I shatter the chariot and driver.22With you I shatter man and woman;with you I shatter the old man and the youth;with you I shatter the young man and the maiden.23With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock;with you I shatter the farmer and his oxen;with you I shatter the governors and officials.
    24Before your very eyes I will repayBabylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea†for all the evil they have done in Zion,”declares the LORD.25“Behold, I am against you,O destroying mountain,you who devastate the whole earth,declares the LORD.I will stretch out My hand against you;I will roll you over the cliffsand turn you into a charred mountain.26No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstoneor a foundation stone,because you will become desolate forever,”declares the LORD.
    ⓘ Ararat was a mountainous region north of Babylon....

    • Ararat was a mountainous region north of Babylon.

    • Ashkenaz was Noah’s great-grandson through Japheth and Gomer (Genesis 10:2–3). His descendants likely lived in Ararat, as did the people of Minni, who are otherwise unknown.
    27“Raise a banner in the land!Blow the ram’s horn among the nations!Prepare the nations against her.Summon the kingdoms against her—Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.Appoint a captain against her;bring up horses like swarming locusts.28Prepare the nations for battle against her—the kings of the Medes,their governors and all their officials,and all the lands they rule.
    ⓘ The fall of Babylon occurred just as the...

    The fall of Babylon occurred just as the Lord had planned. The Babylonian soldiers lost their will to fight, and the Persian invaders quickly entered the city.
    29The earth quakes and writhesbecause the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand:to make the land of Babylon a desolation,without inhabitant.30The warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting;they sit in their strongholds.Their strength is exhausted;they have become like women.Babylon’s homes have been set ablaze,the bars of her gates are broken.31One courier races to meet another,and messenger follows messenger,to announce to the king of Babylonthat his city has been captured from end to end.32The fords have been seized,the marshes set on fire,and the soldiers are terrified.”

    33For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says:

    “The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floorat the time it is trampled.In just a little whileher harvest time will come.”
    34“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me;he has crushed me.He has set me aside like an empty vessel;he has swallowed me like a monster;he filled his belly with my delicaciesand vomited me out.†35May the violence done to meand to my fleshbe upon Babylon,”says the dweller of Zion.
    “May my blood be on the dwellers of Chaldea,”says Jerusalem.

    36Therefore this is what the LORD says:

    “Behold, I will plead your caseand take vengeance on your behalf;I will dry up her seaand make her springs run dry.37Babylon will become a heap of rubble,a haunt for jackals,†an object of horror and scorn,without inhabitant.
    ⓘ The Lord announced he would use wine to...

    The Lord announced he would use wine to change the lion, which once terrorized and destroyed nations (Jeremiah 5:6; 25:38; 49:19), into a lamb that is easy to control. Wine as a tool of wrath was usually symbolic (Jeremiah 25:15–29), but here it was real (see Daniel 5).
    38They will roar together like young lions;they will growl like lion cubs.39While they are flushed with heat,I will serve them a feast,and I will make them drunkso that they may revel;then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up,declares the LORD.40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,like rams with male goats.
    41How Sheshach† has been captured!The praise of all the earth has been seized.What a horror Babylon has becomeamong the nations!42The sea has come up over Babylon;she is covered in turbulent waves.43Her cities have become a desolation,a dry and arid land,a land where no one lives,where no son of man passes through.44I will punish Bel in Babylon.I will make him spew out what he swallowed.The nations will no longer stream to him;even the wall of Babylon will fall.
    ⓘ The Lord cared about the spiritual and physical...

    The Lord cared about the spiritual and physical health of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Their political situation was dangerous. The Lord promised a future where the exiles would be saved from shame and return joyfully to their own land.
    45Come out of her, My people!†Save your lives, each of you,from the fierce anger of the LORD.46Do not let your heart grow faint,and do not be afraidwhen the rumor is heard in the land;for a rumor will come one year—and then another the next year—of violence in the landand of ruler against ruler.
    ⓘ The Lord's punishment of Babylon would make the...

    The Lord's punishment of Babylon would make the heavens and earth rejoice because it shows God's justice.
    47Therefore, behold, the days are comingwhen I will punish the idols of Babylon.Her entire land will suffer shame,and all her slain will lie fallen within her.48Then heaven and earth and all that is in themwill shout for joy over Babylonbecause the destroyers from the northwill come against her,”declares the LORD.
    ⓘ Babylon would face a punishment as harsh as...

    Babylon would face a punishment as harsh as the cruelty it inflicted on the Israelites and other nations.
    49“Babylon must fallon account of the slain of Israel,just as the slain of all the earthhave fallen because of Babylon.50You who have escaped the sword,depart and do not linger!Remember the LORD from far away,and let Jerusalem come to mind.”
    51“We are ashamed because we have heard reproach;disgrace has covered our faces,because foreigners have enteredthe holy places of the LORD’s house.”
    52“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,”declares the LORD,“when I will punish her idols,and throughout her land the wounded will groan.53Even if Babylon ascends to the heavensand fortifies her lofty stronghold,the destroyers I send will come against her,”declares the LORD.
    54“The sound of a crycomes from Babylon,the sound of great destructionfrom the land of the Chaldeans!
    ⓘ The destruction of Babylon was not an accident....

    • The destruction of Babylon was not an accident. The Lord controlled it and would make it happen.

    • The sound (Jeremiah 51:54) would turn into the silence of death. The invading army would kill or capture the Babylonian soldiers, and the people would flee into the countryside.
    55For the LORD will destroy Babylon;He will silence her mighty voice.The waves will roar like great waters;the tumult of their voices will resound.
    56For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon.Her warriors will be captured,and their bows will be broken,for the LORD is a God of retribution;He will repay in full.57I will make her princes and wise men drunk,along with her governors, officials, and warriors.Then they will fall asleep foreverand not wake up,”declares the King,whose name is the LORD of Hosts.

    58This is what the LORD of Hosts says:

    “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled,and her high gates consumed by fire.So the labor of the people will be for nothing;the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”

    Jeremiah’s Message to Seraiah

    ⓘ Just as Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, this great kingdom...

    Just as Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, this great kingdom would also be destroyed. This passage contains a message sent to Babylon seven years before Jerusalem fell.

    59This is the message that Jeremiah the prophet gave to the quartermaster Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with King Zedekiah of Judah in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign. 60Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.

    61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud, 62and say, ‘O LORD, You have promised to cut off this place so that no one will remain—neither man nor beast. Indeed, it will be desolate forever.’

    ⓘ Casting (throwing) the scroll into the Euphrates River...

    Casting (throwing) the scroll into the Euphrates River symbolized the permanent destruction of Babylon.

    63When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates. 64Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the words of Jeremiah.