Isaiah 30:14

30:14 It shatters in pieces like a clay jar,

so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. ¹ 

Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough ² 

to scoop a hot coal from a fire ³ 

or to skim off water from a cistern.” ⁴ 

Jeremiah 51:25-26

51:25 The Lord says, ⁵  “Beware! I am opposed to you, Babylon! ⁶ 

You are like a destructive mountain that destroys all the earth.

I will unleash my power against you; ⁷ 

I will roll you off the cliffs and make you like a burned-out mountain. ⁸ 

51:26 No one will use any of your stones as a cornerstone.

No one will use any of them in the foundation of his house.

For you will lie desolate forever,” ⁹ 

says the Lord. ¹⁰ 

Revelation 18:21

18:21 Then ¹¹  one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,

“With this kind of sudden violent force ¹² 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ¹³ 

and it will never be found again!

¹ tn Heb “Its shattering is like the shattering of a jug of [i.e., “made by”] potters, [so] shattered one cannot save [any of it].”

² tn The words “large enough” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

³ tn Heb “to remove fire from the place of kindling.”

⁴ tn On the meaning of גֶבֶא (geveh, “cistern”) see HALOT 170 s.v.

⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁶ tn The word “Babylon” is not in the text but is universally understood as the referent. It is supplied in the translation here to clarify the referent for the sake of the average reader.

⁷ tn Heb “I will reach out my hand against you.” See the translator’s note on 6:12 for explanation.

⁸ tn Heb “I am against you, oh destroying mountain that destroys all the earth. I will reach out my hand against you and roll you down from the cliffs and make you a mountain of burning.” The interpretation adopted here follows the lines suggested by S. R. Driver, Jeremiah, 318, n. c and reflected also in BDB 977 s.v. שְׂרֵפָה. Babylon is addressed as a destructive mountain because it is being compared to a volcano. The Lord, however, will make it a “burned-out mountain,” i.e., an extinct volcano which is barren and desolate. This interpretation seems to this translator to fit the details of the text more consistently than alternative ones which separate the concept of “destroying/destructive” from “mountain” and explain the figure of the mountain to refer to the dominating political position of Babylon and the reference to a “mountain of burning” to be a “burned [or burned over] mountain.” The use of similes in place of metaphors makes it easier for the modern reader to understand the figures and also more easily incorporates the dissonant figure of “rolling you down from the cliffs” which involves the figure of personification.

⁹ tn This is a fairly literal translation of the original which reads “No one will take from you a stone for a cornerstone nor a stone for foundations.” There is no unanimity of opinion in the commentaries, many feeling that the figure of the burned mountain continues and others feeling that the figure here shifts to a burned city whose stones are so burned that they are useless to be used in building. The latter is the interpretation adopted here (see, e.g., F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 423; W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:426; NCV).

¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

¹² tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.

¹³ sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.