Jeremiah 51:53

51:53 Even if Babylon climbs high into the sky ¹ 

and fortifies her elevated stronghold, ² 

I will send destroyers against her,” ³ 

says the Lord. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 51:58

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all ⁵  says,

“Babylon’s thick wall ⁶  will be completely demolished. ⁷ 

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ⁸ 

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ⁹ 

Genesis 11:4

11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens ¹⁰  so that ¹¹  we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise ¹²  we will be scattered ¹³  across the face of the entire earth.”

Isaiah 13:2

13:2 ¹⁴ On a bare hill raise a signal flag,

shout to them,

wave your hand,

so they might enter the gates of the princes!

Daniel 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ¹⁵  by my own mighty strength ¹⁶  and for my majestic honor?”

Zechariah 4:7

Oracle of Response

4:7 “What are you, you great mountain? ¹⁷  Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple ¹⁸  capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ ¹⁹  because of this.”

¹ tn Or “ascends [into] heaven.” Note the use of the phrase in Deut 30:12; 2 Kgs 2:11; and Amos 9:2.

² tn Heb “and even if she fortifies her strong elevated place.”

³ tn Heb “from me destroyers will go against her.”

⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁵ sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

⁸ tn Heb “for what is empty.”

⁹ tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”

¹⁰ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

¹¹ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (vÿna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

¹² tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

¹³ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

¹⁴ sn The Lord is speaking here (see v. 3).

¹⁵ tn Aram “house.”

¹⁶ tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

¹⁷ sn In context, the great mountain here must be viewed as a metaphor for the enormous task of rebuilding the temple and establishing the messianic kingdom (cf. TEV “Obstacles as great as mountains”).

¹⁸ tn The word “temple” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent (cf. NLT “final stone of the Temple”).

¹⁹ sn Grace is a fitting response to the idea that it was “not by strength and not by power” but by God’s gracious Spirit that the work could be done (cf. v. 6).